Page 15 - Artist Materials Advisor

Francisco Benitez considers himself an atemporal archaeologist who excavates lost and forgotten styles of painting long assigned to the shadows to reveal the ever-transient nature of the human psyche. Trained in a rigorous atelier program at the Art Student’s League in New York, he frequented museums and copied old master paintings to master their techniques and conceptual strategies...

Ultramarine is a blue pigment consisting primarily of a zeolite-based mineral containing small amounts of sulfur. Ultramarine is one of the most complex of the mineral pigments, composed of the blue mineral lazurite, which is the major component of the rare and semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. The mineral occurs in nature as a product of limestone metamorphism. It is typically associated with calcite, pyrite, diopside, humite, forsterite, hauyne, and muscovite minerals, sometimes found in lava as a by-product of volcanic eruptions...

Rublev Colours Ultramarine Blue (Greenish Shade) artist oil color is an intense deep greenish-shade blue oil paint made from an inorganic pigment (ultramarine) of sodium aluminum silicate composition. It is a transparent, small-particle color with high tinting strength...

The founders of Natural Pigments recently met James Gurney and his wife, Jeanette, at the Plein Air Convention in Monterey, California. James is the author and illustrator of the book series Dinotopia. This highly imaginative book series details the world of dinosaurs in a utopian setting, hence the name...

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the paint used by artists was prepared in the studio. The painter purchased pigment from apothecary shops and apprentices, who also prepared panels and grounds for the master painter, then prepared it for use as paint. The oil paint used by artists from the 15th to 19th centuries consisted primarily of a single pigment and vegetable drying oil. However, gums, proteins, and resins were sometimes added for particular passages in a painting. The idea of a “hue” or mixed pigment practically did not exist because artists mixed colors on the palette...

The palette of Velázquez was smaller than the range of colors available to artists of his period. However, it was typical of artists of the seventeenth century, the palette described by Roger de Piles in his famous treatise on painting of 1684. Velázquez included calcite and smalt in his paint, not only to alter the colors but also for specific technical purposes. Smalt was used as a drying agent. Calcite increases the transparency of the colors and alters the consistency of the paint, especially when making it more fluid. The addition of calcite also reduces the quantity of lead white needed in mixtures...

The recent shortage of lead white (flake white) oil paint by many artists’ material companies has created a panic among many artists. Understandably so because lead white is the most useful color on the artist’s palette for oil painting and many artists are dependent upon a steady supply. Much wild speculation has become rampant about this situation, so we want to help dispel the growing number of myths surrounding lead white. Here is the situation regarding lead white oil paint...

Du Fresnoy wrote about colors that appear on the palette of seventeenth-century artists, such as Rembrandt and Rubens, and that appear in Roger de Piles’ translation of De Arte Graphica....

Explore our range of Traditional Oil Paints, crafted with historical pigments for true art enthusiasts. Discover the charm of classical painting techniques...

Welcome to Natural Pigments' Glossary of common and not so common Paint and Art Terms. Here we hope to give you a brief definition of various art terms which might be unfamiliar. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, please contact us...