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Introduction Pigments for paint making
This page contains the pigment lists where you can find information on
the pigments you may use. There are also guides to the various terms
and classification systems you will find in the pigment lists. At the
bottom of the page is the list of references used while compiling the
pigment lists.
Related Links:
Traditional and
historic palettes
Limited palettes
Paint characteristics
Binders
Solvents
Extenders,
fillers, and driers
Pigment list Links to
colors listed by color type
As there are too many pigments to list on one page each basic color has
it's own page. Thus you will find both Perinone Orange and Cadmium
Orange on the Orange page. All recommended reds on the Red page and so
on. This list is not comprehensive but does cover all major pigments
the artist is likely to need. A more comprehensive site just about
Color And Pigments is already in preparation. When that is ready we
will put a link to it here.
Common name Poetic but
often confusing
Many colors have numerous common names. Sometimes the difference is
historic, and sometimes just because a manufacturer wants to sound
different from their competitors. Often a color maker will offer 2
nearly identical versions of the same pigment then give them different
names. There will always be those who buy both in the belief that there
is a difference. All this confusion has lead to the use of chemical
descriptions and Color Index names as detailed below to help identify
individual pigments.
Color index Standardized
names
The color index provides chemists with a standard naming system that
accurately describes the pigment in question. Color makers will
often refer to a color by it's index name. Ultramarine Blue is called
PB 29 in the color index. The 'P' stands for pigment (there are other
coloring agents such as dyes and metals each with their own letter).
The 'B' stands for 'blue' and then the number is which exact blue.
These are the main abbreviations that an artist comes across
- PB - Pigment Blue
- PBk - Pigment Black
- PBr - Pigment Brown
- NR - Natural Red
- PR - Pigment Red
- PO - Pigment Orange
- PY - Pigment Yellow
- PW - Pigment White
- PG - Pigment Green
- PV - Pigment Violet
ASTM / Woolscale Standard
light fastness ratings
Before ASTM manufacturers each had their own rating system sometimes
based on numbers, sometimes on stars, and sometimes letters. This
system
is still used but is rapidly being replaced by industry standard
ratings such as ASTM. The problem had always been that companies had a
vested interest in their pigments being seen as being the best. Also
many manufacturers just were not big enough to employ the chemists
necessary to do rigorous testing, so various quality tests were used,
and many company's did not test at all. On the other hand some
manufacturers correctly claimed that permanency involved more
factors than just light fastness. Unfortunately this lead to subjective
judgments that were applied differently in different circumstances.
The American Society for Testing Materials, a standards body, was asked
to start testing colors. They developed a standard as to how paints
could be labeled. For example before ASTM a manufacturer might make a
color that was a mixture of say Carmine, a fugitive but beautiful
crimson red, with Ultramarine. The resulting color would be an
attractive violet and could be given an exotic name like Persian
Violet. Because the color contains the excellent color Ultramarine, the
color would most likely have the permanency rating for that ingredient
put on the tube by a manufacturer wanting you to believe that their
color is excellent. Unfortunately the Carmine would fade quickly and
the
color would eventually be just Ultramarine Blue. Any manufacturer who
adopts the ASTM system has to agree to rate the color for the least
light fast ingredient. This gives the paint formulator incentive to
avoid using poor ingredients. Because it is an independent body and
because they apply standards fairly the ASTM can be trusted.
In ASTM all colors are rated from Class l (the best, and considered
permanent) to Class V
which is very fugitive and will fade in a very short time. The industry
accepts Classes l, l l, and l l l as being suitable for artists ,
although personally I only use ASTM Class l colors as good enough for
my work.
Another testing method that appears on some tubes of paint is the Blue
Woolscale. It has several advantages in that it tests colors as tints.
Woolscale cards can also be of great benefit to the artist who decides
to do their own light fastness testing. More info
Detailed information on both ASTM and Blue Woolscale tests and what
they are the equivalent of in terms of years without fading can be
found on the Testing page here
Chemical Type What is a
pigment made of
This is the chemical description that chemists use. It can be helpful
for identifying pigments so I have included it where it is known.
Toxicity Important to
know and understand
As a guide to safety issues elsewhere on this site I rate pigments as
low toxicity, medium, and highly toxic. The low toxicity pigments are
things like Ochre or Titanium White that are considered non toxic once
made into a paint but have the ability to be mildly toxic while in dry
powder form. There are no pigments that are completely non toxic in dry
powder form.
Medium toxicity refers to those pigments which are suspected
carcinogens and are mostly the pigments containing heavy metals like
the Cadmium's and Cobalt's. Umber is in this group too as it contains
Manganese.
High toxicity refers to those very dangerous pigments that contain lead
and arsenic and other known poisons. I do not recommend the use of any
of these pigments and they are included here in case you inadvertently
have obtained some, and need more information.
Media suitability And other
notes
Many pigments are suitable for use in all media but many are not for
various reasons. If for instance a pigment is only good in oil or only
in watercolor etc. I note these important things in this section.
References
Alberti, L B, On Painting 1435
(Penguin Classics)
Cellini, B, The Life Of Benvenuto
Cellini, finished 1562 but not published until 1730
(Heron)
Cennini, C d'A, The Craftsman's
Handbook. 1437 (Dover)
Doerner, M, The Materials Of The Artist And Their Use
In Painting, 1921 (Harcourt Brace)
Eastlake, Sir C L, Materials For A History Of Oil
Painting, 1847 (Dover)
Feller, R L, Artists Pigments 1986
(National Gallery Of Art / Cambridge University)
Gottsegen, M D, A Manual Of Painting Materials And
Techniques, 1987 (Harper & Row)
Maire, F, Colors: What They Are And What To Expect Of
Them, 1910 (Drake)
Mayer, R, The Artists Handbook Of Materials And
Techniques, fifth edition 1991 (Faber
& Faber)
Merrifield, Mrs M P, Medieval And Renaissance Treatises On
The Arts Of Painting 1849 (Dover)
Muther, R, The History Of Painting From The Fourth
Century To The Early Nineteenth Century, 1907 (Putnam)
Parkhurst, D B, The Painter In Oil 1898
(Lothrop, Lee & Shepard)
Patton, T C, Pigment Handbook, 1973
(Wiley)
Pliny, The Elder (Gaius Plinius), Natural
History, 77AD (Penguin Classics)
Taubs, F, A Guide To Traditional And Modern Painting
Methods, 1963 (Thames & Hudson)
Theophilus, On Divers Arts, 1125 (Dover)
Various, Encyclopedia Britannica,
fifteenth edition 1981 (Encyclopeadia Britannica, Inc)
Various, Paint And Painting, 1982,
(Winsor & Newton / The Tate Gallery)
Various, The Artist's Colourmen's
Story, 1984 (Winsor & Newton)
Vasari, G, The Lives Of The Most Excellent Painters,
Sculptors And Architects, 1568 (Penguin Classics)
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