On Paint and Pigments

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 Well my paint finally arrived on the back of a pony… 😝 but I do wish that oil paint makers would clearly state the pigments used! Whilst painting these recent outside landscapes I found myself using W&N Sap Green. I used a whole tube and so I ordered 3 more tubes, however a different brand - on sale and slightly cheaper. It’s a completely different colour! Sap Green originally was made as a lake from buckthorn berries. A lake just means that it is basicly a dye, and to make a pigment out of it you have to add a mordant like alum. Anyway, it was highly fugitive and so now it is made as a “ hue” using other pigments. The problem is that every manufacturer has a different recipe, so you never know what you are getting! I much prefer the actual pigment name to be used, then I know exactly what it is! And YES, it does make a difference!  I’m a fussy bugger. Sure you can match the colour but you can never match the specific pigments physical and optical properties . It’s becoming harder to ascertain the actual pigments. Many brands don’t state it on the tube and even going to their website and looking at charts is fruitless. They also are constantly changing their recipes so you can’t even be certain of the same brand from batch to batch. I discovered that a while ago when I specifically needed Old Holland Brown Umber. It’s not the same as it was. This can happen with natural earth pigments, because the type of earth used is, I suppose, is dependant on price and availability. True Burnt or Raw Sienna is from Sienna! Naples wont do! That’s yellow lol! Indeed, Napes Yellow is now almost impossible to get because of all the Nana State health restrictions. The original contained lead. Now, it’s approximated with other pigments. It’s just zinc oxide and mars yellow oxide now. And don’t get me started on Lead Carbonate!  It’s got so rare and expensive that I have resorted to attempt to make it myself from sheet lead and vinegar using the “ Dutch Stack process”. This consists of putting coils of lead into earthenware jars filled with vinegar and covered in horse dung!  The horse dung being an essential part of the process, as it ferments to provide carbon dioxide and heat. Although, you can replicate this using baker’s yeast and sugar….  There used to be interesting Youtube clips describing this process, but the Nana Police had them removed. I love the feeling of doing something naughty and contraband! 😂 


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