WHO GAVE COLORS THEIR NAMES?
In the mid-19th century, King Ludwig I of Bavaria longed to have something like the fine lime frescoes he saw in Italy. But the damp cold climate north of the
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History
HAS WHITE BEEN USED TOO MUCH BY ARTISTS?
“The tendency to put in more and more white is so usual that it would be well to restrict the white. Keep it off the palette. Allow only so much
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THE SECRET OF THE OLD MASTERS!
Artists sometimes are fascinated by the search for a “Secret” that makes old master paintings last so long and look so great. One eighteenth century painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, suggested
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THE MAGIC FLY AND THE NEW ART
According to legend, Giotto was the ugliest artist in town, but he was also the greatest illusionist. As a boy, Giotto was able to work under Cimabue, the highly renowned
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THE ANCIENT COLOR FROM A FISH
The Greeks observed that the common cuttlefish emitted a brownish-black pigment when attacked. They discovered that pigment could be made by drying and pulverizing the dried fish’s ink sack. Cuttlefish,
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PAINTING KNIVES IN HISTORY
Painting knives are certainly great tools for contemporary artists using impasto techniques. Some form of the painting knife has been in use for centuries. In painting frescos, artists used iron,
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Van Gogh’s Problems with Cadmium Yellow
The yellows in one of Van Gogh’s paintings, “Flowers in a Blue Vase”, have been turning orange-grey. This is not what a museum curator or collector wants! So laboratories in
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Artists – Are They Workers or Entrepreneurs?
In the 1930s, over 15,000 artists were commissioned by the federal government to create art for public places, including libraries, post offices, and government offices. The artists were part of
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Plein Air Artist Inventions
During the 1800s, Plein Air painters were scattered throughout the country, from far west to the North Pole. Landscape painting had become the dominant genre in America, and Plein Air
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Artist Charcoal and the “Withies”
Not all art materials come from large manufacturers. The Coate family in Somerset, England makes willow baskets and artist willow charcoal on their own land. They have been growing ‘withies’
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