HUFFINGTON POST ART PAGE – FEATURED ARTICLE
It is common for an art student to show up for the first day of painting class and discover that other students in the room will be brushing with various
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Materials
NO MORE LOCKED PAINT TUBE CAPS
This idea was sent to us by a painter who solved a problem. The problem is that the caps on tubes of oil paint get locked onto the tubes when
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HOW TO STORE ARTIST’S PAINT TUBES
When tubes of artist’s oil paints are displayed for sale, they are usually hanging down in a rack, with their caps hooked on top. The labels on the tubes are
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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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White Paint: The Problem With Nano-Particles
Historically, lead-based white was the pigment used in art, for hundreds of years. But of course, lead is toxic and lead white has been largely outlawed in Europe, now almost
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WHICH CANVAS IS BEST FOR ARTISTS?
Artists have been aware for some time that there are problems with the canvas materials normally used to support paintings. Due to moisture and the degradation of natural fabrics, canvases
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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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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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What’s Next for Artist Paint Tubes?
In 1841, the American artist John Goffe Rand invented collapsible metal tubes for preserving oil paints. These tubes made it possible to transport paint outdoors, and according to Renoir, were
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THE CRAZY IDEA OF NON-TOXIC PIGMENTS
Recently, some folks have been marketing raw pigments for making “non-toxic” paints at home. This is the oldest mistake in the book. Sure, titanium white is used in toothpaste, paints,
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