Rose Madder Genuine

An important source of colorant at one time, the Madder plant was of vital importance to European trade. A red could be extracted from its roots and be further processed into an artists paint. 'Genuine Rose Madder' is still produced commercially and is used by countless painters world wide.

What few seem to realize is that the color fades rapidly, destroying their careful work. Easily duplicated on the palette using light fast colorants, the genuine article should have been made obsolete decades ago as it offers a very real disservice to the artist.

One of the colorants in the root, 'Alizarin', has long been produced synthetically and is used in the paint 'Alizarin Crimson'. This is also most unreliable, fading rapidly when applied as a thin wash or when mixed with white.

Countless paintings are still being ruined by these substances despite there being reliable alternatives. But they both sell well and the bottom line is more important to most manufacturers than the life expectancy of your paintings.

Taken from "The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolors".

Gamboge

Gamboge starts life as a brown sap exuded from a gum tree native to Thailand, Sri Lanka and parts of India. The dried gum becomes a bright transparent yellow when diluted with water. As a watercolor paint it is unique in that it a colorant with its own gum.

Unfortunately it is very fugitive and will fade particularly fast when applied as a thin wash, which is when it is at its most beautiful. Despite this obvious failing Genuine Gamboge is still offered by a particular manufacturer who should know better. Imitation, or 'Hue' versions are usually more reliable, if less transparent, than the genuine article.

Taken from "The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolors".

Sap Green

Produced from Buckthorn berries, Sap Green was used extensively in Medieval times. Allowed to thicken until it became syrupy it was usually stored in animal bladders. It faded very quickly.

The name has been retained for almost any concoction which will give a dull green. Unfortunately, cheap and inferior industrial pigments are invariably used, giving a paint still prone to rapid fading.

Taken from "The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolors".

Adding a touch of red

If you are working with the complementary pair blue and orange and the mixes move too far towards green, try adding a tiny touch of any red to the mix. As red and green are a complementary pair the small amount of red will absorb the green in the mix. color mixes can often be fine tuned this way, the complementary being added to remove unwanted traces of a color.

Taken from "Blue And Yellow Don't Make Green".

Not everyone's favorite color

The Yezidi, a people who live in the Caucasus and in Armenia have an intense dislike for the color blue. So intense is their dislike that they curse their enemies by saying 'May you die in blue garments'.

Taken from "Perfect Color Choices for the Artist ".

Dress code

colors of dress in much of Europe were at one time dictated by the authorities. The nobility and the church reserved for themselves the right to dress in colorful clothes. They mandated that peasants and serfs must dress only in black or brown.

Royalty alone could wear purple. Red, gold and silver were reserved for the King's councilors, the next tier of importance.

The colors worn by knights, squires, even archers, as well as their wives, were as much a badge of rank as their insignia and uniforms.

Grudging exception was made for doctors and lawyers, who, whilst not members of the nobility, were allowed to dress in colored clothes.

Taken from "Perfect Color Choices for the Artist ".

Thought-provoking quotes

“color is not given to us in order that we should imitate nature. It was given to us so that we can express our own emotions.”

Henri Matisse

“Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.”

Eugéne Delacroix

“When I choose a color it is not because of any scientific theory. It comes from observation, from feeling, from the innermost nature of the experience in question.”

Henri Matisse

“Fine works of art never age, because they are remarked by genuine feeling.”

Eugéne Delacroix

“Give me mud and I will make the skin of Venus out of it, if you allow me to surround it as I please.”

Eugéne Delacroix

Taken from "Perfect Color Choices for the Artist ".