3. Color as Pigment

In the language of the scientist, pig­ments — whether those used by the artist, the dyer or other colorists — are called "colorants" (substances that produce color) to distinguish them from colored light. This dis­tinction helps to clarify the thinking of the physicist and chemist on the many aspects of color and, for the artist with a scientific bent, it may give some clue to a very confusing subject. As a rule, however, artists are not concerned with scientific accuracy in the use of such terms. To painters everywhere, color is col­or, whether light, pigment or the reflected light of a pigmented surface. We shall, therefore, discuss color henceforth from the artist's viewpoint, primarily in terms of pigments and the way be uses them.

Pigments

The use of pigments for painting would seem to be as old as man. No one really knows when man first discovered that by mixing together certain materials he could create a sub­stance with which to ornament himself, his clothing and his surroundings, but the comparatively recent discovery of the cave paintings in southern France, in Spain, and in Africa has revealed that 20,000 years ago, at least, men had learned to paint with reds, yellows, browns and blacks made from iron oxides and manga­nese.

If we skip from the mysterious art­ists of pre-historic times to the more familiar ancient civilization of Egypt, we find that there are still in existence wall paintings two to five thousand years old, many remarkably well pre­served, showing that Egyptian artists made excellent use of copper-based blue and green pigments as well as whitewash, soot black, and red, yel­low and brown ochres.

Through the centuries, other pig­ments have from time to time been added to the colors available to the artist. Some of them — genuine ultramarine made from lapis lazuli, for instance — are very beautiful but extremely expensive. Others, like emerald (Paris green), are poisonous if swallowed (and more than one artist has been known to touch the tip of his brush to the tip of, his tongue). Worst of all, however, are those which appear beautiful when the painting is first finished, but quickly fade or change color on exposure to light. (Many paintings of the past have been ruined by the lack of permanence of the colors used or by the painter's lack of knowledge of the chemical interaction of his pigments). During the past century, and particularly in the last few dec­ades, modern chemistry has added a surprising number of new pigments to the artist's palette. Some are exceedingly beautiful, many of them appear to be absolutely permanent, and several are excellent replace­ments for less reliable colors.

To make paint, pigment is ground up into a powdered substance and mixed with liquid. In oil paint, the powdered pigment is mixed to a thick consistency with oil, usually linseed. In watercolor paint, the pig­ment is ground up with water-soluble gums, usually gum arabic. Other mediums are egg albumen for tem­pera, and size for distemper. In the past, artists usually served an ap­prenticeship of several years during which they learned to grind and mix colors for the master. Today, some painters still prefer to prepare their own colors, but the majority of artists today — professionals as well as students and amateurs — usually buy the colors, already prepared, of one of the reputable manufacturers.

For anyone interested in a detailed discussion of how raw materials are turned into artists' colors, we rec­ommend one of the excellent books devoted to the craftsmanship of the painter. Max Doerner's The Mate­rials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting, Ralph Mayer's The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, and Painting Materials by Gettens and Stout, are standard reference works.

In these volumes you can find detailed analyses of hundreds of colors. Many of those listed are simply synonyms — names used in different countries or at different periods or by various manufactur­ers — for the same pigment. (One book gives 11 names for White Lead alone!) With such an array of colors and color names, it is no wonder if the student painter is confused and uncertain about which to choose for his own palette.

Selecting a Palette

The word "palette," like other words we have been discussing, has more than one meaning. It refers, of course, to the object on which an artist squeezes out and mixes his colors (which may be an ordinary white dinner plate for the watercolorist, a traditionally shaped board with thumbhole for the oil painter, or any other convenient surface that suits the painter). But "palette" also refers to the assortment of colors an artist uses. It is in this latter sense that we will be using the word for the most part now.

Strange as it sometimes seems to the beginner, who wants to be told precisely what to do and what not to do, the selection of colors for an artist's palette is largely a matter of personal preference. If you ask a dozen experienced painters for sug­gestions, you will receive a dozen different lists. To be sure, certain colors will turn up on all, or almost all, of the lists; but each painter will have certain preferences and preju­dices based on his own experiences, his own methods of working, and, in­evitably, that indefinable and unpre­dictable thing, his own taste.

Furthermore, he will often differen­tiate between the list of colors he likes to have on hand and the ones he feels he couldn't get along without. For some subjects, a painter may use only a few colors; this is usually referred to as a "limited palette." For other subjects, the same painter may feel he needs a wide range of hues. Perhaps the best course for the beginner is to choose a reason­ably wide assortment of pigments based on the suggestions in this chapter. Then, after he has become thoroughly familiar with the effects he can achieve with these pigments (the exercises in later chapters can be particularly helpful in this respect), he will be able to make future selec­tions based on his own experience.

The following lists, selected from various books on painting techniques (which the student painter might very well read with considerable profit), reveal both the similarities and dif­ferences of opinion that exist among various well-known artists and artist-teachers. The reader will also note several important differences between the lists offered by those whose work is primarily in oil and those who prefer to work in watercolor.

Palette Suggestions for the Oil Painter

In Oil Painting for the Beginner (Watson-Guptill), Frederic Taubes suggests the following basic list of colors as a starter: White Lead (Flake White), Prussian Blue, Ultra­marine Blue, Viridian Green (Chro-moxide Green Transparent), Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Venetian Red, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crim­son, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber and Ivory Black. As additional colors, he recommends Naples Yellow, Cad­mium Orange, Indian Red and Ceru­lean Blue.

Jerry Farnsworth's Learning to Paint in Oil (Watson-Guptill) contains the following list of essential colors for the oil painter: Zinc White, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Yellow Me­dium, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Deep, Yel­low Ochre, Raw Sienna, Venetian Red, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Alizarin Crimson, Viridian, Ultrama­rine Blue, Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue, Ivory Black. Other colors which he likes to use at times are Oxide of Chromium, Mars Violet, Payne's Gray, and the Manganese Blues and Greens.

Palette Suggestions for the Watercolor Painter

In his book, Watercolor for the Beginner (Watson-Guptill), Jacob Getlar Smith lists 29 colors which he has placed in eight separate groups. Of these, he states: "If you choose at least one from each group, there will be at your command a range of colors flexible enough for any desired result. Their permanence has been guaranteed by use over many years."

The colors are grouped as follows, asterisks indicating the suggested palette: Group I - *Cadmium Yellow Pale or Lightest, *Cadmium Yellow Deep, *Cadmium Orange, Aureolin; Group II - *Cadmium Red Light or Lightest, *Cadmium Red Deep, Scar­let Vermilion, Rose Madder (perma­nent only when not mixed with earth colors); Group III - Yellow Ochre, *Raw Sienna, Mars Yellow; Group IV - *Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, *Burnt Sienna; Group V - Venetian Red, *lndian Red, Light Red; Group VI - *Viridian, Oxide of Chro­mium, Monastral Green; Group VII -Monastral Blue, Lamp Black, *lvory Black, Mars Black.

Another well-known watercolor painter, Ted Kautzky, in his book, Ways with Watercolor (Reinhold), lists the following colors which make up his regular palette: Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Hooker's Green No. 2, Davy's Gray and Payne's Gray, Orange Vermilion, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow, Aureolin, Lemon Yellow, Cobalt Blue, French Ultra­marine Blue and Winsor Blue. Kaut­zky points out that in any single painting he usually confines himself to ten colors or less, sometimes working with only three or four.

Brands of Colors

As to brands of colors, again prac­tically every painter has his personal preference. In today's stiff compe­tition it is apparently safe to assume that any of the well-known brands will give satisfaction. Those men­tioned most frequently by the painters whose palette suggestions we have listed are Winsor & Newton, Rem­brandt, Weber, Permanent Pigments, Grumbacher, and Shiva. The main thing is to realize that you get just about what you pay for. The cheaper lines of colors — sometimes known as "students' colors" — cannot be expected to be as satisfactory in the long run as those made for profes­sional use.

You may want to experiment until you determine the make best suited to you. On the whole, though, you will find it is safer to stick to one brand, once you are familiar with it, for you will gradually learn exactly what to expect from every color in that particular line. Artists often learn with surprise and regret that a given color of one make may be quite different in hue or consistency from some other manufacturer’s prod­uct bearing the same or a similar name.

Permanence

Regardless of make, some pig­ments are less durable than others, causing paintings to darken, fade or discolor with age. They should, therefore, be avoided altogether or used sparingly, or only in minor works. This does not mean that the artist must know color chemistry, for many manufacturers make avail­able, on request, full descriptions of their products. Winsor &. Newton, for example, lists three groups of colors: one absolutely permanent, one moderately durable, one fugitive. From these they recommend a "Se­lected List" of colors which are both non-fading and mutually inactive chemically — in other words, fool­proof. The tube of each color on this list is stamped "S. L." (in red) for in­stant identification. Other manufactur­ers indicate the relative permanence of each of their colors on charts that can be consulted at your dealers. Permanent Pigments has a small brochure called "Enduring Colors for the Artist" which is a simplified trea­tise on artists' colors, how they are made, and how they may be expect­ed to behave in oil, watercolor, casein and other special mediums. It will be worth your while to learn all you can about the pigments you buy. If in doubt, don't hesitate to ask your dealer for advice. Often he can be most helpful.

One important point to keep in mind as you hear or read conflicting opinions on the permanence or behavior of particular colors is that some colors which have a poor reputation in one medium are most dependable in another. Another reason for disagreement on this mat­ter is that some artists are aware of the limitations of certain pigments and have learned how to make use of them, whereas other painters either haven't learned or perhaps don't wish to be bothered. A third source of confusion is the fact that recent advances in the development of paint chemistry have given us new sub­stitutes, seemingly permanent (though in some cases not yet subjected to the test of time) for older, less de­pendable colors. In many cases the new color is called by the same name as the old one which it resembles in appearance but not in chemical composition.

Setting the Palette

Whatever the colors finally select­ed for your palette, they should be systematically arranged in some par­ticular order so that you will be able to reach for the right pigment and find it whenever you want it without fumbling. Many artists speak of their palette arrangement as being like the keyboard of a piano — each note or tone in a particular spot in relation to all the other tones. How­ever, artists' palettes are very dif­ferent from keyboards in that each artist makes his own selection and arrangement of colors (or tones) and establishes relationships that may seem very strange to other artists but which happen to suit his own working habits.

There are really no rules — aside from convenience — but many artists find it most helpful to base their arrangement on the spectrum. (See Figure 3.) In such an arrangement, the reds come first, then the oranges and yellows, next the greens, blues and violets, and finally the browns, blacks and whites. In another com­mon arrangement the warm colors and the cool colors are placed in separate groups. This type of group­ing is used in the two palettes shown in Figure 4 — one a basic palette and the other, a more advanced palette. Another scheme is the grouping of colors which are frequently used in combination. Sometimes-watercolor painters arrange their colors in two major groups: the first consisting of colors which insure smooth, clear washes; the other, those that pro­duce sediment washes.

Jerry Farnsworth, whose list of suggested colors was given pre­viously, arranges his oil paints on a rectangular thumbhole palette with Zinc White in the upper left-hand corner. Across the top from left to right are the cadmiums from pale yellow to deep red, then the earth colors. Down the left side of the palette are Alizarin Crimson, the blues, Viridian and black. The cen­ter is left free for mixing.

A useful trick used by some paint­ers is to make several dabs of each color on the palette rather than one large one. This makes it much easier to keep each color — particularly white and light yellows — clean and clear.

A Selected List of Pigments

Following is a list of commonly used pigments with brief descriptions of their qualities:

White

White Lead, Flake White, Cremnitz White — three names for the most popular white used in oil painting. Although it is poisonous (and for this reason is never used in water-colors or in children's paints) and tends to yellow in impure air, many artists prefer it to other white paints because it brushes on easily, covers well, dries rather quickly and has a pleasing appearance, both by itself and in mixture with other pigments.

Zinc White, Chinese White — a purer, colder white than White Lead, Zinc White is not poisonous and does not darken. However, it is less opaque, dries more slowly and doesn't brush out as well. As Chinese White, it is used chiefly in watercolor and gouache.

Titanium-Zinc White — mixtures of Titanium Oxide and Zinc White —
are sold under various brand names and are preferred by many artists to Zinc White itself.

Figure 3. A typical dinner plate palette, pre­ferred by many watercolor painters, with pig­ments arranged according to the spectrum. The center of the plate is free for mixing.

Figure 4.  Warm colors are placed along the top of the palette, and cool colors along the side in the palette arrangements of oil paints shown here.

Yellows

Aureolin (Cobalt Yellow) — rather muddy as it comes from the tube but, when lightened with white or thinned with medium, becomes a bright transparent color. Sometimes used as a primary yellow in color charts and color mixing.

Cadmium Yellows — a series of bright, slightly opaque yellows, rang­ing from very pale lemon to orange. Permanent but do not mix well with Emerald Green, Naples Yellow and some other colors.

Strontium or Lemon Yellow — a clear, pale, slightly opaque, greenish yellow.

Naples Yellow — somewhat opaque, medium yellow. True Naples Yellow is similar in composition to White Lead and has the same qualities, both good and bad. However, tints of other yellows mixed with white are sometimes sold under this name, so be sure of what you are getting.

Yellow Ochre — an earth color, one of the oldest in use as an artist's pigment; semi-opaque, dries fairly well. Its dull yellow tone is a great favorite with painters.

Raw Sienna — an earth color, simi­lar to Ochre, but deeper, more brown­ish in tone; produces interesting sediment washes when used in watercolor.

Mars Yellow — an artificial iron hydroxide pigment, similar to Ochre and Raw Sienna.

Reds

Alizarin Crimson — a good bright red, pure, clear, transparent; very useful for producing rose tints and (in mixture with Ultramarine or Ceru­lean Blues) purples and violets. Dries slowly. Reasonably permanent under normal conditions.

Rose Madder — a transparent color, somewhat more delicate than Ali­zarin Crimson; also mixes well with blues.

Cadmium Reds — a series of bril­liant, opaque reds, ranging from light scarlet to deep maroon. Cad­mium Scarlet and Cadmium Vermil­ion are often used today in place of true Vermilion which has a tendency to blacken.

Light Red, English Red, Indian Red, Venetian Red, Mars Red — although somewhat similar in hue as they come from the tube (all are rather neutral brownish reds made from iron oxides), each of these colors produces a slightly different tint when mixed with white. All are opaque, have good tinting strength and are moderately good driers.

Blues

Ultramarine and French Ultrama­rine — a deep blue with a slight red­dish cast, transparent, dries moder­ately well. Sometimes called Per­manent Blue or New Blue.

Cobalt Blue — similar to Ultramarine at full intensity, but with a slightly greenish tone.

Cerulean Blue — a deep azure blue, opaque, dries very well, has good tinting strength and hiding power. An expensive color, so beware of cheap substitutes masquerading un­der this name.

Prussian Blue — a deep blue with a slightly greenish tone in glazes and tints; tremendous tinting strength (it must be used with care); rather transparent; dries well.

Manganese Blue —a bright greenish blue, similar to Cerulean but lighter and with less tinting strength.

Phthalocyanine Blue — a modern synthetic pigment (often sold under special brand names), an intense, powerful color similar to Prussian Blue and Antwerp Blue, which it is gradually superseding. Very useful for mixing greens.

Greens

Although greens can be mixed very easily from blues and yellows, many artists prefer to have at least one or two of the following greens on their palette.

Viridian — a clear, transparent green of emerald hue; best used as a glazing color in oil or for transpar­ent watercolor washes; mixes well with other pigments to produce a variety of blues and greens, but tends to become dull and blackish when put on in heavy layers.

Phthalocyanine Green — a variant of Phthalocyanine Blue; more intense than Viridian which it resembles.

Chromium Oxide Green — a some­what dull willow green, rather opaque, low tinting strength.

Green Earth (Terre Verte) — a transparent, pale green, slightly olive in tone; most useful in glazing and for watercolor washes.

Hooker's Green —an intense, trans­parent, mixed green, popular with watercolorists. Although the tradi­tional mixture of Gamboge and Prus­sian Blue was of doubtful durability, the mixtures now sold under this name are said to be permanent.

Violets

Violets and purples are usually mixed from blues and reds, but the following pigments are sometimes useful additions to a palette.

Cobalt Violet — a bright, transpar­ent reddish violet; poisonous (there­fore used only in oils and adults' watercolors).

Manganese Violet — a cool, opaque color; strong but not brilliant.

Mars Violet — an iron oxide pig­ment, similar to Indian Red but more bluish.

Browns

Burnt Sienna — an extremely ver­satile and dependable color on the border line between red and brown. Equally useful as an opaque color or as a transparent glazing color; produces interesting sediment washes when mixed with Ultramarine; dries moderately well.

Umber — another versatile earth color, useful in both opaque and transparent techniques. Raw Umber has a slightly greenish tone; Burnt Umber tends toward red. Both have tremendous drying power, which can be very useful (but take care not to use them at full strength for under-painting; slower drying pigments painted over them may well crack).

Blacks

Ivory Black — originally made by burning scraps of ivory, now made from charred bones, this is the prin­cipal black used by artists. It has good tinting power but is a poor drier.

Mars Black — a dense, warm black made from iron oxide.

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