MAKING A MARK

Back in 2008 I did a mammoth project all about Colour. Colour - a materials perspective #1 - pigments and dyes is one of the posts I did about my research into what creates colour - and relates to the materials used to create coloured art media.

TIPS FOR ARTISTS - THE BASICS (In Draft)

I want to highlight a website called Syntax of Color which aims to focus on Art Materials and Colour. 

Highly recommended for art materials nerds like me - and those wanting to expand their knowledge of the art materials they work with currently - and might like to try in future.

This website is actually resurrecting an old site with updated and new material. 

After a considerable hiatus, the art materials website devoted to pigment history stories, interviews with artists and manufacturers, reviews of art materials and items of interest in the world of ASTM will be refreshed and renewed. Also a MAJOR name change has taken place. The old Grammar of Color is evolving into the Syntax of Color. We're back.....

"Syntax of Color" aims to educate artists and share information about art materials by exploring:

• Syntax of Color - Essays on the History of Pigments and Art Materials
• Product Reviews - Descriptions of Products and How to Use Them
• Interviews - Discussions with Artists and Art Materials Manufacturers (Coming Soon)
• ASTM Discussion Topics - The World of Making Standards for Art Material Manufacturing

The Syntax of Color - Home Page

Michael Skalka - author of Syntax of Color

The website is the idea of a chap who I've been corresponding with on and off for some years.  

Prior to his recent retirement, Michael Skalka was the Conservation Administrator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington for very many years where - among other duties - he looked after The National Gallery's Art Materials Collection.

Since 1993, I have been engaged in learning and sharing with others the love I have for art materials

Michael Skalka has an MFA in Museum Studies, expertise in Art Materials, and has been the Chairman of ASTM subcommittee D01.57 (re. Artists' Paints and Related Materials) for some years - which is how I got to know him.  (Note for new readers: I have been known to bang on online about lightfastness of art media at length - and I'm also a co-opted member of D01.57!)

Bottom line Michael is genuinely interested in increasing awareness of issues relating to colour and art materials - and has no axe to grind other than being somebody focused on quality issues. He also knows many of the technical people from the various art manufacturers.

Content of Syntax of Color

Here's a sampler of its content to date - with some quotations to get an idea of content. 

• Michael writes well and with authority. 
• If there is one thing I'd like to see him add it's shorter paragraphs and spaces inbetween! (i.e. techniques for writing for online as opposed to printed papers)

Colours

He focuses on old as well as current colours - as one might expect of a man who has worked in conservation for over 25 years.

• The Issue of Black
• Indian Yellow: A Bovine Story
• The Discovery of Thenard Blue (Cobalt Blue)
• Vermilionettes and Royal Reds
• Bodies in the Cellar or The Old and Forgotten (Scheeles Green / Emerald Green)
• The Lead White Pot

Pigments 

This is for artists who are seriously interested in colour, pigments and their characteristics and their use over time.

What follows are three titles from the publications of the research side of National Gallery of Art in Washington.

• You can download them for FREE 
• I suggest right clicking the title and opening in a new tab.

They are technical and conservation oriented as you'd expect from a National Gallery of Art - but are fascinating nonetheless.

The National Gallery of Art is home to a community of scholars that includes the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts and members of the Gallery’s curatorial, conservation, and education staffs. The National Gallery of Art Library and Gallery Archives offer exceptional resources for scholars and staff, as well as for visitors. The publishing arm of the Gallery sees to a broad distribution of the community’s scholarship.

This is very much a case of one where some serious sponsorship yielded some serious scholarship and a resource available to all.

Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Volume 1

Robert L. Feller, editor | Published 1986 | 300 pages

This volume, the first in a series of four, describes the history, characteristics, and scientific analysis of 10 pigments that have played a major role in the history of painting.

• Indian yellow;
• cobalt yellow;
• natural and synthetic barium sulfate;
• cadmium yellows, oranges, and reds;
• red lead and minium;
• green earth;
• zinc white;
• chrome yellow and other chromate pigments;
• lead antimonate yellow; and
• cochineal and kermes carmine

Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Volume 2

Ashok Roy, editor | Published 1993 | 232 pages

This volume describes the history, characteristics, and scientific analysis of nine pigments originally discussed in articles published in Studies in Conservation between 1966 and 1974, providing updated information reflecting new developments in conservation and technical research.

• azurite and blue verditer;
• natural and artificial ultramarine blue;
• lead white;
• lead–tin yellow;
• smalt;
• verdigris and copper resinate;
• vermilion and cinnabar;
• malachite and green verditer; and
• calcium carbonate whites 

Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History and Characteristics, Volume 3

Elisabeth West FitzHugh, editor | Published 1997 | 368 pages

This volume, the third in a series describing the history, characteristics, and scientific analysis of artists’ pigments, covers 10 pigments

• Egyptian blue;
• gamboge;
• titanium dioxide whites;
• orpiment and realgar;
• indigo and woad;
• madder and alizarin;
• Vandyke brown;
• Prussian blue;
• emerald green and Scheele’s green; and
• chromium oxide greens.

Or I should say 'About Modern Paints' as at 2006 when there was

• the "Modern Paints Uncovered" Symposium 
• Organized by the Getty Conservation Institute, Tate, and the National Gallery of Art 
• held at the Tate Modern, London May 16-19, 2006

Modern Paints Uncovered

The Forbes Pigment Collection contains an assortment of over 3,000 synthetic and organic pigments that helps conservators, curators, and students study and safeguard artworks.

Pigment is a very small particle of coloured material that is mixed in with a binding medium. The pigment gives paint its colour.Narayan Khandekar Director of the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies and Senior Conservation Scientist

This post is about:

• an overview of the history behind the collection
• a video of what it looks like and what it does
• images of pigments in the collection
• reading material (at the end) for the colour nerds who love this sort of thing (like me!) 

Tubes of pigment

The collection of pigments was created by the late Edward Waldo Forbes, former Director of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University (1909-1945).

He regarded the Museum as a laboratory for art history. He founded the Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, which was later renamed the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies at Harvard University.

• the latter now houses the core collection of pigments from the Forbes Collection
• Forbes' own private collection of pigments is located at the Institute for Fine Arts Conservation 

Get closer than ever to our legendary pigment collection! Edward Forbes, director of the Fogg Art Museum from 1909 to 1944, spent much of his life traveling the world collecting pigments. The Forbes Pigment Collection now contains over 2,500 different specimens, a selection of which are now on display on our 4th floor, right outside of the Art Study Center. #ScienceMeetsArt #Pigments #ForbesPigmentCollection #HistoryofArt #ArtConservation

A post shared by Harvard Art Museums (@harvardartmuseums) on Aug 1, 2017 at 1:52pm PDT

This is a video about the collection and how they are protected



Interestingly the Museum of Fine Art in Boston has a page which unpicks the pigments down to their chemical composition.

To see what each pigment is made of:

Today I became aware that there is  petition on 38 Degrees - "Stop the EU ban of cadmium in artist's paints." However to date it doesn't have a lot of signatures!

The 38 Degrees website and the petition about Cadmium in Artists Paints

Back in June, I posted Will Cadmium be banned in artists' paints in Europe? about the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) proposal for legislation to ban artists paints containing cadmium pigments throughout the EU.

Today I received an email from Dr Howard Oakley, who updated me on what has happened since. Dr Oakley put some considerable effort into protesting the proposed ban - and submitted a 22 page response!

He told me that the ECHA has changed its mind in the light of the evidence submitted as a result of the consultation on the proposed ban on cadmium in artists paints.

the proposed restriction is not the most appropriate EU wide measure to address the identified risks in terms of the proportionality of its socio-economic benefits to its socio-economic costs."

It's very interesting from a number of perspectives and, as well as the ECHA response, it also touches on:

• Health & Safety: artists' awareness of the toxicity of cadmium and associated studio practice
• Labelling practices: artists' awareness of whether or not they were assuming paint contained cadmium if it used the word Cadmium on the label - when it did not
• Art Education: the role of art schools in promoting best practice in use of paint containing toxic pigments
• Representation of Artists: the role of art societies in representing artists who use specific types of paint

Proposed Cadmium Ban: The response from the  European Chemicals Agency

This is the summary of the new position

RAC adopted its opinion, and SEAC agreed on a draft opinion, on cadmium and its compounds in artists’ paints, not supporting the proposal from Sweden to restrict the placing on the market and use of cadmium and its compounds in artists' paints covered by TARIC codes 3213 and 3212. The reason for the proposed action by Sweden was a concern for for human health via the environment . During use and cleaning procedures cadmium based artists’ paints are released to the waste water. When the resulting sewage sludge is applied as fertiliser in the agriculture, the cadmium compounds used in artists’ paints will eventually end up in foodstuffs.
RAC found the risks to be negligible. The 60-day public consultation on the SEAC draft opinion will be launched in December 2014. SEAC plans to adopt its final opinion by March 2015.   Annex to RAC and SEAC news alert December 2014 (121.4k)

REPORT:  This is the report of the ECHA's Committee for Risk Assessment (adopted 26 november 2014)

OPINION: This is the

•  Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) Opinion on an Annex XV dossier proposing restrictions on Cadmium and its compounds in Artist’s Paints (483.5k) (Draft 26 November 2014).
• Committee for Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) Opinion on an Annex XV dossier proposing restrictions on Cadmium and its compounds in Artist’s Paints Draft (167.5k)

Cadmium selenide - used for red artist's paint

Significant doubts were cast on the estimates of the impact of cadmium in artists' paints.

The Committee also noted the impact assessments of artists.

I have to say that I really did think that the strength of opinion and the extent to which people were prepared to submit comments indicated to me that there was a good chance that the proposed ban would not be agreed.

Alternatives to Cd-containing artists’ paints are available. However, during public consultation it has been brought up by industry and by a large number of comments (341out of 666) by artists using the paints that alternatives to artists’ paints containing Cd donot provide the same technical specifications as Cd pigments e.g. regarding lightfastness, opacity and tinting strength (at least more paint has to be put on the canvas to achieve similar results). These parameters are mainly associated with aesthetic aspects of the paintings and therefore cannot be monetized easily. In addition to the familiar concept of technical feasibility of alternatives, the aesthetic aspects of the paints needs to be fully taken into account due to their role in painting/production of art. There is a strong assertion from public consultation that the alternatives are not of equal value.

The European Chemicals Agency is currently consulting on proposed restrictions - a virtual ban - on the use of  Cadmium in artists' paints in Europe. Unless a case is made against the proposal Cadmium might be banned in artists paints and other art materials within a couple of years.

Consultation on the proposed ban on Cadmium in artists' paints in Europe

How the proposed ban came about

Sweden prepared a restriction report on the use of Cadmium in artists paints

The proposed restriction concerns placing on the market and use of cadmium and its
compounds in artists’ paints; TARIC code [3213] and pigments TARIC code [3212]
that could be used for the manufacture of artists’ paints.

This is the 203 page Swedish report (in English) Proposal for a Restriction - Cadmium and its Compounds I Artists Paints

During use and cleaning procedures cadmium based artists’ paint is released to the waste water. At the waste water treatment plant (WWTP) the cadmium pigments will for a predominating part end up in the sewage sludge. Sludge is then applied as
fertiliser in the agriculture. The cadmium compounds used in artists’ paints
will eventually dissolve in the soil (Gustafsson 2013, Appendix 3) and hence there is a potential crop uptake and in the extension exposure to humans via food.

Colours, imitating cadmium, already exist. Cadmium based pigments are mainly substituted by organic pigments. The properties of the organic pigments are in many
ways similar to cadmium colours but cannot be considered identical and thus have to be evaluated on a case - by - case basis by the individual artist.

The alternatives are generally less costly per volume unit but require larger volumes than cadmium based paints. In this report it is assumed that these aspects cancel each other out The proposed restriction will effectively reduce the identified risk.

Consultation on the proposal

You can comment on the proposal before 19 September 2014 - however I suggest you read the commentary by Spectrum Artist Paints first

Click this link to find out how you can give comments

Public consultation on restriction proposal

Anyone can comment on a proposal to restrict a substance. Those most likely to be interested are companies, organisations representing industry or civil society, individual citizens, as well as public authorities.

Comments are welcomed from the EU or beyond.

The public consultation lasts for six months.

Provide your comments

 

Provide your comments within the first three months of the consultation period to ensure that your comments are taken into account when the rapporteurs of ECHA's Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) and the Committee for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) meet three months after the publication of the proposal.

Write your comments in English, if possible.

Response to date from the art community

Spectrum Artists Paints is leading a campaign for cadmium in artists' paints. Read their blog posts

• Cadmium in Crisis - a very detailed commentary on the Sweish Proposal
• Cadmium in crisis - an update

Naturally the manufacturers and distributors of artists' paint are most concerned. Here's some articles about the problem

• Jackson's Art Blog - Cadmium in crisis! This publicised the problem associated with the Swedish proposal
• Latterly, The UK magazine Artists & Illustrators has got involved with publicising The campaign for cadmium
• Golden Artist Colours -  Will Cadmium Always Be On The Palette? This highlights the risks associated with Cadmium and the potential alternative pigments

Artists have also commented. In Complicated Cadmium Botanical Artist Jarnie Godwin comments on the availability of alternative pigments and paints by different manufacturers.

UPDATE - more comments and responses (as at 6th July 2014)

More blog posts of Jackson's Art Blog

• Cadmium Artists Comments by Howard Oakley - publication of a 22-page document to the European Chemicals Agency, his comments to the proposal to ban cadmium pigments in artists’ paints
• Keep Our Cadmiums! By Simon Fletcher - author of ‘The Painter’s Studio Handbook‘
• We are making a difference on the Cadmium Ban - includes comments from Gamblin

Thanks to Gisele Pellegrini for reminding me about this topic and its currency.

One of the really interesting parts of the Making Colour Exhibition at the National Gallery is a wall of clear boxes which contain the raw resources for the Lake colours used in painting.

If you've ever wondered what the raw materials look like this is very definitely an exhibition worth visiting!

Which brings me to Cochineal. This is an insect that produces a brilliant crimson red dye and was introduced into Europe in 1520. However it has been used in Mexico and South America as a deep red dye since the 2nd century BC. By 1550 tons of the dye was being brought over to Seville (the only port allowed to import it) to make the valued red dye. The insects were flattened and transported as dried insect 'cakes'. This trade continued until the late 18th century.

A very popular use of the dye was for textiles and tapestries in particular.

Cochineal was also often used as a glazing pigment in oil - e.g. in Carmine - because of its transparency until the late 19th century when the cochineal production industry went into steep decline. Many different shades could be produced from the cochineal lake dye depending on the additives added to the dye bath. Its use died out as artists realised it was fugitive as indeed were many of the dyes used to colour pink and crimson colours prior to the development of the stable pigment Quinacridone.

Today cochineal is widely used as a food colourant despite the fact that it provokes allergic reactions in a lot of people.

...and this is what Cochineal looks like.

Cochineal - insects, dried cochineal lake and dyed textile National Gallery - Making Colour Exhibition

• On the left are the little dead bodies of the cochineal bettle - a very small scale insect which feeds on cacti and is mainly found in Central America and Mexico. The insects are killed using boiling water and then dried in the sun.
• in the middle is the powdered version of the pigment
• on the right is what looks like a piece of silk which has been died using the cochineal dye. 

I highly recommend the new "Making Colour" exhibition at the National Gallery and will be giving it a full review very shortly - once I've finished work for the layouts for my book.

Making Colour - The Yellow and Orange Room Find out more about the paintings in the Yellow and Orange Room in the exhibition on the exhibition website

Those interested in the history of the development of colours and how colour changes over time will find it absolutely fascinating. So if you're not "all about the art" and have some room for the science as well I recommend you pay a visit if you can.

One picture in particular grabbed my attention - because I learned something completely new to me - and this is it.

Flowers in a Vase (c.1685) by Rachel Ruysch Oil on canvas, 57 x 43.5 cm National Gallery

Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750) was Dutch still life painter who specialised in the painting of flowers. So naturally, I was gravitating towards this painting before I realised why it was in the exhibition!

The painting is in the exhibition to highlight the source and components of a natural orange pigment called Realgar.

One of the themes of the exhibition is the identification of colours - such as purple and orange - which were typically created using mixes of other pigments because there was either no naturally occurring mineral of that colour or it was difficult to obtain.

In the case of Realgar, it is one of the few sources of a natural orange pigment. However it contains arsenic, which means that those very nice orange day lilies were actually painted with a poison and are highly toxic!

Realgar is a highly toxic arsenic sulfide and was the only pure orange pigment until modern chrome orange.
Pigments through the ages

Realgar is made of arsenic and sulphur and is also known as "ruby of arsenic".  Its more common use is in rat poison.

The fact that this rather nice orange pigment was toxic meant is wasn't used very much - although it can be seen in Venetian paintings and some Dutch flower paintings.  Its use in painting died out in the 18th century.

This poll explores which is our favourite manufacturer of paints for artists? Who are our favourite colourmen?

Some of the firms which make art materials have been around for a very long time. Others are more recent.

Schminke Horadam Gouache Paint Tubes

I'm not making any distinction as to:

• different brands of paint - I'm focusing entirely on the manufacturer's name
• whether they make just one or all the different types of paint (eg oil, watercolour, acrylic, gouache, casein, egg tempera) 

I'm also not including the smallest manufacturers and paint which is less easily available.

Who is your favourite artists' paint manufacturer?

You can vote for your favourite paint manufacturer in the poll in the side column.  The closing date is 31 October and I'll report back on the results on this blog soon after that.

The options are:

• Blockx
• Chroma
• Daler Rowney
• Daniel Smith
• Da Vinci
• Gamblin
• Golden
• Grumbacher
• Holbein
• Kremer
• Lefranc & Bourgeois
• Liquitex
• Maimeri
• M. Graham
• Michael Harding 
• Old Holland
• Pebeo
• Royal Talens
• Schminke
• Sennelier
• ShinHan
• Vasari
• Winsor & Newton

I'll be repeating this exercise for other art materials (dry media; paper; canvases; brushes etc)

More about Artists Colourmen

Below are some links to databases and historical records of artists' colourmen over the years.

• National Portrait Gallery - British artists' suppliers, 1650-1950. This is a biographical directory of British and foreign firms of artists’ suppliers and colourmen operating in Britain and British firms operating overseas.
• National Gallery of Victoria - Artists Colourmen - this is a database of  the stamps, stencils, labels and marks representing Artists’ Colourmen stamps which have been found on artworks in the NGV Collection.

Here's a link to:

• my website Which is the best brand of watercolour paint for artists?
• my previous polls:
• Which are the best artist quality oil colours? (Results)
• W&N: the best brand of watercolour paint for artists

Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Colour have been voted the best artist-quality watercolour paints in two separate polls.

However there is a back story!

The Two Polls

My original November Making A Mark Poll (POLL: Which are the best artist-quality watercolour paints?) in the side column ran into problems very quickly.  It started to lose votes and was horrible to watch so I moved it to the bottom of the column

I then set up a second Poll. This was the blog post POLL #2: Best professional watercolour paints.  This meant moving very fast to set up the website to host the second poll which I thought I had all month to set up!  This is it Which is the best brand of watercolour paint for artists? - and these are the links to the two polls

• POLL: Which are the best artist-quality watercolour paints?
• POLL: How many different brands of watercolour paint have you tried?

The Bad News: My Blogger Poll (see POLL: Which are the best artist-quality watercolour paints?) refuses to behave and has lost all its votes!  Apparently it's a Blogger problem and there's no solution on the horizon.

The Good News: I've resurrected the poll on a separate "resources for artists" site which I'd intended to construct during the course of this month.

Instead I've had to do the speedy version and two days and a lot of work later it's very nearly complete.

The aim of the website is to provide a comprehensive compendium about all current professional grade watercolour paints for artists.  Click the link below to take a look.






More Good News: The second version of the Poll has a more complete range of professional grade watercolours for artists - I'd forgotten one or two which I did know about (and David this time Grumbacher is included!) and have found one or two more which I didn't know anything at all about!

In addition, the website provides a module for each brand of watercolour paint (not quite complete as yet - it's taken a lot longer than I expected to find all the links!).  This provides:

• Links to all the manufacturers sites, and colour charts and health and safety data where available
• A summary of the colours available - using the same format for all the different brands which makes it easier to see how the ranges vary
• Highlights reviews of the different paints

• POLL: Which are the best artist-quality watercolour paints?
• POLL: How many different brands of watercolour paint have you tried?

One of my most frequent questions when interviewing artists is to ask them what brand of paint they like to use.  That's because I know that other artists would also ask this question if they ever got the chance!

Guess who this paintbox belongs to?

Which are the best watercolour paints for artists?

So the Making A Mark Poll for this month asks you about:

• which are the best watercolour paints in your view.  I'm also having a supplementary poll asking people how many brands they've tried.
• for comments on why you like your favourite watercolour paints

[POLL IS CURRENTLY SUSPENDED AS BLOGGER POLL MODULE NOT WORKING - DROPPING VOTES - I'm working on a fix which should be published later today]

The brands are listed below - in alphabetical order.

Many of you may be unfamiliar with some of them and for that reason I've included the link to the manufacturer's brand site in the name of the paint.

• Art Spectrum Artists Watercolours
• Daler Rowney Artists Watercolours
• Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints
• Da Vinci
• Holbein Artists Watercolor
• Holbein Irodori Antique Watercolor
• Kremer Pigmente Watercolors
• Lukas Aquarell
• Maimeri Blu
• Maimeri Venezia
• M. Graham Watercolor Paints
• Old Holland Classic Watercolours
• Robert Doak’s Concentrated Watercolors
• Royal Talens - Rembrandt
• Royal Talens - Van Gogh
• Schminke Horadam Aquarell
• Sennelier Aquarelle Extra Fine
• St. Petersburg
• Utrecht
• Winsor and Newton Artists Watercolours

Your views

Do please share your views about what you think are the best artists' watercolour paints and why they are your favourites

Do you have just one absolute favourite colour?

More about watercolour painting:

• The Best Books about Watercolour Painting
• Making A Mark - Which are the best art books about watercolour painting? (23 March 2010)

UPDATE

I've got two favourite places for the display of pigments.  One of them is L. Cornelissen & Son's in Great Russell Street in London. They have been around for a very long time and describe themselves by the traditional term of Artists' Colourmen

Below are images of the pigments on display in their shop at 105 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3RY which I visited today. Aren't they wonderful?

Underneath each image is a description of what you can see in summary linked to the Cornelissen website where you can see more details of what's in the jars

L. Cornelissen & Son - Artist Quality Pigments Yellow Pigments Red pigments

L. Cornelissen & Son - Artist Quality Pigments Red pigments Violet pigments

L. Cornelissen & Son - Artist Quality Pigments Blue pigments Black pigments

L. Cornelissen & Son - Artist Quality Pigments Green pigments White pigments

L. Cornelissen & Son - Artist Quality Pigments Earth pigments

I've also included other basic art materials stocked by Cornelissen and used in painting

L. Cornelissen & Son Waxes, Adhesives and Sizes

L. Cornelissen & Son Adhesives and Sizes Chalks Fillers and Abrasives (Marble Dust & Pumice powder)

Cornelissen also stock Early Colour Pigments.

This is more about Cornelissens and how to visit and order from them.

Artists' Colourmen

Records suggest that colourmen have been in evidence in London since at least 1725.
Winsor & Newton

Below are some links to websites which describe and record Artists' Colourmen.  The most important is the database maintained by the National Portrait Gallery in London which maintains a biographical directory of British and foreign firms of artists’ suppliers and colourmen operating in Britain and British firms operating overseas.

• National Portrait Gallery - British Artists Suppliers 1650-1950 Colourmen are listed - in some considerable detail - in an A-Z database.  The 'C' page includes a very detailed listing for L. Cornelissen & Son.  The database is maintained by Jacob Simon who is the former Chief Curator and current Voluntary Research Fellow at the National Portrait Gallery.
• Winsor & Newton - Early Colourmen
• National Gallery of Victoria, Artists' Colourmen Database

Links:

• Colour - Resources for Artists - What is colour? Do you know or do you want to learn more about colour and its use as an artist? This site provides links to information and advice about colour and how to understand and analyse it - and then use it as an artist.

Unison Colour website

I'm a massive fan of Unison Colour - Soft Pastels - as are many other Pastel Artists.  They rate as the most popular soft pastel every time I run a poll.

Below is a video of Kate Hersey delivering the keynote speech at last year's Ninth Convention of International Association of Pastel Societies in Albuquerque in June 2011.  She's talking about her late husband John Hersey and the history behind the development of Unison Pastels.  Plus an account of how they are made today.

It's an amazingly vivid account with some stunning images of the process of making the pastels and the staff involved.  If you use Unison Pastels, as I do, this is a video which I guarantee you will very much enjoy watching.



Thanks to Astrid Volquardsen (Astrid Volquardsen pastellbilder) for kindly sending me the link.

Unison Workshops in 2012

Unison have also started to hold workshops in Northumberland - these are the ones for 2012 - which start tomorrow!

• May 5th  Jenny Purrett "Lines in the Landscape" 
• June 23rd Ann Oram "Still Life and the Garden" 
• July21st/22nd Angela A'Court "Flowers with pastel" 
• August 25th Peter Podmore "The Northumbrian Landscape" 
• September 29th Clare Money "Bastles with pastels"

I have a conundrum for you - which will appeal especially to those who know about pigments and art materials.

Can anybody tell me and photographer Peter Hunt what is the object (case and phials) in the three images you can see below?  It appears to be some form of pigment - contained in numbered glass phials with a cork stopper, in a leather container which folds up into a neat box.

Some queries:

1. What is it?
2. What's it used for?
3. Why is (the pigment?) contained in this way?

The phials unpacked in their container (images courtesy Peter Hunt)