My Color Tell-all
I have been teaching oil painting classes and workshops for many years. One of the basic tenets that I teach is the importance of values, even over color, in design and composition. I also preach the benefits of a limited color palette. Too many choices can be overwhelming. “Keep it simple,” I say. Just the primaries, ma’am.
However, it’s finally time for me to unburden myself and share my secret. I am having a love affair…
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Wunderlust Artist Palettes
As Art Education Director Jeff Olson would ask, "What's on your palette?" We've asked our exhibiting Wundurlust artists to share what colors were integral in creating their pieces for the show.
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Colbalt - From 'Fake Silver' to Colorful Pigment
In the art of painting, cobalt is mainly known as a colour blue. However, the pigment that was traditionally extracted from a mineral comes in many shades, varying from yellow to red and from blue to green. It was traditionally used to color glass and ceramics.
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Ultramarine - The Blue Gold
Ultramarine is a color that has appealed to people’s imagination since the early Middle Ages. These days it is impossible to imagine the standard palette without this intense blue.
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Indian Yellow
For a long time it was thought that Indian yellow was derived from the urine of Indian cows. But the mystery surrounding the origins of this wonderful golden yellow pigment is still unresolved.
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Gamboge
The beautiful golden yellow was used in the Middle Ages in ornamental letters and illustrations. The transparent colour came from the poisonous sap of the Garcinia tree.
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Pigments vs. Dyes
What are fundamental differences between dyes and pigments? Properties of paint such as color, tinting strength, opacity/transparency and lightfastness are determined, among other things, by the type of pigment used.
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Ochre - An Ancient Pigment
Since ancient times ochre has been used all over the world for various purposes. Diverse shades of the colour can be seen in, for example, prehistoric cave paintings as old as 350,000 years.
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