Preamble
This is the forty-second post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III
Green Pigments - Part I
Green Pigments - Part II
Red Pigments - Part I [1]
The wide range of effects which may easily be obtained with permanent reds and mixtures of them make it simple to match reds or reddish colors. For nearly all purposes, vermilion is perfectly replaced by the light cadmium reds; if these are too cold or chalky in comparison with it, a touch of toning color may be necessarily added.
Vermilion versus light Cadmium Reds.
Alizarin will substitute for all transparent lakes.
Alizarin.
Note: Alizarin crimson is a shade of red that is biased slightly more towards purple than towards orange on the color wheel and has a blue undertone. It is named after the organic dye alizarin, found in the madder plant, and the related synthetic lake pigment alizarin crimson (PR83 in the Color Index).
The brilliant geranium reds, magentas, and rose pinks of the past were synthetic organic pigments of poor fade-resistance and were employed for illustration and other work done for reproduction rather than for creative easel paintings. Today such hues are available in pigments with permanence.
Geranium Reds.
Magenta is a purplish-red color. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMYK (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red.
Rose Pink.
The Earth Reds (Venetian Red etc.) should be replaced whenever possible by their artificial counterparts; i.e., the Mars colors and the bright red oxides.
Venetian Red.
Red Oxide.
Except in fresco painting, however, this is not a seriously important precaution; and it is fortunate, since nomenclature for these colors was such as to bewilder persons not thoroughly familiar with their properties.
In the color trade the impure native oxide of bluish tone is mainly known as Spanish Red, and the scarlet shade as Venetian Red (see above).
Spanish Red.
The pure varieties are called Indian Red (bluish shade) and light red or bright red oxide.
Indian Red.
However, special trade names or numbers for various grades are widely used in the paint industry, thereby eliminating much confusion.
The principle distinction can be made in that one brand is brighter and more scarlet in mass tone, and when reduced with white produces salmon pinks.
Salmon Pink.
Mars Violets and highly burned Indian Reds, produce Lavenders, when reduced with white.
Lavender.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
This is the forty-second post in a new Art Resource series that specifically focuses on techniques used in creating artworks. For your convenience I have listed all the posts in this new series below:
Drawing Art
Painting Art - Part I
Painting Art - Part II
Painting Art - Part III
Painting Art - Part IV
Painting Art - Part V
Painting Art - Part VI
Home-Made Painting Art Materials
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part I
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part II
Quality in Ready-Made Artists' Supplies - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part I
Historical Notes on Art - Part II
Historical Notes on Art - Part III
Historical Notes on Art - Part IV
Historical Notes on Art - Part V
Tempera Painting
Oil Painting - Part I
Oil Painting - Part II
Oil Painting - Part III
Oil Painting - Part IV
Oil Painting - Part V
Oil Painting - Part VI
Pigments
Classification of Pigments - Part I
Classification of Pigments - Part II
Classification of Pigments - Part III
Pigments for Oil Painting
Pigments for Water Color
Pigments for Tempera Painting
Pigments for Pastel
Japanese Pigments
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part I
Pigments for Fresco Painting - Part II
Selected Fresco Palette for Permanent Frescoes
Properties of Pigments in Common Use
Blue Pigments - Part I
Blue Pigments - Part II
Blue Pigments - Part III
Green Pigments - Part I
Green Pigments - Part II
Red Pigments - Part I [1]
The wide range of effects which may easily be obtained with permanent reds and mixtures of them make it simple to match reds or reddish colors. For nearly all purposes, vermilion is perfectly replaced by the light cadmium reds; if these are too cold or chalky in comparison with it, a touch of toning color may be necessarily added.
Alizarin will substitute for all transparent lakes.
Note: Alizarin crimson is a shade of red that is biased slightly more towards purple than towards orange on the color wheel and has a blue undertone. It is named after the organic dye alizarin, found in the madder plant, and the related synthetic lake pigment alizarin crimson (PR83 in the Color Index).
The brilliant geranium reds, magentas, and rose pinks of the past were synthetic organic pigments of poor fade-resistance and were employed for illustration and other work done for reproduction rather than for creative easel paintings. Today such hues are available in pigments with permanence.
The Earth Reds (Venetian Red etc.) should be replaced whenever possible by their artificial counterparts; i.e., the Mars colors and the bright red oxides.
Except in fresco painting, however, this is not a seriously important precaution; and it is fortunate, since nomenclature for these colors was such as to bewilder persons not thoroughly familiar with their properties.
In the color trade the impure native oxide of bluish tone is mainly known as Spanish Red, and the scarlet shade as Venetian Red (see above).
The pure varieties are called Indian Red (bluish shade) and light red or bright red oxide.
However, special trade names or numbers for various grades are widely used in the paint industry, thereby eliminating much confusion.
The principle distinction can be made in that one brand is brighter and more scarlet in mass tone, and when reduced with white produces salmon pinks.
Mars Violets and highly burned Indian Reds, produce Lavenders, when reduced with white.
Lavender.
Reference:
[1] The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, R. Mayer (ed. E. Smith) 4th Edition, Faber and Faber, London (1981).
