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Damar is a pale, almost colourless tree resin, which is soluble in turpentine, but not in alcohol or mineral spirits. It can be used as a varnish or as a glossy painting medium in conjunction with vegetable oils, and is generally preferable to other resin-based varnishes, such as mastic varnish, as it retains its colourless appearance for a longer period of time. In encaustic painting, the inclusion of damar resin imparts toughness and gloss to the paint surface. Learn More

Gum Sandarac, derived from a coniferous tree, is available in powdered or lump form. It can be dissolved in alcohol to create a varnish that is suitable as an isolating layer in oil painting and as a traditional top coat for egg tempera. It forms a brittle layer, so is only suitable for use on a rigid support. Another application is as a surface preparation for calligraphy; the ground gum can be dusted across a piece of prepared vellum or paper to create a resist, which shrinks ink strokes slightly, making them appear finer, with crisp edges. Learn More

This soft yellow ochre is sourced from near the ancient woodland of Epping Forest in North London. Given legal status by Henry ll as a Royal hunting ground for the Monarchy this forest has a rich cultural and geological history. This pigment is a fine particle size and is semi-opaque.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extrmely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further infomation on what is currently availible. 

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Paraffin Wax is a by-product of the petro-chemical industry. It has a low melting point of 50-60°c and a brittle texture, making it unsuitable for encaustic painting or as an additive to oil paints, but it can be used to impart softness to lithographic crayons. As a petroleum product, it is more inert than animal or vegetable waxes, and is therefore not saponified (turned into soap) by alkali substances. Learn More

Carnauba Wax is the hardest wax commonly used in the production of artists' materials, with a melting point of 83-86°c. It is derived from a tree native to South America, and is available in a natural colour (grey), or a refined colour (pale yellow). Small amounts of carnauba wax are commonly used in both oil painting mediums and encaustic painting, usually in conjunction with beeswax to add toughness, durability and sheen to the paint film. It creates an inflexible surface, so works best on rigid supports such as gesso panels, and it should be noted that it will raise the melting point of encaustic mixtures. It can produce a glossy finish; as such it is used in waxes and polishes for shoes, cars, musical instruments, furniture, and wooden floors, especially when mixed with beeswax and turpentine. Learn More

Gypsum is powdered Calcium Sulphate, a traditional ingredient in gesso grounds used in southern Europe. One of the advantages of preparing your painting surface with gypsum is that it allows for a particularly even absorption of the paint film. It can also be added to acrylic primers to increase absorbency or add tooth to a surface. Learn More

Beeswax is derived from melted honeycomb, and is available in two grades. Bleached Beeswax Pellets are white, having been bleached by the sun, and are an appropriate choice for using with pale colours, although they may revert to yellow over time. Natural Beeswax Pellets are yellow in colour, and offer a more flexible structure with a higher resin content. Beeswax has a melting point of 63-66°c, and may turn brown if over-heated. It is the most widely used wax in artists' materials, having a wide range of applications. Please see below for more details.

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A similar yellow to Epping Forest yellow ochre, this colour is another soft semi-opaque yellow. Hampstead Heath is an ancient woodland and grassland in North London.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extrmely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further infomation on what is currently availible. 

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Impressionists' Palettes of Light by Patricia Railing. This little book reproduces palettes by several of the plein-air Impressionist painters, describing the pigments used, and includes short excerpts by the scientists whose work was the foundation of the new painting – on complementary colours, optical mixing, and the pigment-colour correspondence. It closes with colour swatches of the pigments, provided by the London artists’ colourmen, L. Cornelissen & Son. Learn More

Made to a historical recipe, this Verdigris, unlike others available, has been doubly distilled and therefore more stable than basic Verdigris. This rich green is a translucent pigment with a fine grain.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extrmely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further infomation on what is currently availible. 

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Gum Mastic is a tree resin, which dissolves into a clear varnish with alcohol or turpentine, but not with mineral spirits. Mastic varnishes are more prone to blooming and darkening with age than damar-based varnishes, and painting mediums that contain gum mastic can deteriorate in unpredictable ways. For this reason, it is primarily used in restoration, rather than in the production of artwork. Learn More

Verdigris is an artificial pigment that dates from antiquity. Originally, it was produced by exposing copper to vinegar; nowadays acetic acid is used. It is acidic, so can contribute to the deterioration of paper supports. For this reason, it is more suited to oil or tempera painting than it is to watercolour. In tempera painting, it should be bound in animal glue or isinglass glue rather than egg york. When used in oil painting it should be held in a resin oil or balsam such as Venice Turpentine, as it can turn brown when ground directly into linseed oil. It is a fast-drying, transparent pigment, with a visible crystalline structure. 

Larger quantities are available by request.

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Casein is a protein derived from dried milk, which has been used in painting since ancient times. It can be combined with Ammonium Carbonate to form an emulsion, which acts as a durable, non-resoluble binder for pigments, producing a matte, fast-drying paint, similar in appearance to egg tempera. We use casein as a binder for our L. Cornelissen & Son Pigment Colour Charts, as it is a medium that clearly showcases the characteristics and behaviour of each pigment in its pure form. Casein paints can be applied in thin layers to watercolour paper, but would require a more rigid support, such as a gesso panel, to be applied thickly, as the comparative inflexibility of the paint layer means that it can be prone to cracking. Subsequent layers of paint should be more diluted to aid adhesion, and impasto effects are not recommended. It is possible to varnish casein paintings using an acrylic or damar varnish to obtain a glossy surface if desired, although this is not a necessary step. Casein can also be used as an ingredient in gesso, and is a suitable binder for fresco secco techniques.

Some pigments may require a wetting agent in order to fully disperse within the binder, in which case alcohol may be used.

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Carnauba Wax is the hardest wax commonly used in the production of artists' materials, with a melting point of 83-86°c. It is derived from a tree native to South America, and is available in a natural colour (grey), or a refined colour (pale yellow). Small amounts of carnauba wax are commonly used in both oil painting mediums and encaustic painting, usually in conjunction with beeswax to add toughness, durability and sheen to the paint film. It creates an inflexible surface, so works best on rigid supports such as gesso panels, and it should be noted that it will raise the melting point of encaustic mixtures. It can produce a glossy finish; as such it is used in waxes and polishes for shoes, cars, musical instruments, furniture, and wooden floors, especially when mixed with beeswax and turpentine. Learn More

Whiting is powdered Calcium Carbonate, which can be mixed with rabbit skin glue to create a chalk-based ground for oil, tempera, distemper or encaustic painting. Traditionally, whiting was an important ingredient when preparing painting surfaces in the north of Europe, as opposed to gypsum (Calcium Sulphate), which was widely used south of the Alps. Learn More

Beeswax is derived from melted honeycomb, and is available in two grades. Bleached Beeswax Pellets are white, having been bleached by the sun, and are an appropriate choice for using with pale colours, although they may revert to yellow over time. Natural Beeswax Pellets are yellow in colour, and offer a more flexible structure with a higher resin content. Beeswax has a melting point of 63-66°c, and may turn brown if over-heated. It is the most widely used wax in artists' materials, having a wide range of applications. Please see below for more details.

 

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PR106

Cinnabar, composed of mercuric sulphide, is a mineral pigment found in crusts or veins in sites of volcanic activity. It has good tinting strength and opacity but, like many red pigments, it dries very slowly in oil media. Due to its high toxicity, it is no longer an ingredient in commercial paints, but is a prominent colour in historical palettes.

Generally, Cinnabar refers to the natural mineral, while Vermilion refers to the synthetic pigment. Cinnabar has been mined since at least the tenth millennium BC, and used as a painting material, gemstone, and ritual object by many cultures around the globe. 

Larger sizes available on request.

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Alumina Hydrate is an inert pigment with highly absorbent properties, which can be ground into oil paint as an almost colourless extender. It is often used as an additive in commercial oil paints, particularly in conjunction with transparent or lake pigments, as it provides stability and a homogenous consistency without effecting colour or gloss, although it may effect the pigment strength. When combined with linseed oil, it produces an almost transparent painting medium for extending oil colours. Sometimes referred to as Lake Base. Learn More

NR9

The madder plant was once widely cultivated for the red dye extracted from its roots. Its earliest known use is in ancient Egypt, and there is evidence of its widespread adoption in Europe from the medieval period. Madder Lake, the pigment that is derived from the root, has now largely been replaced by synthetic alizarin pigments, but it is still used as an ingredient in some commercial paints. It provides a very transparent pigment, with a weak tinting strength, which can be used in all lime-free media, although it is very slow-drying in oil. It is fugitive to sunlight, so paintings containing Madder should be stored appropriately, but it remains one of the most lightfast plant-based pigments. 

Larger quantities are available by request.

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PB29

Lapis Lazuli is a natural mineral pigment, mined in Afghanistan and South America. Different shades of Lapis Lazuli are determined by the intensity of colour of the lazurite vein; we offer the pigment in light and dark. For many centuries it was the most reliable blue pigment available, and became particularly significant during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, when its inclusion in a work of art denoted the wealth and status of the patron, or the holiness of a painting's subject. In commercial paint production it has largely been replaced by the more affordable Ultramarine Blue, although it still has a place on modern palettes due to its unique soft violet tone. It is a transparant pigment, with a low tinting strength.

Larger quantities are available by request.

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Parchment Clippings, usually waste goatskin vellum, were utilised throughout the Middle Ages to make an animal hide glue. This continued to be commonly used as a sizing for canvas before rabbit skin glue came to prominence in the nineteenth century. Parchment glue is comparable to isinglass glue, as it also produces a very pale, almost transparent glue with a degree of flexibility. Our parchment clippings are a mixture of vellum scraps, and may include goatskin, calfskin and sheepskin. Cennino Cennini gives a recipe for gesso using parchment in his treatise about painting; please see below for our recipe. Learn More

Zinc White, or Zinc Oxide, is an artificial mineral pigment that was first produced in France in the late 18th century. Its use in commercial watercolours as Chinese White pre-dates its inclusion in oil painting. It is a semi-opaque, lightfast pigment, which dries very slowly in oil. Of all white pigments, it produces the most brittle paint film, so is not recommended in large quantities for impasto techniques. However, it is a good addition to a palette which requires a less overwhelming white than Titanium White.

Toxicity: B

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A pure form of glue from animal tissue. Used for sizing paper. Used in gliding and for weak sizes in isolating layers in tempera painting. Learn More

Realgar, like Orpiment, is sulphide of arsenic, and these two substances are often found in close proximity to each other in nature. Realgar exists in small deposits throughout the world and has been used for its colour since ancient times, although its extreme toxicity means that it has been superseded by cadmiums in modern painting. It is an opaque pigment with poor tinting strength.

Larger quantities are available by request.

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Ivory Black is a natural pigment of impure carbon, derived from charred animal bones. It is semi-transparent, very lightfast, and offers good tinting strength. It is a particularly slow-drying pigment, which forms a soft, rather brittle paint film in oil.

Compared to other blacks, such as Vine Black, Ivory Black possesses warmer, brownish undertones. It should not be used at full-strength in an underpainting, as subsequent layers are likely to crack. Otherwise, it is a very useful all-purpose black for many types of paint, excluding mortar, fresco or cement.

Toxicity: B

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Precipitate Chalk is fine and white. For use in aqueous mediums as a ground for oil and tempera paintings. Learn More

NR9 Rose Madder is an alizarin lake pigment made by precipitating dye extracted from madder root onto an inert base. It has largely been replaced by synthetic alizarin pigments, but it is still used as an ingredient in some commercially-available paints. It provides a very transparent pigment, with a weak tinting strength, which can be used in all lime-free media, although it is very slow-drying in oil. It is fugitive to sunlight, so paintings containing Madder should be stored appropriately, but it remains one of the most lightfast plant-based pigments. It requires a wetting agent to aid dispersion. Larger quantities are available by request Learn More

Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More

PBr7

Raw Umber is a natural earth pigment composed of iron oxide, manganese, and aluminium silicate. It has its roots in the Umbria region of Italy, and was historically a popular colour for underpaintings, as it dries very quickly. It is semi-opaque, very lightfast, and stable in all media but may be difficult to disperse in acrylic. It requires a large amount of liquid when mixed with oil.

Toxicity: B

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