Search results for 'paint'

Plastic Paint Tubs Learn More

A collection of equipment and ingredients useful for making watercolour by hand. This selection of quality materials has been put together for the begginer and intermediate paint maker alike. This set includes:

Equipment to mix the paint and fill watercolour pans:

Glass slab with hardwood stand

Cornelissen small muller

Small (half pan) and large (full pan) watercolour pan

Ingredients to make the watercolour binder :

Roberson Gum Arabic

Roberson Ox Gall

Equipment for painting:

Cornelissen 80a sables brushes in sizes 3 & 6

cermaic palette in flower shape

Learn More

Shell gold, so named because it was historically made and stored in a shallow shell such as a mussel shell, consists of finely powdered genuine gold mixed with a variety of gums. It is mixed with a bit of water and applied in the same way as watercolour. After drying for an hour or so, it can be burnished to a soft, beautiful lustre using an agate stone burnishing tool.
Our Shell gold is used by calligraphers, framers, restorers, iconographers and watercolour artists.
In recent years our colour range of genuine gold has been extended and genuine Lapis Lazuli and genuine Malachite have also been added. Learn More

English Willow Charcoal Learn More

Made from the same quality red sable as the rounds and used for short, thicker strokes of paint. Learn More

Finest quality selected interlocking Chinese white hog hair. Seamless copper ferrule. Green handle. Learn More

Finest quality selected interlocking Chinese white hog hair. Seamless copper ferrule. Green handle. Learn More

Similar to the sable round but with a filbert shape combining the characteristics of rounds and flats. Excellent spring and colour holding capacity. Learn More

Finest quality red sable to all types of oil techniques. This brush has good sping even in the smaller sizes and retains its point well. Learn More

Finest quality selected interlocking Chinese white hog hair. Seamless copper ferrule. Green handle. Learn More

Finest quality selected interlocking Chinese white hog hair. Seamless copper ferrule. Green handle. Learn More

Terre Verte, sometimes known as Green Earth, is a natural earth pigment derived from clay coloured by iron silicate. As with other natural pigments, impurities can prevent it from fully dispersing in an acrylic binder, although it is a popular pigment in all other mediums. It has been in use since antiquity, providing excellent lightfastness and great transparency, with a low tinting strength. It requires a high volume of oil, and dries slowly to create a soft, flexible paint film. When calcined, Terre Verte becomes Burnt Green Earth.
Toxicity B Learn More

Patricia Lovett is one of the world’s leading authorities on the techniques and practical processes of making mediæval manuscripts. She lectures and teaches all over the world on calligraphy and illumination, and has written about a dozen books on these subjects, as well as producing a DVD – Illumination – Tools, Materials, Techniques, Projects. Patricia has run calligraphy courses as well as those on traditional manuscript gilding and painting techniques, and was awarded an MBE for her services to heritage crafts and calligraphy. This book takes the beginner and those with more experience through step-by-step processes to produce simple and easy projects using cheap metals and modern adhesives, and also to create mediæval miniatures and illuminated scrolls on vellum (animal skin). Learn More

Titanium White, or Titanium Doixide, is an artificial mineral pigment introduced in the 1920s. It is valued for its opacity, good lightfastness, and stability in all media. Its high tinting strength can render it a dominant colour in mixtures. It is very slow drying in oil, and creates a somewhat brittle paint film, though more flexible than Zinc White. Its brightness makes it a popular addition to gesso.

Toxicity: B

Learn More

Viridian Green is a synthetic inorganic pigment, similar in composition to Chromium Oxide. However, unlike Chromium Oxide, Viridian contains water molecules within its crystal structure, imparting a greater degree of transparency. Sometimes referred to as Verte Eméraude, Viridian was discovered in France in 1838, patented in 1859, and made available in the UK in 1862. It is stable in all media, and offers excellent lightfastness and good tinting strength. It requires a high oil content, and dries slowly to form a hard, fairly flexible paint film.

Toxicity B

Learn More

PY43

Yellow Ochre is a natural earth pigment that has been in use since prehistoric times. It is derived from iron-rich clay deposits that are present all over the world; our Yellow Ochre comes from the hilly regions around Verona, Italy. As a pigment, it is semi-opaque, extremely lightfast, and stable in all media. It has a medium to slow drying rate in oil, creating a tough, flexible paint film. Yellow Ochre is similar in composition to Raw Sienna, but whereas Yellow Ochre contains a higher proportion of clay, Raw Sienna contains a higher proportion of silica. As a natural material, the exact colour and qualities of the resultant pigments can vary, but generally this compositional difference creates a paler, more opaque Yellow Ochre, and a darker, more transparent Raw Sienna. 

Toxicity B

Learn More

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.

Learn More

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

Use to protect metal & silver leaf, white gold, Ormoline paint & Robersons Liquid Metal range. Provides extra protection on exterior projects & high-wear areas. It dries crystal clear with a satin finish, and is non-yellowing. 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

Learn More

Chromium Oxide is a synthetic mixed-metal oxide pigment. It is stable in all media and has an average drying speed in oil, forming a hard, fairly flexible paint film. It is opaque, with a low tinting strength. It has been widely available since the mid-nineteenth century, following its introduction in 1809.
Learn More

PBr7

Burnt Umber is a natural earth pigment from Italy, composed of iron oxide, manganese, and aluminium silicate. It is a form of Raw Umber that a has undergone a process of calcination, becoming warmer, more transparent and easier to disperse. It has a good tinting strength, and is very lightfast, quick-drying, and stable in all media. In oils it forms a hard, fairly flexible paint film, though it may be difficult to use in acrylic mediums.

Toxicity: B

Learn More

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

Learn More

PR105

Lead Red is an early articficial pigment that dates back to antiquity. It is created by heating Lead White or Litharge at a constant temperature of 480ºC over a prolonged period of time. It is a fast-drying colour, with good tinting strength and opacity, and has been widely used as an underpaint for gilding and in industry. However, it is highly toxic and generally unstable, so has fallen out of use in favour of Cadmium pigments. The acid in linseed oil causes Lead Red to darken, and it can solidify when stored in a tube. In water-based mediums, it can turn black.

Toxicity: D 

Learn More

The introduction of Walnut Oil as a pigment binder is contemporaneous with the emergence of Linseed Oil. Their drying properties have been appreciated since the Middle Ages, and throughout history there is evidence of both oils being used alongside each other within the same painting. In fact, until the sixteenth century, it is believed that Walnut Oil was the preferred binding medium among Italian artists. It is made from mature walnut kernals, offering a pale colour and brilliant gloss. For this reason, it is sometimes chosen as a binder for light colours, as it provides a stronger paint film than Poppy Oil, and faster drying times. However, a paint film made from Walnut Oil will tend to be brittle, so it is more suited to a rigid support rather than canvas. 

Learn More

Gamboge is a natural tree resin, available as a powder and in the solid "pipe" form. It is highly transparent, fugitive to light, with a weak tinting strength. The powder can be dissolved in alcohol to colour resin-based varnishes. In its solid form, Pipe Gamboge does not require a binding agent to be used as a paint. Instead, colour can be lifted with a wet brush, as from a watercolour pan.

Larger quantities are available by request.

Learn More

An inert substance with coarse texture and no colouring capability. Use in grounds and to provide tooth to mixed paints. Also used as an adulterant. Can be used for thickening acrylic and oil mediums. Learn More

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

NB1

Genuine Indigo is a natural vegetable pigment derived from the Indigofera Tinctoria plant, which was first imported into Europe from India in the seventeenth century. It replaced woad, which had been grown natively in Europe for its blue dye. The leaves are soaked in water to ferment; upon drying, an oxidised residue forms on the dry leaves, which is removed, washed, boiled in water, and then dried to form cakes of pigment or dye.

Indigo is very transparent, with a good tinting strength. It requires a wetting agent to disperse, and in oil it dries very slowly. It is fugitive to light; this drawback means that it is no longer commonly available in commercial paints. It fell out of general use at the beginning of the seventeenth century, largely replaced by Prussian Blue, and synthetic Indigo was patented in the 1890s. However, it provides a subtle shade of blue that is still desirable in works that are going to be protected from light.

Toxicity: B

Learn More