Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Tech Talk: Pigments


Watercolor test strip

I'm going to do a number of posts on the technical aspects of painting with watercolors. To start things off, I want to talk about paints. I was inspired to begin this series after receiving a couple of sample sets of a new line of watercolors, Mission Gold, a few months ago. I'll talk more later about the color test strip shown above, but first let's talk about how you can check the pigments used in your paints.

The first thing I do with an unfamiliar tube of watercolor is to look on each tube for the pigment information.  These days, all reputable brands of watercolor list the pigment number or numbers on each tube.  I've circled the numbers to make them easy to find on this assortment of watercolors from various manufacturers.

Pigment numbers (circled)

Pigment numbers are in the form PY## for yellows, PO## for oranges, PR## for reds, etc.  Once you have the pigment number (or numbers in the case of a mixed color), you can check several sources to learn more about them.  For years, I have relied on The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints and Hilary Page's Guide to Watercolor Paints.


You can check the raw pigments as well as the ratings for individual manufacturer's paints.  Hilary Page has tested all the paints herself and gives personal ratings, pointing out her favorites in each color, but Wilcox gives the most comprehensive information on the raw pigments -- pointing out pigments that may be suitable for oil or acrylic paints, but not for watercolors. 

There is also an online resource by Bruce MacEvoy.  He has created an exhaustive catalog of information related to watercolor, with a very thorough section on pigment information. By clicking on the color links at the top of that page, you can see every pigment by number along with detailed information about each one. There is an overwhelming amount of material, but for the purposes of this post, the critical thing is the lightfastness rating (Lf), the column at the rightmost edge of the rating tables. Lightfastness is rated from 1-8, worst to best.


 Now back to my color tests.  After looking up the pigment numbers on the paints in my sample sets, I was very concerned because some of them were ranked as fugitive or unreliable by both Wilcox and Page.  However, since this is a new line, neither Wilcox nor Page has tested the actual paints, so I decided to do my own lightfastness tests.  I had 14 unique colors in the sample sets, so I took an 11x14-inch piece of watercolor paper and divided it into 14 equal spaces.  I printed out the color name and pigment numbers in the center of each space and then painted a full-strength stripe across the middle of the paper, with identical lighter stripes on each side of the center. You'll notice I blotted out the paint at the center of the darker colors in order to see the names and pigment information. (I also lifted a stripe down the right side of each color, but that is unrelated to my test for lightfastness. I merely wanted to see how staining each color was.)

I cut the paper down the middle, labelled the backs, and taped one to a piece of acid-free matboard that I set where it will get as much full sun as possible. The other half is sandwiched between two pieces of acid-free matboard and tucked into a flat file drawer.  At present, the daily dose of sun is not great -- a few hours at best -- but my plan is to compare the two halves of the test sheet every two weeks for at least 6 months.

Stay tuned.

12 comments:

  1. very interesting, will look forward to results. The colours look lovely by the way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Amanda -- I wish I had a time machine and could dispense with all the waiting for results!!

      Delete
  2. What happened with your wonderful painting that made it into the exhibit. Bring us up to date if you would.....happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you too, Jill!! Thanks for asking and jogging my memory on this -- the morning glory painting is staying in Shanghai for another two months -- I'll post an update in a day or so.

      Delete
  3. Chris, I am so glad you are doing this blog series on paint. I've always been interested in the technical aspect of watercolor paint and each color's properties. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is an area of major interest to me, Kittie -- after losing work to non-lightfast paints in the past, I want to make sure I don't invest my time creating art that won't hold up. There's much to know about paint that can be discovered by simple experimentation, but it is critical to know how reliable your paints are.

      Delete
  4. Thank you Chris for bringing up this topic of what is in our WC paints. Besides the three great resources you mentioned, Jan Hart also enlightens on paint characteristics. Seems people with a bit of a science backround can lead the way for the rest of us. Love your work, Jody Bryan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jody -- glad you like my work!! I appreciate the tip about Jan Hart, too -- I'll check it out.

      Delete
  5. I've gotten into the habit of using the word "pigment" instead of paint. It's so interesting that even among the different manufacturers, just because the tube has the same "P" number, it doesn't necessarily mean that the color is the same. I think the fillers have a lot to do with this. Paper and sizing also affect the perceived color.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In casual conversation, pigment and paint and often used interchangeably, but strictly speaking, pigment is the raw color material that is mixed with other ingredients to make paint.

      You're so right to say that many things affect color. I'll talk more about this in future posts -- exactly what goes into a tube of paint is a trade secret for most manufacturers and the percentage of pigment to other ingredients can vary a lot, but paper choice can affect the final appearance as well.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Chris for this blog or post on pigment and colorfastness. How can I save this and not lose it when FB moves on? Barb Wise (I don't know how to mark URL either)

      Delete
    3. Barb, you can bookmark my blog in your browser so you can find it again. (All browsers have a bookmark feature in the main menu at the top of the screen.) If you want this post specifically, click on the post title first. When it re-sets the page, bookmark it and you will always come back to this post.

      If you want to follow the blog on a regular basis, you can enter your email address in the subscription box in the sidebar. Then you'll automatically receive a copy of every new post in your email.

      Delete

Stop in and say hello!!
(But please note -- I do not publish comments that include links to other blogs or websites.)

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.