The Artist's Handbook

522 Pages·2003·2.89 MB·English

by  Pip Seymour

This ebook licensed to HHHH DDDD. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this ebook is
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The Artist Handbook 8/4/03 3:18 PM Page 1
THE ARTIST’S HANDBOOK
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Arcturus Publishing Ltd
26/27 Bickels Yard
151–153 Bermondsey Street
London SE1 3HA
Published in association with
foulsham
W.Foulsham & Co.Ltd,
The Publishing House,Bennetts Close,Cippenham,
Slough,Berkshire SL1 5AP,England
ISBN 0-572-02866-0
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data:a catalogue record for
this book is available from the British Library
Copyright ©2003 Arcturus Publishing Limited
All rights reserved
The Copyright Act prohibits (subject to certain very limited exceptions)
the making of copies of any copyright work or of a substantial part of
such a work,including the making of copies by photocopying or similar
process.Written permission to make a copy or copies must therefore
normally be obtained from the publisher in advance.It is advisable also
to consult the publisher if in any doubt as to the legality of any copying
which is to be undertaken.
Editor:Rebecca Panayiotou
Designer:Adam Renvoize
Illustrator:Alison Barratt
Cover Photography:Thomas Mitchell and James Ellerker
Printed in Poland
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THE
ARTIST’S
HANDBOOK
A complete professional guide to materials and techniques
Pip Seymour
(cid:0)
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Contents
INTRODUCTION 10
PIGMENTS 15
Pigments: An Introduction 15
Key to Pigment Information 17
Pigment Types 22
Particle Size of Pigments 24
Artists’ Pigments 25
Permanence of Artists’ Pigments 28
Pigment Tables 31
Miscellaneous Pigments 180
DRAWING MATERIALS 191
Dry Drawing Tools 192
Wet Drawing Tools 200
EGG TEMPERA PAINTING 203
Supports for Panel Painting with Egg Tempera 203
Natural Wood 204
Preparation of the Panel, Prior to Applying Gesso Ground 205
Application of the Painting Ground 206
Glue 207
Preparing the Panel with Gesso 211
Preparation of Pigments for Egg Tempera Painting 214
Egg Yolk as a Binder 215
Palette for Egg Tempera Painting 219
Procedure for Painting 224
Tempera and Oil Paint, Egg-Oil Emulsions 226
Varnishes for Tempera Paintings 227
Tempera and Gilding 229
OIL PAINTING 233
Supports for Oil Painting 233
Sizing and Priming Supports for Oil Painting 248
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6 THE ARTIST’S HANDBOOK
Properties of Oil Paints 258
Hand-Made Oil Colour 273
Manufactured Oil Colour 289
Building an Oil Painting 294
Drying Rates of Oil Colours 300
Oil Painting Whites 304
The Oil Painting Palette Explained 307
Oil Paint Mediums 309
Picture Varnishes 326
Solvents for Oil Painting 331
Clean-Up of Oil Paint, Palette and Brushes 333
WATERCOLOUR AND GOUACHE PAINTING 335
Watercolour 335
Historical Background 335
Properties of Watercolour 337
Commercially Manufactured Watercolours 342
Hand-Prepared Watercolours 343
Lightfastness and Permanence 346
Supports for Watercolour Painting 346
Papermaking 347
Stretching Watercolour Paper 350
Care and Storage of Watercolours 352
Auxiliary Materials 353
Painting Additives 354
Combining Watercolour and Other Media 355
Gouache 356
Artists’ Gouache and Designers’ Gouache 357
Hand-Made Gouache Colours 358
Application 361
Supports 361
Preservation and Storage of Work 361
Alternative Water-Based Binding Agents 362
SOFT PASTEL PAINTING 371
Supports for Pastel Painting 372
Binding Agents for Pastel 381
Filler Material 381
Formation of Colour Ranges 381
Basic Recipes for Making Soft Pastels 384
Procedure for Hand-Making Soft Pastels 390
Working with Pastels 394
Manipulating Pastel 395
Fixing and Storage of Pastel Paintings 396
ACRYLIC PAINTING 400
Acrylic Paint Systems 400
How Acrylic Paint Works 400
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CONTENTS 7
Acrylic Paints 402
Hand-Preparation of Acrylic Paints 404
Health and Safety Information 410
Manufactured Acrylic Paints 411
Acrylic Painting Mediums 413
Why Artists Sometimes Mistrust Acrylic Paint 419
Priming Information for Acrylic Paint Systems 422
ENCAUSTIC PAINTING 427
Supports for Encaustic Painting 427
Equipment for Encaustic Painting 428
Composition and Use of Encaustic Paints 429
Wax Types 430
Suggested Palette for Encaustic Painting 432
Painting Techniques 433
Glazing with Encaustic 435
Working in Layers 435
Presentation of Finished Encaustic Paintings 435
Safe Clean-Up of Encaustic Paint 436
LIME-FRESCO PAINTING 437
Health and Safety Precautions 438
Supports for Lime: Preparing Walls and Other Substrates for
Application of Lime 439
Pigments for Lime-Fresco 448
Whites in Lime-Fresco 450
Application of Colours 452
Fresco Secco 453
Protection of Fresco Paintings 455
Alternative Wall Painting Binders 455
BRUSHES 459
Brushes for Oil Painting 459
Brushes for Acrylic Painting 464
Brushes for Watercolour Painting 466
Brushes for Gouache Painting 470
Brushes for Priming 470
Brushes for Varnishing 472
Brushes for Soft Pastels 473
Brushes for Fresco Painting 473
STORAGE AND PRESERVATION OF FINISHED ARTWORKS 475
Oil Paintings 475
Acrylic Paintings 478
Works on Paper 478
Pastel Paintings 480
BIBLIOGRAPHY 481
B9A3852A-97CE-4181-BE41-D71C6F8B5631 INDEX 488
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About the Author
Pip Seymour is a painter and writer, who lives in England and Italy.
He studied Fine Art at Bradford College of Art, Winchester School
of Art and Brighton Polytechnic and has been a practising artist
since the mid-1980s.
He teaches about the use of painting materials at a number of
institutions in the United Kingdom, including the Prince’s
Foundation, London; Camberwell College of Art & Design, London;
the Colour Museum, Bradford and Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal,
Cumbria.
Pip Seymour is a member of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people for their help and co-
operation:
Sue Petheridge and Quentin Burkenshaw at the Society of Dyers
and Colourists, Bradford, West Yorkshire (for Colour Index
information, especially in relation to historical pigments). Dr Georg
Kremer and Uta Williams, at Kremer Pigmente, Aichstetten,
Germany. Yvonne Hindle at University of Central England,
Birmingham. Sarah Miller, Technical Advisor, Winsor & Newton. Dr.
Mike Roberts, DEFRA. Susan Ward-Booth, Alison Barratt, Jo
Wooding, Arif Ozakca, Mary Gregis-Walker, Kathrin Kinseher, Kate
Dineen.
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