Much of what contemporary painting is what it is because of progress made in synthetic pigment developments and processes in refining natural materials as well as the introduction of acrylic polymer. Cadmiums weren't available until the early 1900’s as well as neons and pthalo’s. However, I find the traditional mineral pigments used in nihonga (paintings made with Japanese artistic conventions, techniques and materials) interesting compared to what is available today and how the process of making paint for nihonga paintings created a distinct soft glow that is not present in a lot of acrylic and oil paintings of today.
the mineral pigments for nihonga are usually ground from minerals, shells, corals, and stones like malachite, azurite, and cinnabar(the trademark vermillion color) and then mixed with a glue made from animal hide to create the paint. the result is a water based paint that is painted on a primed silk surface that gives the distinct ethereal and soft coloring that is associated with nihonga.
some sites documenting the pigments and process of making:
No comments:
Post a Comment