CERULEAN WHO?

I generally recommend genuine colors over imitations, but there is one impersonator is actually useful.

Imitations, often labeled as “hues,” are economical alternatives to costly authentic colors. They are made from mixtures of inexpensive pigments that approximate the true color. “Hue” versions, however, are rarely as brilliant or clean as the genuine color, and they are always different in character (i.e., lacking the same nuance, not as opaque or transparent, and so on).

Naples yellow is frequently imitated, for instance. Inexpensive cadmium “hues” are popular replacements for highly opaque and powerful cadmium reds and yellows. Cerulean blue “hue” is a less pricey option over real cerulean blue.

Genuine cerulean is an opaque, subtle sky blue. It is a beautiful and useful color, but it is also one of the most expensive. For example, Gamblin’s genuine cerulean currently retails for $35, the highest price point in the company’s line (and even more expensive in some other brands). It’s no wonder, then, that many students choose Gamblin’s more affordable cerulean blue “hue” at just $12.

Cerulean blue is an expensive warm, slightly greenish blue. Inexpensive imitations, which approximate the genuine color, are useful replacements for phthalocyanine blue when the phthalo blue is to be diluted with white paint.

There is a surprise in store with imitation cerulean, though: it is so powerful that it overwhelms other colors it is mixed with.

“Hue” versions of cerulean are typically composed of phthalo blue combined with a touch of phthalo green, plus a lot of white. Even though they are heavily diluted in white, the phthalo colors still exhibit their awesome strength. They are the most potent of all artists’ pigments.

Imitation cerulean is never a good replacement for the genuine article. Nonetheless, it has its uses…as a replacement for phthalo blue. When you intend to use phthalo blue and reduce it with white paint (which is almost always the case), cerulean “hue” can be used instead since it is basically phthalo blue already mixed with white. This means you need not plow through tons of white paint nor take up your time in making phthalo blue paler since cerulean “hue” is essentially a pale phthalo blue.

ARRRGH!

“Arrgh! is the sound you hear when a landscape painting student out in the field discovers a tube of paint is glued shut.

Watercolor painters can sometimes simply soak the tube in water to dissolve dried paint and loosen the cap. Oil and acrylic painters, however, may have to resort to something more drastic.

You could try prying it off with your teeth, but your dentist might not be too happy with you. Instead, try pliers. If one pair doesn’t work, use two: one to grip the cap, and the other plier wrapped around the rim of the tube. I keep pliers in my travel painting kit, but if you’ve forgotten yours, heat sometimes helps. Warm the cap under hot water or with a match, grab the cap with a rag or paper towel for a firmer grip, and twist. Heat causes the plastic lid to expand more than the metal tube, making it easier  to remove the cap.





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CHEAPSKATE'S CORNER  

A regular feature offering money-saving ideas and suggestions. If you have a tip or suggestion, please send it in and I will include your idea here.

Lead Weight

Which is more economical: the traditional wood-barreled pencil or graphite rods held in a mechanical gripper?

Virtually everyone is familiar with the standard pencil with a wooden shell. Not as many people know about grippers and rods. A gripper resembles a regular pencil in shape, but it is made of plastic and metal. A graphite rod is inserted into a cavity that runs the length of the gripper, and a built-in button facilitates extension and retraction of the rod.

Metal and plastic gripper (above) has button for extending and retracting graphite lead. Below is an artist’s quality, wood-barreled pencil.

For the purpose of analysis, prices of Prismicolor Turquoise brand pencils were compared to the cost of Prismicolor Turquoise grippers and leads.

Wooden barreled pencils are retailed individually at $1.17; a dozen goes for $14.04. Graphite rods are marketed in a 12-pack for $12.18, a difference of $1.86 per dozen. This breakdown does not take into account, however, the price of the gripper.

Graphite rods are sold in packages of 12.

A decent gripper will last at least 5 years or more, and the Sanford Turquoise lead holder sells for $7.25. Assuming you go through 2 pencils or leads each month, over the 5-year lifespan of the gripper you will have used 120 leads (or an equal number of wooden pencils). On that basis, in five years you will have spent $140.40 on pencils, versus $129.05 for gripper and graphite rods.

In the end, it turns out that rods-plus-gripper are slightly less costly than wood-barreled pencils, yielding a savings of about $10 over 5 years, or $2 per year.





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QUESTIONS CORNER 

This feature appears only when questions are submitted. Its success is up to you, so please send your questions. You may use the Contact page.

Please keep questions
brief and clear. Include an email address in case I have
a question about your question.

Question:
For oil painting, what are the pros and cons of plastic, wood, and paper palettes? Is it really worth spending a lot of money on a wooden one?

   ------- Don Brothers

Answer:
Each type has pluses and minuses; and don’t forget there is also glass.

PAPER
Pros: Inexpensive, until you add up the cost of buying many of them over a lifetime. Nonetheless, if you lose a pad, you’re not out much money. No clean-up is required; simply toss a soiled sheet into the trash.

Cons: Flimsy, and sheets are prone to rip when handled roughly. When paint is worked with a metal palette knife, the sheet’s wax coating gets scraped off, exposing the paper underneath. When that happens, bits of paper get into the paint as you continue mixing colors.

A pad of paper palette sheets is inexpensive and requires no clean-up.

PLASTIC
Pros: Reasonably priced. Sturdy and rigid. Fairly easy to clean. Can be used with oils or acrylics.

Cons: None I can think of.

Plastic palettes are affordably priced.

WOOD
Pros: Larger models have a pleasant heft and fit well in the crook of the arm. Over time, the wood develops a beautiful patina. Wood is reasonably easy to clean (don’t use water).

Cons: Small, thin versions may warp. Large, well-made wooden palettes can be somewhat expensive (but are worth the money).

Palettes made of thin wood are reasonably priced but can be flimsy.

Large, thick wooden palettes like this kidney-shaped model provide plenty of real estate for mixing colors and are a pleasure to use.

GLASS
Pros: Easy to clean. Built-up, dried paint can be scraped off with a single-edged blade to restore the glass to like-new condition. Glass palettes can be virtually any size, with a very large pane providing plenty of area to mix colors. A sheet of neutral-colored paper can be taped to the underside of the palette, making it easier to judge colors as you mix them. For a warm-toned painting a warm-toned paper is used, and cool-toned paper is used for paintings with colors that are cool in character.

Cons: Glass is susceptible to breaking. Get heavy, tempered glass to minimize the possibility.

Note 1: Tempered glass can sometimes be obtained for free, such as the glass door from a discarded cabinet or the top of an old table. Otherwise, it can be a bit expensive when purchased from a home center.

Note 2: If you expect to carry a glass palette about, duct tape the edges to protect both you and the glass.  

The sprawling surface of a large glass palette provides plenty of space for mixing color in the studio. A smaller pane can be easily toted around to classes or for landscape art.





 

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