Of all your materials, it is on your paints that quality has the most vital effect. With bad paint your work is hopeless. You may get an effect that looks all right, but how long will it stand, and how much better may it not have been if your colors had been good? You can tell nothing about it. You may have luck, and your work hold; or you may not have luck, and in a month your picture is ruined. Don't trust to luck. Keep that element out as much as you can, always. But in the matter of paints, if you count on luck at all, remember that the chances are altogether against you. Don't let yourself be persuaded to indulge in experiments with colors which you have reason to think are of doubtful quality. Keep on the safe side, and use colors you are sure of, even if they do cost a little more—at first; for they are cheaper in the long-run. And even in the time of using of one tube, generally the good paint does enough more work to cover the difference of cost.

Bad Paints.—Suspect colors which are too cheap. Good work is expensive. Ability and skill and experience count in making artists' colors, and must be paid for. If you would get around the cost of first-class material you must mix it with inferior material.

The first effect you will notice in using poor colors is a certain hindrance to your facility, due to the fact that the color is weak—does not have the snap and strength in it that you expect. The paint has not a full color quality, but mixes dead and flat. This you will find particularly in the finer and lighter yellows. You need not fear much adulteration in those paints which are naturally cheap, of course. It is in those higher-priced colors, on which you must largely depend for the more sparkling qualities, that you will have most trouble.

Unevenness of working, and lack of covering or mixing power, you will find in poor paints also. They have no strength, and you must keep adding them more and more to other colors to get them to do their work. All these things are bothersome. They make you give more attention to the pigments while working than you ought to, and when all is done, your picture is weak and negative in color.

Another effect to be feared from bad colors is that your work will not stand; the colors fade or change, and the paint cracks. The former effect is from bad material, or bad combinations of them in the working, and the latter mainly from bad vehicles used in grinding them.

I have seen pictures go to pieces within a month of their painting—bad paint and bad combinations. Of course you can use good colors so that the picture will not stand. But that will be your own fault, and it is no excuse for the use of colors which you can by no possibility do good work with.

Good Paints.—The three things on which the quality of good paint depends are good pigment, good vehicles, and good preparation.

The pigments used are of mineral, chemical, and vegetable origin. The term pigment technically means the powdered substance which, when mixed with a vehicle, as oil, becomes paint. The most important pigments now used are artificial products, chiefly chemical compounds, including chemical preparations of natural mineral earths.

As a rule, the colors made from earths may be classed as all permanent; those from chemicals, permanent or not, as the case may be; and those of vegetable origin fugitive, with few exceptions. Some colors are good when used as water colors, and bad when used in oil. Further on I will speak of the fugitiveness and permanency of colors in detail. I wish here to emphasize the fact that the origin of the material of which the pigment is made has much to do with the sort of work that that pigment will do, and with the permanency of the effect which is produced; and therefore that while a paint may look like another, its working or its lasting qualities may be quite different.

The Vehicles.—The vehicles by which the pigment is made fluent and plastic are quite as important in their effects. They not only have to do with the business of drying, owing to the substances used as dryers, but they may have to do with the chemical action of one pigment on another.

The Preparation.—Finally, the preparation of the pigment demands the utmost skill and knowledge, if the colors are to be good. The paints used by the old masters were few and simple, and the fact that they prepared them themselves had much to do with the manner in which they kept their color. The paints used now are less simple. We do not prepare and grind them ourselves, and we could hardly do so if we wished to, so we are the more dependent on the integrity of the colorman who does it for us.

The preparation of the paint begins with the chemical or physical preparation of each pigment, and then comes the mixing of several to produce any particular color; and finally the mechanical process of grinding with the proper vehicle to bring it to the proper fineness and smoothness. Grinding.—The color which the artist uses must be most evenly and perfectly ground. The grinding which will do for ordinary house paints will not do for the artist's colors. Neither will the chemical processes suitable for the one serve for the other. Not only must the machinery, but the experience, skill and care, be much greater for artist's colors. Therefore it is that the specialization of color-making is most important to good colors for the use of the artist.

Reliable Makers.—If you would work to the best advantage as far as your colors are concerned, both as to getting the best effects which pure pigments skilfully and honestly prepared will give you, and as to the permanency of those effects when you have gotten them, see to it that you get paint made by a thoroughly reliable colorman.

It is not my province to say whose colors you should use; doubtless there are many colormen who make artists' materials honestly and well. Nevertheless, I may mention that there are no colors which have been more thoroughly tested, both by the length of time they have been in the possession of painters, and by the number of painters who have used them, than those of Winsor and Newton of London. No colors have been so generally sold and for so long a time, particularly in this country, as these, and none are so well known for their evenness and excellence of quality.

I do not say that these manufacturers do not make any colors which should not go on the palette of the cautious artist—I believe that they do not make that claim themselves; but such colors as they do assert to be good, pure, and permanent, you may feel perfectly safe in using, and be sure that they are as well made as colors can be. This is as much as can be said of any paints, and more than can be said of most. I have used these colors for many years, and my own experience is that they have always been all that a painter need ask.

The fact that Winsor and Newton's colors can be found in any town where colors can be had at all, makes me the more free to recommend them, as you can always command them. This fact also speaks for the general approval of them.

Inasmuch as certain colors are not claimed to be permanent and others are, it is for you to compose your palette of those which will combine safely. This you can do with a little care. Some colors are permanent by themselves or with some colors, but not in combination with certain others. You should then take the trouble to consider these chemical relationships.

It is not necessary for you to study the chemistry of paints, but you may read what has been ascertained as to the effects of combinations, and act accordingly. There are practically duplications of color-quality in pigments which are bad, and in pigments which are good; so that you can use the good color instead of the bad one to do the same work. The good color will cost more, but there is no way of making the bad color good, so you must pay the difference due to the cost of the better material, or put up with the result of using bad colors.

Chemical Changes.—The causes of change of color in pigments are of four kinds, all of them chemical effects. 1, the action of light; 2, the action of the atmosphere; 3, the action of the medium; and 4, the action of the pigments themselves on each other. The action of light is to bring about or to assist in the decomposition of the pigment. It is less marked in oil than in water color, because the oil forms a sort of sheath for the color particles. The manner in which light does its deteriorating work is somewhat similar to that of heat. The action of light is very slow, but it seems to do the same thing in a long time that heat would do in a short time.

Some colors are unaffected or little affected by light, and of course you will use them in preference to all others. The atmosphere affects the paint because of certain chemical elements contained in it, which tend to cause new combinations with the materials which are already in combination in the pigment. The action of the oxygen in the air is the chief agent in affecting the pigment, and it is here particularly that light, and especially sunlight, assists in decomposition. The air of towns and cities generally contains sulphuric and sulphurous acids and sulphuretted hydrogen. This latter gas is most effective in changing oil paintings, because of its action in turning white lead dark; and as white lead is the basis of many qualities in painting, this gas may have a very general action.

Moisture in the atmosphere is also a cause of change, but there is little to be dreaded from this, as the oil protects the colors.

Oil absorbs oxygen in drying, and so is apt to have an effect on colors liable to change from that element, and many vehicles contain materials to hasten the drying which further aid in the deterioration of the pigment. Bad oil will tend to crack the picture also. The greatest care should be used in this direction, as the most permanent colors may be ruined by bad vehicles.

Pigments will not have a deteriorating effect on each other as long as they are solid. But if one of them is soluble in the medium, then chemical action commences; but as most pigments are somewhat soluble, there is always some danger in mixing them. The best we can do is, as I said before, to try to have on the palette, as far as possible, only colors which are friendly to each other.

As a student you should not be much occupied, however, with all this. You must expect that all color will change somewhat. But you need not use those which change immediately or markedly, and you may use them in a way which will tend to make them change as little as may be. Colors have stood for years, and what is practical permanence, not perfect permanence, is all you need look for. If you think too much of the permanence of your colors, it will interfere with the directness of your study. Therefore, decide on a palette which is as complete and safe as you can make it, excluding the notably bad pigments, and think no more about it.

When you need to add a new color to your palette, choose it with reference to those already on it, and go ahead. This is what the whole subject resolves itself to, practically, for you as a student.

Opaque and Transparent Colors.—Some colors, like the madders, have a jelly-like consistency when mixed with oil, others, the earths among them, are dense and opaque. We speak of them respectively as "transparent" and "solid" colors. These qualities, which divide the paints into two classes, have no relation to their permanency. As far as that is concerned you use them in the same way, as some transparent colors are safe and some fugitive; and the same with the opaque colors.

The only difference is in the fact that, as a rule, the solid colors are better dryers. But you will notice that while you may mix these colors together as though this difference between them did not exist, in certain processes you use them differently. So you will see, farther on, that for a "glaze" you can use only the transparent or semi-opaque colors, for a scumble you naturally use the solid ones. You should know, however, for the sake of clearness, just what is meant when "solid" or "body" or "opaque" color is spoken of, and what is meant by "transparent" color.

Safe and Unsafe Colors.—Beyond what has been said of the causes of change in colors it is not necessary that you should know the chemical constituents of them. If you want to look into the matter further there are books, such as "Field's Chromatography," which treat fully of the subject, and which you may study.

But practically you should know which colors are to be depended on and which not. Let us consider the principal colors in detail then, merely as to their actual stability. I will speak of them in connection with the plates of colors at the end of this book. I would like you to compare what is said of each color with the corresponding color in the plates. Those colors in the plates which are not spoken of here, you may consider as useful in showing you the character of different colors which are made, but which may or may not be used, according as you may need them. I shall not attempt to mention all the pigments that are in the market. You need never use more than fifteen or twenty all told. Many painters use more, it is true; but if you know how to make the best use of that number, you may safely wait till you "grow to them" before you bother with more. And I shall speak only of those which you will find essential or most generally useful, and those which should be particularly avoided.

Permanency.—It should be stated what is meant by a permanent color. There is no color which is not to be influenced in some way. The most sound of pigments will change if the conditions favor the change. When we speak of a permanent color, we mean only one which under the usual conditions will stand for an indefinite time. By which is meant ordinary diffused daylight, not direct sunlight, and the ordinary air under normal conditions. If there be direct sunlight, you may expect your picture to change sooner or later. But one does not hang his pictures where the sun's rays will fall on them. If there is any exceptional condition of moisture in the air, the picture may suffer. Or if from any cause unusual gases are in the atmosphere, or if the picture be too long in a dark, close place, the picture may smother for lack of fresh air, just as any other thing, plant or animal, which depends on normal conditions of atmosphere would do.

Let us say, then, that what we mean by a permanent color is one which will stand unchanged for an indefinite length of time in a room which is of the usual condition of temperature and freedom from moisture, and where the light is diffused, and such that the direct rays of the sun are not on the picture often, or to any great extent. Cold will not hurt a picture if the canvas is not disturbed in that condition, but to bend or roll it while it is very cold will of course crack it, and sudden and extreme changes of temperature may have the same effect. In other words, some care must be used with all pictures as a matter of course.

COLOR LIST

Whites.—Zinc white is the only permanent white, but it lacks body and is little used. The lead whites, flake, silver, cremnitz, will darken in time, and will turn yellow with oil, and may change with or affect change in other pigments. The zinc white is liable to crack. We have no perfect white, so practically you may consider the lead whites as permanent enough, as other painters do. Yellows.—Cadmium is permanent in all three of its forms. It is a color the permanence of which is of great importance; for its brilliancy is quite essential to modern painting, and if it were not permanent, the picture would soon lose the very quality for which the color was used. The chromes, which are of similar color-quality, are less permanent, and are almost sure to turn to a horny sort of yellow; and a green, which by their use was bright and sparkling, will, in a few months, lose its freshness—this cadmium will not do. Cadmium is also to be preferred to chrome, because it is of a much finer tonality. Greens and yellows made by the admixture of chrome are apt to be crude as compared with those in which cadmium was used.

Strontian yellow is a permanent and most useful light yellow, much to be preferred to all other citron yellows except the pale cadmium, and can be used in place of that if necessary. They are both expensive colors of about the same cost.

Naples yellow was a very prominent pigment with the older painters. It is still very much used, but in the simplification of your palette you may as well leave it out, as you can get the same qualities with cadmium and white. It is durable and safe, but adds another tube to your palette which you can well dispense with.

The ochres are among the oldest and safest of pigments. You can use them with any colors which are themselves permanent. There are several of them,—yellow ochre, Roman ochre, transparent gold ochre, and others. They are all native earths, and though they contain iron, they are sufficiently inert to be thoroughly sound colors.

The siennas, burnt and raw, are like the ochres, native earths, very old and permanent colors, and may be used anywhere.

The umbers are in the same class with the siennas and ochres. They should all rank among the yellows. The browns of umber and sienna will make greens with blues.

Indian yellow and yellow lake should both be avoided as fugitive.

Aureolin is a rich, warm golden yellow of the greatest permanence, and should be used when Indian yellow and yellow lake would be used if they were permanent.

Reds.—The vermilions are permanent when well made. They are of great body and power, as well as delicacy. They are of two kinds,—Chinese, which is bluish in tone, and scarlet and orange vermilion, which have the yellow quality. Both kinds are useful to the palette because of the practical necessities of mixing.

Light red is a deep, warm red earth, made by calcining ochre, and has the same permanence as the other ochres. It is a fine color, of especial value in painting flesh, and mixes with everything safely.

The madders—rose, pink, purple, and madder carmine—are the only transparent reds which are permanent. Whatever the name given them, they should not be confounded with the lakes, which are absolutely untrustworthy. By reference to the plates you will see that the madders are practically the same as the lakes in color when first used. But the lakes fade and the madders do not. The madders cost about twice as much as the lakes; but you must pay the difference, for the lakes cannot be made to stand, and you must have the color. There is nothing for it but to pay twice as much and buy the madders.

The lakes—scarlet, geranium, crimson, and purple—are all bad. The madders and lakes are all slow dryers; but unless carelessly used with other colors which are not yet dry they need not have a bad effect on the picture from cracking.

Distinguish the so-called madder lakes and the lakes; and between carmine, which is a lake, and madder carmine, which is a madder.

Blues.—The ultramarine of the old masters is practically unused to-day because of its cost. But the artificial ultramarines, while not quite of the same purity of color, are equally permanent, and are in every respect worthy to be used. Of these the brilliant ultramarine is the nearest in color to the real lapis lazuli. The French ultramarine is less clear and vivid, but is a splendid deep blue, and most useful. The so-called permanent blue is not quite so permanent as its name implies, but permanent enough for practical purposes.

Cobalt blue and cerulean blue are two pigments, one very light and clear, the other darker, which are made of the oxide of the metal cobalt. In oil they are permanent, and do not change when mixed with other colors. For delicate tints, when the tones are to be subtly gray yet full of the primary colors, the cobalts are indispensable. You should always have them on hand, and generally on your palette. Cerulean blue is of less importance than the other, but in very clear, delicate blue skies it is often the only color which will get the effect.

Prussian blue possesses a depth and power and a quality of color which make it unique. The greenish tone gives it great value in certain combinations as far as its tinting effect is concerned. But it is not reliable as a pigment. It changes under various conditions, and fades with the light. It is not to be depended upon. Antwerp blue, a weaker kind of Prussian blue, is even more fugitive. It is a pity that these colors will not stand, but as they will not, we must get along without them. Indigo has a certain grayish quality which is useful sometimes, but it cannot be placed among the even moderately permanent colors.

The blacks may be classed as blues, because they will make green if mixed with yellow. Considered as blues, they are, of course, dense and negative, and should not be too freely used. But they are all permanent. The only ones we need speak of are ivory black, which has a reddish cast, and blue black, which is weaker, but lacks the purplish note, which is often an advantage.

Greens.—We need mention only a few greens. There are numerous greens, of various degrees of permanence, but it is not necessary to speak of all the colors on the market. You could not use them all if you had them, and we may as well confine ourselves to those we really need.

Veridian, or emeraude green, is the deepest and coldest of our greens, and is permanent. It is too cold, and looks even more so at night. In use it needs the addition of some yellow which holds its own at night, such as yellow ochre, or the painting will be impossible in gaslight, and even worse under electric light.

Emerald green is the same as the French Veronese green, and is generally permanent. It is said to turn dark, and does lose some of its brilliancy with time and the effect of impure air. But there are places where one needs it, especially in sketching, and it is well to use it sometimes. But bear in mind that it is not absolutely permanent, and as the quality that it gives, brilliant light green, is the very one it will lose should it change, don't expect too much of it.

Terre verte is a very weak color. But it is most tender in its quality, and is permanent to all intents and purposes. It may get slightly darker in time, but will not lose the qualities for which it will be used. It is very useful to use with ivory black or elsewhere, to slightly modify a reddish tendency, and is a fine glazing color.

The chrome greens, by whatever name, Brunswick green, or the better-known Cinnabar or Zinnober greens, are all bad. They are useful colors as color, but they will not stand, and you will even get better color by mixing certain yellows and blues than these will give you, so you had better lay them aside, tempting as they are.

Other Colors.—You will notice that I have said nothing about the various browns and olives and purples. It is simply because it is better for you to make all these colors than to get them in the tubes. The earths and the browns of madder are all good, and the mixing of madders and good blues will make all the shades of violet and purple you can possibly want in their purity.

Palettes.—We have, then, a number of pigments which are solid and safe, of each of the primary colors, and of such variety of qualities that the whole range of possible color is practicable with them in combination. To recapitulate, let us make a list of them.

THE PERMANENT COLORS.

Zinc White. (Lead white enough so.)
Cadmium yellow.
Cadmium orange.
Cadmium yellow, pale.
Strontian yellow.
Yellow ochre.
Roman ochre.
Transparent gold ochre.
Raw sienna.
Burnt sienna.
Raw umber.
Aureolin.
Chinese vermilion.
Scarlet vermilion.
Orange vermilion.
Light red.
Rose madder.
Pink madder.
Purple madder.
Madder carmine.
Rubens madder.
Ultramarine blue brilliant.
Ultramarine blue French.
Permanent blue.
Cobalt.
Cerulean blue.
Ivory black.
Blue black.
Veridian.
Emerald green.
Terre verte.