Fortune is said to favor the bold. If so, when Kikuo Saito left Japan in 1966, at age twenty-seven, to take up residence in New York City, his bold and uncertain decision enjoyed Fortune’s broad and generous smile, and continued to do so for five decades of engagement, experimentation and
Question: How often do they repaint the steel on the iconic Golden Gate Bridge? Answer: Every day, non-stop, repainting areas of corrosion (28 painters). Painting metal, especially metals exposed to variable environmental conditions is not something even our most advanced coating systems can stand up to over time, measured not
Mention a well-known pigment like Ultramarine or Cobalt Blue, and we instantly picture a very particular and unwavering color. And why not – it is easy to think of pigments as having characteristics that remain constant as one moves between different mediums such as acrylics, oils or watercolors. Even if
Gold leaf has been used to beautify and evoke meaning in painting throughout history, functioning as a luminous counterpoint to flesh, fabric and nature. Artists today still use gold leaf, but have also added other metal foils, glitters, iridescent and interference paints to their palettes to activate and enliven their
We all get tripped up and surprised sometimes. Even the simplest description can set in motion assumptions that lead us to expect one thing only to be sitting there, moments later, head slightly tilted, a quizzical glance showing equal parts frustration and fascination. Which is where we found ourselves a few years back
When Mark Gottsegen, a well-known educator and expert in artist materials, passed away in the Fall of 2013, an unbelievable amount was lost. Not least among them was AMIEN, the much beloved discussion forum on art materials that he founded. For Mark, AMIEN was his dream. It was from this
The Material Specialists here at Golden Artist Colors are often requested by artists to diagnose the reasoning for problems occurring in their paintings based solely upon their words used to guide us. One of the most common emails or calls require the understanding of whether the artist is discussing
Editor’s Note 3/8/21 With YInMn Blue having been out for a while now, and with a lot of questions received and answered since this piece was published, we wanted to briefly provide an update: As noted in the article, the pigment has some unique strengths, being considered extremely lightfast, durable,
If a single color embodies the dividing line between pigments considered suitable for permanent works of art, and those that are suspect and poor in lightfastness, Alizarin Crimson (PR 83) would be it. And yet it is still used by many artists who are drawn to it in spite of
While the practice of pouring artist paints is certainly not a new way to apply paint, achieving consistent results can be frustrating and costly. However, it is vital to the process to conduct experiments to gain the knowledge of what are the most critical controlling factors which preside over paint
