Artists' Media Type

[brandolsn]

New thread out of the "Geez...If you want a PREACHER page..."

http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=141137&Number=2735212#Post2735212

 

I'll kick the thread off with some info I came across a few weeks ago while looking for info about acrylics:

 

"About Color & Light Fastness

 

Everyone has noticed colors fading on things - clothing, furniture, old Coca-Cola signs. But nowhere is it more important than in art work. Does all art work fade? Do watercolors fade more than oils or acrylics? How about prints? How can you tell if an art piece you own or are about to buy will last?

 

Paint manufacturers can't "make" the primary colors. When they need red, yellow and blue, they have to go out into nature and find things that are those colors. Everything from iron oxide (rust) and dirt to exotic plants and semi-precious gems are ground up to make artist paint. Depending on the pigment, some paints are naturally very color fast or "permanent," as it is called in the art world, and others are not, and are termed "fugitive". A red made from ground up rubies, for instance, will likely last forever. Yellow ochre and lamp black, which are simple, permanent pigments used by Neanderthal artists, have lasted thousands of years.

 

Pigments used by themselves would not stick well to anything, so a carrier, or "glue," must be added to the pigment to make it useful as a paint or drawing medium. When the carrier is oil it becomes oil paint; gum arabic creates watercolor paint; wax makes wax crayons, and acrylic polymers, acrylic paint. As it is the pigment characteristics which determine the light fastness, and not the carrier, all painting and drawing mediums have the same permanency for a given pigment.

 

Unfortunately, some non-permanent, fugitive colors are used in paint today, even "artists grade" paint. Some artist grade paint pigments will show noticeable fading or color change in just a few weeks or months!

 

When you purchase a painting from an artist, try to ensure each and every color they use is light fast and permanent. This is extremely important, especially if the work will be hung in a well lit environment. It is your right to know about your art investment. Light fast rating numbers of 1 or A and AA are used by manufacturers for their best paints. If an artist doesn’t seem informed or concerned about such things, it is probably wise to leave the piece in spite of its present appeal."

http://www.barrytate.com/pages_main/Information_page.html#About_lightfast