[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Saturday, 23 May 1998 Volume 03 : Number 162 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: April Vollmer & John Yamaguchi Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 10:18:13 -0400 Subject: [Baren 805] mini one point: Pigments >Here is his 'palette': >ai - indigo >prussian blue >shu - vermillion >hon yo ko - a deep and dark red >bengara - a rusty brown red >seki-wo - a yellow compound >sumi - carbon black I have been printing using pigments, too. I buy them here in New York from Art Guerra because he grinds them in water--no chance of breathing them in, and no grinding. I mix them with a little gum arabic and glycerine, and calcium carbonate for opacity. I believe the gum arabic has some preservative in it, because the mixed paint doesn't usually get moldy. It is easy to mix more as I need it. I am unclear whether the traditional recipes call for any binder...sumi has animal glue in it, do the other colors? My question about Mr. Keizaburo Matsuzaki's system is whether he is paying attention to the lightfastness of the pigments. The books I have on the subject all warn against using indigo, for example, which will fade away in the light. I am not sure what his other colors are chemically....I bet bengara is a red oxide, which is a good solid pigment. And of course carbon black and prussian blue are used everywhere too. My basic palette of lightfast pigments is: - -Quinacridone gold (beautiful transparent colors) - -Quinacridone violet (plus other varieties of quin) - -Perinone orange (very bright) - -Thalo blues (lots of varieties, very strong tinting) - -Prussian blue - -Hansa yellow (bright, not as opaque or poisonous as cadmium) - -Chromium oxide green (heavy, opaque) My experience is that it is easier to print with some colors than others. I am still trying to figure this out. I find the quinacridones to print very well, but have difficulty getting chromium oxide to print evenly. One of the most exciting things about hanga printing is that one has so much control over color using pigments directly. Knowing the chemical composition gives you information about the nature of a color. Hue, saturation, brightness, opacity, tinting strength and lightfastness. This was a bonus that I hadn't anticipated when I started learning hanga! April Vollmer http://www.ulster.net/~vollmerf/april/ ------------------------------ From: Ray Esposito Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 21:49:06 -0400 Subject: [Baren 806] colors and corbo Folks I need help in two areas. Do any of you color experts know which colors to mix, in what order and percentages of each to come up with a satiny gold. I keep getting a dirty yellow instead of gold. I want people to look at a print and see gold, not a version of yellow. Any suggestions? Has anyone used carborundum? I know what I want to do with it once it is prepared but I can find nothing that tells me what to mix it with - water, plate oil or ??? and the results of using different liquids. Any suggestions? Thanks and cheers Ray Esposito ------------------------------ From: Ray Esposito Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 23:39:20 -0400 Subject: [Baren 807] varished wood I just wanted to follow up on Graham's thoughts about his varish technique. I mixed a marine varish with a safety turpentine substitute 50/50 as Graham suggested and applied it with a rag. In answer to a question, I believe from Jim, the 50/50 mixture dried almost immediately. I waited just a few minutes then sanded with the 400 grit paper. Sanding with 400 grit feels funny because it seems like nothing is happening but a few minutes later you are finished. Graham wrote the board feels like a baby's bottom. Boy, is that true. Rub your hand across the wood before and after and the difference is amazing. Graham did not say how thick the cloth under the sand paper should be. I used a double thickness of cotton from a t-shirt. Just thought you might like to know. I have not varished my completed blocks and have a question for Graham when he gets out of hibernation. Does it make any difference that I have already inked the blocks? What will be the effect or should I forget it with old blocks? Cheers Ray Esposito WEB SITE: http://www.brassring.org/brassring ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 22:19:22 -0700 Subject: [Baren 808] Re: colors and corbo Ray wrote. >Do any of you color experts know which colors to mix, in what order and >percentages of each to come up with a satiny gold. I keep getting a dirty >yellow instead of gold. Mixing colour pigments to simulate gold has never been possible for me. You always get a dirty yellow. I have mixed bronze powder with yellow and got a mediocre results. I don't know if bronze powder is available for a water base. You have to use gold pigment and I don't know of anything that is available for the WB sport. >Has anyone used carborundum? The only carborundum I am aware of is the sharpening stones.!! Graham ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 22:31:39 -0700 Subject: [Baren 809] Re: varished wood Ray wrote, >Graham wrote the board feels like a baby's bottom. Boy, is that true. Rub >your hand across the wood before and after and the difference is amazing. >Graham did not say how thick the cloth under the sand paper should be. I >used a double thickness of cotton from a t-shirt. You done good.! >I have not varished my completed blocks and have a question for Graham when >he gets out of hibernation. Does it make any difference that I have >already inked the blocks? What will be the effect or should I forget it >with old blocks? I have done this (varnished inked plates) and have made sure that I washed off as much of the old pigment as possible and then let the block dry really well before applying varnish. If you use petroleum base pigments then after washing, with thinners, you could varnish very soon afterwards. Graham ------------------------------ From: Graham Scholes Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 22:38:10 -0700 Subject: [Baren 810] New Image. I finally got some more scanned WB images. I have just loaded a new one my site. http://www.islandnet.com/~gscholes/ and click "Newest Image" button. or http://www.islandnet.com/~gscholes/images/what_new.gif will take you directly. (to jail ..do not collect $200.00 if you pass go) This is an interesting image as I used white pigment on the ghost effect of the old light tower. I did exactly what I had invisioned. Enjoy. Graham ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V3 #162 ***************************