Cornelissen

Marble Dust

Starting at: £4.70

Imparts textue when added to acrylic mediums and primers. Used in lime mortar. Meets paint pigment specificitions in its fine form. Mesh size: Course (Irregular granules), Medium (16) and Fine (100). Learn More

Pumice Powder

Starting at: £5.70

Volcanic rock in powdered form. Used to provide tooth to grounds. Learn More

Whiting

Starting at: £4.00

Whiting is powdered Calcium Carbonate, which can be mixed with rabbit skin glue to create a chalk-based ground for oil, tempera, distemper or encaustic painting. Traditionally, whiting was an important ingredient when preparing painting surfaces in the north of Europe, as opposed to gypsum (Calcium Sulphate), which was widely used south of the Alps. Learn More

Fullers Earth

Starting at: £6.30

Fullers Earth is used to remove plant debris and other impurities from cold-pressed linseed oil, as its large particle size and unusual shape attracts unwanted matter and pulls it down, away from the surface of the oil. Our Fullers earth consist sly of Bentonite.

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Coptic Frankincense Resin 10 grams

£2.95

Coptic Frankincense Resin 10 grams Learn More

Commiphora Myrrh Resin 10 grams

£2.95

Commiphora Myrrh Resin 10 grams Learn More

Gesso di Bologna

Starting at: £12.00

Gesso di Bologna is a bright white Calcium Sulphate, or gypsum, from Italy, which can be used as a substitute for whiting in the preparation of gesso. It is ground to a particularly fine powder, which makes it a suitable ground for gilding, as the small size of the particles allows for greater compression when burnishing. Learn More

Precipitate Chalk

Starting at: £6.30

Precipitate Chalk is fine and white. For use in aqueous mediums as a ground for oil and tempera paintings. Learn More

Rottenstone Grey

Starting at: £7.00

Fine abrasive powder used historically for polishing daguerreotype plates. Can be used to age wooden frames and object's d'art. Learn More

Gum Arabic

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Starting at: £4.25

Gum Arabic is a resoluble binding agent, commonly used in the preparation of watercolours, but also useful as an adhesive, a size, and in the production of soft pastels. It is a natural product, harvested from the Acacia tree between October and May. The highest grade of Gum Arabic comes from the Kordofan region of Sudan. It is exceptionally pale and pure and therefore particularly suited to watercolour painting, while Nigerian Gum Arabic (while stocks last) is better suited to stone lithography and other printmaking techniques. Please see the Formulas & Recipes section on our homepage for a recipe to make your own watercolour paints using Gum Arabic (currently under construction). Learn More

Gum Benzoin

Starting at: £14.70

Gum Benzoin is used as a fixative, slowing the dispersion of essential oils and other materials into the air. Is occasionally called for in some old varnish recipes where it was employed primarily for its odour. Learn More

Gum Copal Manila

Starting at: £6.00

Gum Copal Manila is derived from the resin of a coniferous tree native to the Philippines. It is not to be confused with other copals, which are the product of fossilised plant materials. It can be dissolved in alcohol to make a spirit varnish, to be used as a substitute for shellac, or as a fixative for pastel and charcoal drawings. Please note, that when used as a fixative it may darken the colour of the image. Learn More

Gum Damar

Starting at: £10.00

Damar is a pale, almost colourless tree resin, which is soluble in turpentine, but not in alcohol or mineral spirits. It can be used as a varnish or as a glossy painting medium in conjunction with vegetable oils, and is generally preferable to other resin-based varnishes, such as mastic varnish, as it retains its colourless appearance for a longer period of time. In encaustic painting, the inclusion of damar resin imparts toughness and gloss to the paint surface. Learn More

Gum Mastic

Starting at: £20.30

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Gum Mastic is a tree resin, which dissolves into a clear varnish with alcohol or turpentine, but not with mineral spirits. Mastic varnishes are more prone to blooming and darkening with age than damar-based varnishes, and painting mediums that contain gum mastic can deteriorate in unpredictable ways. For this reason, it is primarily used in restoration, rather than in the production of artwork. Learn More

Gum Sandarac

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Starting at: £8.60

Gum Sandarac, derived from a coniferous tree, is available in powdered or lump form. It can be dissolved in alcohol to create a varnish that is suitable as an isolating layer in oil painting and as a traditional top coat for egg tempera. It forms a brittle layer, so is only suitable for use on a rigid support. Another application is as a surface preparation for calligraphy; the ground gum can be dusted across a piece of prepared vellum or paper to create a resist, which shrinks ink strokes slightly, making them appear finer, with crisp edges. Learn More

Gum Tragacanth

Starting at: £20.00

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Gum Tragacanth is a natural tree gum with pigment-binding properties. It can be used to make a very matte watercolour, but is most commonly used in the production of soft pastels.

Please see the Formulas & Recipes section on our homepage for a recipe to make your own pastels using Gum Tragacanth (currently under construction).

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Colophony

Starting at: £7.30

Colophony is a by-product of the distillation of turpentine. It is soluble in most solvents, but considered an adulterant in varnishes and paints, as it forms a weak surface that is prone to darkening and cracking. It is, however, a key ingredient in wax-based etching grounds, imparting hardness, and can be used in powdered form (rosin) to make aquatints. Learn More

Powdered Rosin

Starting at: £13.90

Rosin is the powdered form of colophony, which is a by-product of the distillation of turpentine. Its primary application is to create tonal areas on metal plates as an aquatint resist. It is also an additive in etching grounds, where it gives a hard surface to the otherwise soft wax. Learn More

Dragon's Blood Powder

Starting at: £28.10

Dragon's Blood is a natural, resin, mentioned by Pliny in his Natural History. It has a weak tinting strength, and its rich red-colour can be fugitive in direct sunlight. It is fully soluble in alcohol, and can be used to add a warm, transparent tone to spirit varnishes. Also available in lump form.

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Dragon's Blood Pieces

Starting at: £25.40

Dragon's Blood is a natural, resin, mentioned by Pliny in his Natural History. It has a weak tinting strength, and its rich red colour can be fugitive in direct sunlight. It is fully soluble in alcohol, and can be used to add a warm, transparent tone to spirit varnishes. Also available in powdered form.

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Button Shellac

Starting at: £8.40

Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More

Clear Dewaxed Shellac

Starting at: £9.20

Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More

Lemon Shellac

Starting at: £8.20

Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More

Orange Shellac

Starting at: £8.00

Shellac is a natural resin that is deposited by the female lac insect on the branches of trees in India and Thailand. It is soluble with alcohol, but not with mineral spirits or turpentine. It forms a tough yet flexible film, with many applications. It is suitable as a top coat for gilding when applied thinly, a sealant for porous surfaces, an isolating layer for tempera paintings, a base for pigmented inks, a protective layer for collograph plates, and a warm varnish for wooden floors and furniture. As it is prone to darkening with age, it is not recommended as a varnish for oils, and its solubility can reduce over time. There are various grades of shellac. When mixed with alcohol, it may initially form a cloudy mixture, due to traces of wax in the shellac, but this should become clear once it has dried. The highest grades of shellac are Clear Dewaxed Shellac, which has been de-coloured using the carbon filtering method, Lemon Shellac, and Orange Shellac, which are pale in colour. Button Shellac is less refined and therefore produces a reddish varnish. It was, in fact, widely used as a red dye before synthetic dyes became available. Learn More

Microcrystalline Wax

Starting at: £8.50

Microcrystalline Wax is related to paraffin wax, and is used as a plasticiser in some recipes. It is characterised by the fineness of its crystals in contrast to the larger crystal of paraffin wax. It is generally more viscous, denser, tackier and more elastic than paraffin waxes, and has a higher melting point. Learn More

Paraffin Wax

Starting at: £6.60

Paraffin Wax is a by-product of the petro-chemical industry. It has a low melting point of 50-60°c and a brittle texture, making it unsuitable for encaustic painting or as an additive to oil paints, but it can be used to impart softness to lithographic crayons. As a petroleum product, it is more inert than animal or vegetable waxes, and is therefore not saponified (turned into soap) by alkali substances. Learn More

Ammonium Carbonate

Starting at: £9.70

Ammonium Carbonate is a highly Alkaline substance that reacts with the lactic acid present in casein to form a robust binder for tempera paints. It should only be used in a well-ventilated area, please see below for the Material Safety Data Sheet. Learn More

Acticide SPX

Starting at: £4.20

Acticide SPX Preservative Learn More

Carrageen Moss

Starting at: £51.00

Carrageen Moss is a seaweed that is gathered from the Irish coast, whose natural thickening properties are often exploited by the food industry. It is also used as a size in traditional paper marbling, as it allows colours to float and be manipulated on the surface of the water. Learn More

Casein Lactic

Starting at: £15.95

Casein is a protein derived from dried milk, which has been used in painting since ancient times. It can be combined with Ammonium Carbonate to form an emulsion, which acts as a durable, non-resoluble binder for pigments, producing a matte, fast-drying paint, similar in appearance to egg tempera. We use casein as a binder for our L. Cornelissen & Son Pigment Colour Charts, as it is a medium that clearly showcases the characteristics and behaviour of each pigment in its pure form. Casein paints can be applied in thin layers to watercolour paper, but would require a more rigid support, such as a gesso panel, to be applied thickly, as the comparative inflexibility of the paint layer means that it can be prone to cracking. Subsequent layers of paint should be more diluted to aid adhesion, and impasto effects are not recommended. It is possible to varnish casein paintings using an acrylic or damar varnish to obtain a glossy surface if desired, although this is not a necessary step. Casein can also be used as an ingredient in gesso, and is a suitable binder for fresco secco techniques.

Some pigments may require a wetting agent in order to fully disperse within the binder, in which case alcohol may be used.

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