Cornelissen

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

Carboxyl Methyl Cellulose

Starting at: £7.20

Carboxyl Methyl Cellulose. PH between 6- 8. 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: £18.30

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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Isinglass

Starting at: £20.00

Isinglass is derived from the dried swim bladders of fish, with Salianski Isinglass being the highest grade available. In the Russian Icon tradition, it commonly provided the glue component in gesso recipes, and was sometimes mixed with pigment to make tempera paints, due to its high binding strength. It can be used to make a pale, clear glue, which is less prone to darkening than other animal glues, and which is particularly flexible, making it a useful material for repairing textiles. Learn More

Parchment Clippings

Starting at: £9.90

Parchment Clippings, usually waste goatskin vellum, were utilised throughout the Middle Ages to make an animal hide glue. This continued to be commonly used as a sizing for canvas before rabbit skin glue came to prominence in the nineteenth century. Parchment glue is comparable to isinglass glue, as it also produces a very pale, almost transparent glue with a degree of flexibility. Our parchment clippings are a mixture of vellum scraps, and may include goatskin, calfskin and sheepskin. Cennino Cennini gives a recipe for gesso using parchment in his treatise about painting; please see below for our recipe. Learn More

Cornelissen Glass Mullers

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Starting at: £24.50

Cornelissen Glass Mullers are handmade using superior boro silicate laboratory glass, which is 40% harder, more heat resistant, and offers better clarity than soda-lime glass. The base of each muller is ground perfectly flat, and sand-blasted to create a fine tooth to facilitate the grinding of pigments. The tall handle features an ergonomic top, to ease fatigue when grinding large amounts of pigment. Mullers act as flat-bottomed pestles, which are used to grind pigment into a binding medium, suspending it evenly to create a uniform covering of binder around each pigment particle. Using a muller and slab, rather than simply mixing pigment and binder together, will create a more homogenised and stable paint. Use in conjunction with a Cornelissen Glass Slab to make paint efficiently. The sand-blasted texture of the muller and plate helps to push and distribute the pigment throughout the binder quickly. This will mean less grinding, and more painting! Learn More

Mixing Slab

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Starting at: £20.50

A glass slab with wooden cradle for the grinding of pigments.

The friction created between the sand-blasted surfaces of the glass slab and muller facilitates the thorough mixing of pigment and medium, creating a consistent and strong paint body. This slab can be used to manufacture many types of paint including watercolours, egg tempera and oils.

Mulling is of particular importance when making oil paint; simply mixing pigment and oil together using a palette knife will result in an unstable substance with poor plasticity, which contains a large amount of excess oil and unevenly distributed pigment particles. Thorough mulling in a figure-of-eight motion will enable the pigment to be fully combined into the binder, strengthening the resultant paint film.

PLEASE NOTE: The separate glass slabs are in stock but it is a call to order item due to the fact that we cannot guarantee its safe delivery, however well we package it. Please ring us to discuss your delivery options. In combination with the glass frame, delivery is more secure but we still cannot guarantee a delivery without breakage.

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Glass Pestles and Mortars

Starting at: £36.50

Glass Pestles and Mortars 100 or 150 mm diameter. Learn More

Agate Pestles and Mortars

Starting at: £50.00

Agate pestle and mortars are used by laboratories and artists requiring a harder material than porcelain in order to minimise the risk of contamination. *PLEASE ALLOW UP FOUR WEEKS FOR DELIVERY OF THIS ITEM* (telephone us for more information) Learn More

Bleached Beeswax

Starting at: £12.30

Beeswax is derived from melted honeycomb, and is available in two grades. Bleached Beeswax Pellets are white, having been bleached by the sun, and are an appropriate choice for using with pale colours, although they may revert to yellow over time. Natural Beeswax Pellets are yellow in colour, and offer a more flexible structure with a higher resin content. Beeswax has a melting point of 63-66°c, and may turn brown if over-heated. It is the most widely used wax in artists' materials, having a wide range of applications. Please see below for more details.

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Natural Beeswax

Starting at: £11.20

Beeswax is derived from melted honeycomb, and is available in two grades. Bleached Beeswax Pellets are white, having been bleached by the sun, and are an appropriate choice for using with pale colours, although they may revert to yellow over time. Natural Beeswax Pellets are yellow in colour, and offer a more flexible structure with a higher resin content. Beeswax has a melting point of 63-66°c, and may turn brown if over-heated. It is the most widely used wax in artists' materials, having a wide range of applications. Please see below for more details.

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Carnauba Wax Grey

Starting at: £8.40

Carnauba Wax is the hardest wax commonly used in the production of artists' materials, with a melting point of 83-86°c. It is derived from a tree native to South America, and is available in a natural colour (grey), or a refined colour (pale yellow). Small amounts of carnauba wax are commonly used in both oil painting mediums and encaustic painting, usually in conjunction with beeswax to add toughness, durability and sheen to the paint film. It creates an inflexible surface, so works best on rigid supports such as gesso panels, and it should be noted that it will raise the melting point of encaustic mixtures. It can produce a glossy finish; as such it is used in waxes and polishes for shoes, cars, musical instruments, furniture, and wooden floors, especially when mixed with beeswax and turpentine. Learn More

Carnauba Wax Yellow

Starting at: £6.50

Carnauba Wax is the hardest wax commonly used in the production of artists' materials, with a melting point of 83-86°c. It is derived from a tree native to South America, and is available in a natural colour (grey), or a refined colour (pale yellow). Small amounts of carnauba wax are commonly used in both oil painting mediums and encaustic painting, usually in conjunction with beeswax to add toughness, durability and sheen to the paint film. It creates an inflexible surface, so works best on rigid supports such as gesso panels, and it should be noted that it will raise the melting point of encaustic mixtures. It can produce a glossy finish; as such it is used in waxes and polishes for shoes, cars, musical instruments, furniture, and wooden floors, especially when mixed with beeswax and turpentine. Learn More

Gelatine Leaf

Starting at: £5.30

A pure form of glue from animal tissue. Used for sizing paper. Used in gliding and for weak sizes in isolating layers in tempera painting. Learn More

Gelatine Capsules

Starting at: £5.80

Gelatine Capsules Learn More

Pearl Glue

Starting at: £6.50

Pearl Glue is a traditional animal-based wood glue used for veneering, joinery and antique restoration. 170-200 bloom. Learn More

Rabbit Skin Glue

Starting at: £13.00

For sizing canvas prior to priming with an oil based primer. Do not use under acrylic primer. Soak overnight in water. Heat in double boiler (do not boil). Ratio water:size 13:1. Use while still warm. Rabbit Skin Glue do not contain any preservatives. 340 - 360 Bloom Learn More

Empty Watercolour Pans

Starting at: £0.50

Empty Watercolour Pans Learn More

Squat & Powder Jars

Starting at: £0.75

Squat and Powder Jars in glass and plastic. *Please note, our glass jars are fragile, although they are packed very carefully we cannot guarantee they will arrive safely. Cases of jars are stored offsite, please allow extra time for your order to be processed and dispatched. Learn More