Cornelissen
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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 -
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 -
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 -
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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 -
Gum Sandarac
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 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 Arabic
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 -
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 -
Rottenstone Pink
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 -
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 -
French Chalk
Starting at: £5.50
French Chalk is a term commonly used to describe talcum powder and is also known as talc. This grade is very fine magnesium silicate It is sometimes used as a filler in pastels, to make soft sticks that produce velvety marks as it has a soapy like consistency.
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Crocus Powder
Starting at: £8.50
A red amorphous powder consisting of ferric chloride oxide. Used as a colourant for ceramic glazes. Also used in polishing glass, metal, or gems. Also known as jeweller's rouge. 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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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 -
Pumice Powder
Starting at: £5.70
Volcanic rock in powdered form. Used to provide tooth to grounds. Learn More -
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 -
Gypsum
Starting at: £5.70
Gypsum is powdered Calcium Sulphate, a traditional ingredient in gesso grounds used in southern Europe. One of the advantages of preparing your painting surface with gypsum is that it allows for a particularly even absorption of the paint film. It can also be added to acrylic primers to increase absorbency or add tooth to a surface. Learn More -
Plaster of Paris
Starting at: £5.50
For moulding when mixed with the same volume of water. Sets quickly and will not shrink. Learn More -
Alumina Hydrate Light
Starting at: £8.30
Alumina Hydrate is an inert pigment with highly absorbent properties, which can be ground into oil paint as an almost colourless extender. It is often used as an additive in commercial oil paints, particularly in conjunction with transparent or lake pigments, as it provides stability and a homogenous consistency without effecting colour or gloss, although it may effect the pigment strength. When combined with linseed oil, it produces an almost transparent painting medium for extending oil colours. Sometimes referred to as Lake Base. Learn More -
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Compressed Lithography Sponge
£3.30Cornelissen Compressed Litho Sponge. Designed to keep the litho stone wet during printing. It can be used for preparing printmaking or watercolour paper. Learn More -
Classic Nib Holder Sagittarius
Starting at: £2.90
Classic nib penholder made from FSC-certified wood. Available in Natural, Mahogany or Black. Learn More -
Cornelissen Copper Leaf
Starting at: £7.80
Coverage per book of 25 leaves is 0.49 m2 (5.29 sq feet) Learn More -
Cornelissen Aluminium Leaf
Starting at: £7.40
Coverage per book of 25 leaves is 0.49 m2 (5.29 sq feet) Learn More -
Cornelissen Imitation Gold No 2 Warm
Starting at: £7.40
Coverage per book of 25 leaves is 0.49 m2 (5.29 sq feet) Learn More -
Metal Leaf Original Sample Chart
£5.00Original hand made sample chart using genuine samples of each Metal Leaf shade (Imitation Gold 2 and 2.5, Aluminium and Copper) . Learn More