Pigments Gums & Resins

PBk8

Vine Black is derived from charred vines, forming an organic pigment of pure carbon. It has been in use since antiquity, providing a cold black with bluish undertones, which creates a blue-grey when mixed with white. It is a very lightfast, slow-drying colour with a medium tinting strength. It requires a wetting agent to disperse properly, and is not suitable for use in fresco, mortar or cement, as the water-soluble impurities within the pigment can create efflorescence. 

Toxicity: A

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PBk7

Carbon Black is an inorganic synthetic pigment, created by burning natural gases to form an almost pure carbon. It is semi-transparent, and in oil dries very slowly to a soft, brittle paint film. It requires a wetting agent, and can show in streaks, even when mixed with other colours. 

Larger quantities are available by request. 

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Cornelissen Pigment Colour Chart. 85 pigment samples displayed in a 6 page 300 gsm A4 booklet, including 'permanence' and 'colour index' references. Colour swatches have been made using a casein binder. Learn More

PW1

Flake White Pigment, sometimes referred to as Lead White or Cremnitz White, is an artificial mineral pigment, lead carbonate. It is no longer available as a paint, due to its extreme toxicity. For this reason, great care must be taken when handling the dry pigment.

It is not usuable in water-based media, but works well in oils. It creates a flexible paint film that dries quickly. Although opaque, small quantities do not dominate mixtures, and can help slow-drying pigments to dry. For this reason, it has been a popular mixing white historically; in fact, until the mid-19th century, Flake White was the only white pigment available to artists. Although varnishing is generally considered optional for oil paintings, it is recommended for works containing Flake White, as contact with sulphur in the atmosphere can cause it to blacken. It creates a warm white, which can yellow over time when mixed with linseed oil.

Toxicity: D

Permitted uses: Restoration of art works and protected buildings when alternatives unsuitable.

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Titanium White, or Titanium Doixide, is an artificial mineral pigment introduced in the 1920s. It is valued for its opacity, good lightfastness, and stability in all media. Its high tinting strength can render it a dominant colour in mixtures. It is very slow drying in oil, and creates a somewhat brittle paint film, though more flexible than Zinc White. Its brightness makes it a popular addition to gesso.

Toxicity: B

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Zinc White, or Zinc Oxide, is an artificial mineral pigment that was first produced in France in the late 18th century. Its use in commercial watercolours as Chinese White pre-dates its inclusion in oil painting. It is a semi-opaque, lightfast pigment, which dries very slowly in oil. Of all white pigments, it produces the most brittle paint film, so is not recommended in large quantities for impasto techniques. However, it is a good addition to a palette which requires a less overwhelming white than Titanium White.

Toxicity: B

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The perfect introduction to working with pigment, this selection of thirty pigments provides a wide range of colours for the production of paint. Each colour is supplied in a 15ml plastic jar, and the set includes both natural and synthetic colours. Recipes can be found on our homepage, with instructions for making different paints, including watercolour, egg tempera and oil paint. Learn More

PY39

Orpiment, also called King's Yellow, is a mineral pigment containing naturally occurring sulphide of arsenic. Its high toxicity, and the prevalence of cadmium pigments, means that it is largely obsolete outside the field of restoration. It works best bound in oil or egg tempera, but it is not reliably permanent.

Larger quantities are available by request.

Please note, unfortunately we are not able to send this product outside the UK.

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Made to a historical recipe, this Verdigris, unlike others available, has been doubly distilled and therefore more stable than basic Verdigris. This rich green is a translucent pigment with a fine grain.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extremely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further information on what is currently available. 

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Made from pulverised historic London bricks collected from the foreshore of the Thames near Tower Bridge and Wapping this deep red pigment is essentially a variety of red ochre. During the Victorian era, London Clay was dug up and fired on construction sites to produce the building materials for the city. Red brick pigment has a medium grain size and is opaque. Learn More

This soft yellow ochre is sourced from near the ancient woodland of Epping Forest in North London. Given legal status by Henry ll as a Royal hunting ground for the Monarchy this forest has a rich cultural and geological history. This pigment is a fine particle size and is semi-opaque.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extrmely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further infomation on what is currently availible. 

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A similar yellow to Epping Forest yellow ochre, this colour is another soft semi-opaque yellow. Hampstead Heath is an ancient woodland and grassland in North London.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extrmely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further infomation on what is currently availible. 

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This watercolour paint making set includes a 30ml glass vial of gum Arabic crystals and another of Hampstead Orange, a pigment rich in iron oxide. A pamphlet detailing a a watercolour recipe and an introduction to London pigment is also included. The perfect gift for artists getting into making their own art materials or those interested in handmade British earth colours. The pigment itself has a fine to medium grain size and has been washed, levigated and ground to create a stable high quality artist’s pigment.

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This lake pigment is made from the seeds, leaves and stem of the weld plant (Reseda Luteola) and for a natural dye based pigment is an incredibly lightfast warm yellow. Weld was used extensively throughout the 1700s -1800s to dye textiles and when mixed with verdigris the resulting grassy shade is known as the historical colour ‘Lincoln’s green’. Weld is a rare pigment to use as the pigment is not featured in many paint ranges due to its availability. Also many pigment suppliers will not have it as part of their offering. This pigment is made by extracting the soluble dye material from the plants and converting it into insoluble pigment, this is known as the leaking process. It comes in a 20 ml glass bottle with cork and wax seal. Learn More

This pigment comes in a 20 ml glass vial with hand finished wax seal and label. Learn More

This pigment comes in a 20 ml glass vial with hand finished wax seal and label. Learn More

This unique colour is an intense orange oxide that is made from the decay of Victorian pipes mixing with the chalk bed of the infilled docks at Rotherhithe, in south east London. Rotherhithe has a long history as a port, with many shipyards from Elizabethan times until the early 20th century and with working docks until the 1970s, when they began to be infilled due to a decline in imports to Central London. With a fine particle size and transparent quality this pigment would be great for glazing techniques.

Follow @londonpigment on Instagram for an insight into the stories behind the colours and how she makes them. 

NOTE: many of these colours are made in extrmely limited batches so please email us at info@cornelissen.com for further infomation on what is currently availible. 

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This colour comes in a 20 ml glass vial with hand finished wax seal and label. Learn More

Gamboge is a natural tree resin, generally extracted by tapping of Garcinia trees, available as a powder and in the solid "pipe" form. One of the unique features of Pipe Gamboge is that it does not require a binding agent to be used as a paint. Instead, colour can be lifted with a wet brush, as from a watercolour pan. When used as a water colour, it gives a bright transparent golden yellow colour. It is highly transparent, fugitive to light, with a weak tinting strength. The powder can be dissolved in alcohol to colour resin-based varnishes. Gamboge was used from ancient times to dye the clothes and also to make a transparent yellow varnish for the colouring of wood, metals and leather.

Pipe Gamboge is available while stocks last. Larger quantities are available by request.

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Gamboge is a natural tree resin, generally extracted by tapping of Garcinia trees, available as a powder and in the solid "pipe" form. One of the unique features of Pipe Gamboge is that it does not require a binding agent to be used as a paint. Instead, colour can be lifted with a wet brush, as from a watercolour pan. When used as a water colour, it gives a bright transparent golden yellow colour. It is highly transparent, fugitive to light, with a weak tinting strength. The powder can be dissolved in alcohol to colour resin-based varnishes. Gamboge was used from ancient times to dye the clothes and also to make a transparent yellow varnish for the colouring of wood, metals and leather.

Pipe Gamboge is available while stocks last. Larger quantities are available by request.

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PY46

Litharge is lead monoxide, also known as Massicot. It is an opaque pigment, with a weak tinting strength. Its toxicity and fugitive nature means that it is rarely used as a pigment. Instead, its fast drying time means that it has been used as a siccative in oil mediums. The colour tends to darken in all media, and it is also unstable in its dry form, as the powder can lighten when exposed to air. 

Larger quantities are available by request.

Please note, unfortunately we are not able to send this product outside the UK.

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NR9

The madder plant was once widely cultivated for the red dye extracted from its roots. Its earliest known use is in ancient Egypt, and there is evidence of its widespread adoption in Europe from the medieval period. Madder Lake, the pigment that is derived from the root, has now largely been replaced by synthetic alizarin pigments, but it is still used as an ingredient in some commercial paints. It provides a very transparent pigment, with a weak tinting strength, which can be used in all lime-free media, although it is very slow-drying in oil. It is fugitive to sunlight, so paintings containing Madder should be stored appropriately, but it remains one of the most lightfast plant-based pigments. 

Larger quantities are available by request.

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NR4

Carmine has been used as a dye and pigment since antiquity. Originally derived from the kermes insect, it was replaced by cochineal following the discovery of the Americas. It has a good tinting strength and is very transparent, although it is fugitive to light.

Larger quantities are available by request.

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NR9

Madder Lake pigment is derived from dye that has been extracted from the root of the madder plant, and attached to alum as a base. It has largely been replaced by synthetic alizarin pigments, but it is still used as an ingredient in some commercially-available paints. It provides a very transparent pigment, with a weak tinting strength, which can be used in all lime-free media, although it is very slow-drying in oil. It is fugitive to sunlight, so paintings containing Madder should be stored appropriately, but it remains one of the most lightfast plant-based pigments. It requires a wetting agent to aid dispersion.

Larger quantities are available by request

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PR106

Cinnabar, composed of mercuric sulphide, is a mineral pigment found in crusts or veins in sites of volcanic activity. It has good tinting strength and opacity but, like many red pigments, it dries very slowly in oil media. Due to its high toxicity, it is no longer an ingredient in commercial paints, but is a prominent colour in historical palettes.

Generally, Cinnabar refers to the natural mineral, while Vermilion refers to the synthetic pigment. Cinnabar has been mined since at least the tenth millennium BC, and used as a painting material, gemstone, and ritual object by many cultures around the globe. 

Larger sizes available on request.

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NR9 Rose Madder is an alizarin lake pigment made by precipitating dye extracted from madder root onto an inert base. It has largely been replaced by synthetic alizarin pigments, but it is still used as an ingredient in some commercially-available paints. It provides a very transparent pigment, with a weak tinting strength, which can be used in all lime-free media, although it is very slow-drying in oil. It is fugitive to sunlight, so paintings containing Madder should be stored appropriately, but it remains one of the most lightfast plant-based pigments. It requires a wetting agent to aid dispersion. Larger quantities are available by request Learn More

PR106 Vermilion is an artificial pigment based on mercuric sulphide, which occurs naturally as Cinnabar. The synthetic form contains fewer impurities than Cinnabar, and was in use in China as early as the fourth century. It was present in Europe from the ninth century, and was the most widely used red pigment until the introduction of Cadmium Red in the early twentieth century. It has good tinting strength and opacity but, like many red pigments, it dries very slowly in oil media. Larger sizes available on request. Learn More

PB30

Azurite is a naturally occuring copper carbonate, with a long history within European and Asian painting. It was mined in northern Europe, so was a less expensive source of blue than Lapis Lazuli, which was imported from Afghanistan. Medieval artists would often use Azurite in underpaintings, before applying layers of Lapis Lazuli during later stages of production.

It is best used in aqueous media, as the acidity of oils can cause it to darken in colour, although this can be somewhat counteracted by protecting the pigment particles with a protein such as egg yolk. It has a very low tinting strength, and the particle size tends to be quite large, to give a darker colour. It is sensitive to damp conditions, and is slightly transparent.

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Malachite is a naturally occurring copper carbonate, closely related to Azurite. It has a weak tinting strength, is quite opaque, and works best in aqueous media. Larger sizes available on request. Learn More