Pigments Gums & Resins

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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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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This colour 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 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 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 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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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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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

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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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. Toxicity D.

Larger quantities are available by request.

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

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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

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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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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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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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

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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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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Spinel Black, sometimes known as Manganese Ferrite Black, is a synthetic mixed-metal oxide pigment. It provides a deep, cool, transparent black, which dries quickly in oil.

Toxicity: C

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PBk11

Mars Black is an artificial mineral pigment composed of hydrated ferric oxides. Like other Mars colours, it provides a very opaque, permanent colour, which is stable in all media. It has an average drying time in oil, forming a hard, fairly flexible film, making it more suitable for impasto application than carbon-based black pigments, which tend to be brittle. It also wets more easily than other black pigments, and possesses a warm, brownish undertone.

Toxicity: B

Limeproof

Larger quantities are available by request. 

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PBk 6

Lamp Black is an inorganic, synthetic, pure carbon pigment. Originally made from soot collected from oil lamps and fireplaces, its modern equivalent is derived from partly combusted mineral and vegetable oil. It is a cool, transparent, bluish black, with a good tinting strength, and stable in all media. It requires a wetting agent, and in oil it has a very high absorption drying very slowly.

Larger quantities are available by request. 

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Ivory Black is a natural pigment of impure carbon, derived from charred animal bones. It is semi-transparent, very lightfast, and offers good tinting strength. It is a particularly slow-drying pigment, which forms a soft, rather brittle paint film in oil.

Compared to other blacks, such as Vine Black, Ivory Black possesses warmer, brownish undertones. It should not be used at full-strength in an underpainting, as subsequent layers are likely to crack. Otherwise, it is a very useful all-purpose black for many types of paint, excluding mortar, fresco or cement.

Toxicity: B

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PBk10

Graphite powder is an allotropic form of pure carbon, ground to 200 mesh. It is transparent and lightfast, with a slight sheen. It can be applied directly onto a paper support.

Larger quantities are available by request. This variety of graphite is a naturally occurring material sourced from Sri Lanka.

Toxicity: A/B

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Buff Titanium is an opaque off-white pigment

Toxicity: B

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PV15

Ultramarine Violet is a synthetic organic pigment that is produced by heating Ultramarine Blue with Ammonium Chloride, causing the removal of some of the sodium and sulphur and thus a change in colour. It is lightfast and semi-transparent, with a weak tinting strength. In oils, it dries quite slowly, forming a hard, flexible film.

Toxicity: B

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PV16

Manganese Violet is a synthetic organic pigment, discovered in Germany in 1868 and formed by combining manganese chloride, phosphoric acid and ammonium carbonate. It is very lightfast, but sensitive to alkalis and oils. It is semi-opaque and fast-drying, with a low tinting strength and low absorption of oil. 

Toxicity: C

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Cobalt Violet Light Pigment (PV14). Synthetic inorganic pigment. Semi-opaque. Weak tinting strength. Excellent Lightfastness. Fast drying rate. Good for oil and watercolour but not acrylic as pigment 'settles out'. Used since early 1900's. This colour cannot be matched through mixing other colours.

Limeproof

Toxicity: C

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

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Cobalt Violet Dark Pigment (PV14). Synthetic inorganic pigment. Semi-transparent. High tinting strength. Excellent Lightfastness. Low oil absorption with fast drying rate. All media including ceramics. Used since late 19th Century.

Limeproof

Toxicity: C

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

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