Natural Pigments OLD

Cool stuff. I haven't used it yet, but eventually want to use it to make silverpoint ground. It's kind of a heavy bag - made me think about how many little bones must be ground up to make the bag. I've been using Natural Pigments Silverpoint Ground Mix for now, but will use the bone ash at some point. I'm sure it's amazing like all the Natural Pigment products.

I have been making my own paint from raw pigments for years, especially my Dutch process Lead White, which allows me to temper my mix to my desired fluidity and use whatever additives I want to make it softer or brighter or longer. Since discovering NP’s Pale Grinders' Oil the consistency of my white has improved and absorption into the mix is so much quicker - I don’t have to wreck my arm before I start painting with hours of circular motions! Seriously though, it does make a difference and one I really appreciate now.

Good service and product

This product did exactly what it advertised. It was extremely fast drying, almost too fast, if you added too much- but you were sure to have a painting surface dry the next day, ready to work. The sheen, once dry was matte, ie great for working into, and yet the product didn't seem to affect the colour or body of paint while you were working with the wet paint. It's an excellent product, and a great way to avoid the slick surface that alkyd mediums tend to leave behind when dry.

I've been searching for a color palette that would bring my work to the next level. I found the Bouguereau palette to work the best for me...especially the way he arranged his colors. Search 'Bouguereau Palette' and you'll find some diagrams. The setup seems a little counterintuitive at first but I fell into the 'cool to warm' arrangement very quickly. Bouguereau used Chrome Yellow Deep but the Natural Pigments Chrome Yellow Medium is quite dark and works well in its place. Natural Pigments carries all the historical colors so you can really come close to reproducing the palettes of these master technicians (even if you want to go off the rails and paint like Matisse (who studied under William-Adolph Bouguereau ! )