Kremer Pigments

[musket]

I don't know where else to put this...

Kremer Pigments

I haven't been to their new location, only the old one on Elizabeth St deep in SoHo. But this place is mind boggling.

I made a lot of my own acrylics from their dry pigments and their acrylic dispersion K 19 (matte, which is what I needed). It was easy as pie. Just put on a mask (why the hell not these days), mix up the pigment with fifty-fifty water and dispersion, and off you go.

This may seem silly until you realize that these people have over sixty different earths.

Kremer Earth Pigments

And believe it, there is yellow ochre and there is yellow ochre. There is burnt sienna and there is burnt sienna. I got a burnt sienna from Monte Amiata in Italy that is bar none the most beautiful I've ever seen (there ain't no more, the mine is closed). This stuff almost glows in the dark. A gorgeous Sardinian red earth of which there also ain't no more-- I wish I'd bought more. Six different yellow or gold ochres-- my favorite was a gold ochre from the island of Elba, along with the French JTCLES yellow ochre, the clearest yellow ochre I've ever seen, nothing like the drab stuff in tubes. They have four different burnt umbers from Cyprus. The dark brown is incredibly rich.

Anybody who paints thinly in acrylics should fool around with this. The main thing is to make sure whatever pigment you're considering is finely ground enough to just disperse without needed further grinding, unless you don't mind working with a mortar and pestle.

I didn't put this in the acrylics forum because it's just the tip of the iceberg--you can mull all this stuff in oil if you want to. They have every conceivable medium. They have stuff no one here has ever heard of, including me. The store on Elizabeth St was just an awful place to be in with money to spend, worse than being a kid in a candy store.

It's fun just browsing the site, though the site isn't as informative as their wonderful mail order catalog.

The help at the old store was extremely knowledgeable.

 

[brianvds]

I have long thought of playing around with making my own paints, but alas, pigment shops are few and far between around here. Apart from kiddies' powder paints, you don't really see them. I was once scolded by someone over at Wetcanvas (she was the Greek ladyt, what was her name again?) for not doing it, because we have these Acacia thorn trees here which exude huge amount of tree gum at certain times of year - free gum arabic! Or so she said. I have never tried it myself. But every time I see rich colors in powdery ricks (here and there, one can pick up large numbers of soft, chalky rocks of very rich ochre yellow and red tones) I feel like doing a project with homemade paint.

Combine the ochres with charcoal powder for black, and perhaps ashes for very light grey, plus acacia sap or perhaps hardware store linseed oil, and one can make up a nice selection of homemade paints.

 

[Trier]

Hello musket -
Your post has sort of pushed me over the edge into trying DIY acrylic.
I am thinking of Kremer K 19 250 ml $14.00+ and one of the yellow ochers you enthused about.
Before I order, and only if it is not too much trouble, I would like to hear any sage words or advice you think a beginner would need to know, and/or a good source for same. I will be doing a searh on the net for instructions on how to do it also.

Thanks for any help or tips you can give.
Regards,
Trier

 

[musket]

For an ochre I would try the French JTCLES. This is an inexpensive, clear, beautiful washed ochre that disperses readily without any need for additional grinding. Not that it's a big deal to do a little grinding, so if something else appeals, go for it, but it is an additional step. They have even more earths than they used to and it's a good thing I'm no longer working because I'd be ordering that stuff from Burgundy or some Jarosite right now.

The procedure is simplicity itself, if you're making thin paint and not a lot of it at one time. Just put some pigment into one of those little ceramic dishes, stir the dispersion and add enough to the pigment to disperse it. Then add the same amount of water, and off you go. Far as making thicker paint, or lots of paint at one time, I really can't be of assistance but I don't imagine it'd be much different. The people who worked at the old location were extremely knowledgeable, so I would direct any inquiry to Kremer itself if you can't get your answers elsewhere. K19 is matte, for real, so make sure that's what you want.

 

[Trier]

Thanks musket, that clarifies things quite a bit for me. Your tip about the strengh of the matte effect gives me the feeling that maybe I ought to hedge the bet somehow without wasting money.

Speaking of money, I hear what you are saying about wanting to order some wonderful stuff but holding off. That goes with the territory of having a fixed income but unfixed expenses, to state the obvious. Oh well,"Say la vee"

 

[musket]

They also make a gloss dispersion, K9 I believe. It's possible the two can be mixed to control the degree of gloss; you'd have to ask them.

You really should try. It's easy.

 

[musket]

Check Wildlife Art to see what a few of these pigments look like on an actual piece, the Harris's hawk in progress.

 

[Trier]

Hey musket -

I just now checked out your marvelous Harris Hawk and the reference to Kremer.

I appreciate your interest and help.. I regret not being able to follow thu on things much anymore, but I wanted to tell you that I am going to order some gloss dispersion as well as the matte to go with the French Ocher, thanks to your tip.
I have a few things I must take care of first.

Will advise of progess and probably ask for your generous advice when I run into problems. Thanks

 

[musket]

Cool... keep me posted.

 

[Trier]

Cool... keep me posted.

Today at 12:26 PM

Hey Musket . .
I ordered from Kremer, hoping to get the M. Amiata yellow ochre, "out of stock" reply;

*** We would like to offer you a replacement item that we have in-stock: 40070 French Ochre SOFODOR, $16/kilo. This item has the closest color to the missing JTCLES, however it costs $2 more. Would you like to take this item instead?

Taking you up on your kind offer of help and advice:

I am inclined to go with their recommendation now, instead of waiting 3 or more weeks for restock, unless you think it would be a waste of money, or that something else you know about would be a better ochre.

I am also getting Venetian Red, maybe I should order magenta instead, and if you have any thoughts as to what would be your pick for a blue, I would welcome them.

How do I find out if the pigments are fine enough to skip further grinding?

If this involves too much time and trouble now, please say so and I will get it as life changes quickly sometimes.

Thanks,
Trier

PS I also posted this in the 'start conversation' part of the profile because I couldn't find this thread. I don't know how that conversation thing is supposed to work.

 

[Artyczar]

Yellow Ochre is one of my most favorite colors.

The "conversations" are private between you and that other person by the way, unless you "invite" another person in. But posting on someone's profile is not private.

 

[Trier]

Yellow Ochre is one of my most favorite colors.

The "conversations" are private between you and that other person by the way, unless you "invite" another person in. But posting on someone's profile is not private.

Thanks Arty, but I am not sure if you mean I should use the "start converdsation" button on my profile or on the recipients profile; or does it make any difference?

 

[Artyczar]

I'm pretty sure you start it on the profile of whom you want to start the conversation with.

 

[musket]

Trier, you should ask the people at Kremer. For some pigments they give particle size in the description, but I don't think they do it for earths. I never tried SOFODOR, so I just don't know.