Gamblin 1980 Oils - Blush PW6-Titanium White; PR101-Red Iron Oxide

Gamblin’s approach is different. 1980 colours contain pure pigments, the finest refined linseed oil, and marble dust (calcium carbonate). Since oil painting began, these three ingredients have made more affordable colours.

Painters experience true colours without homogenized texture or muddy colour mixtures. Gamblin's approach of using both traditional raw materials and processes ensures that artists experience the luscious working properties that they expect from their oil colours.

The Blush colour contains red iron oxide that varies in hue and transparency, depending on hydration and slight impurities. It is very dense and opaque, with excellent tinting strength and covering power. It is dependable when mixed with all other permanent pigments and yields good flesh tints when mixed with Zinc White.

Titanium White dries slowly in oil, more slowly than Lead White but more quickly than Zinc White. It is opaque in oil and acrylic and semi-opaque in watercolour. This pigment has good chemical stability, and its tinting strength is superior to both Lead White and Zinc White.

PIGMENT COMPOSITION AND PERMANENCE

• Pigment Name: PW6-Titanium White
• Pigment Type: inorganic

PROPERTIES

Titanium White is the most brilliant of the white pigments. It is considered an all-purpose oil colour that is useful in all techniques and the best all-around white. Its masstone is neither warm nor cool, placing it somewhere between Lead White and Zinc White. It is less prone to cracking and yellowing than Lead White, but it still yellows easily. Titanium White dries slowly in oil form, more slowly than Lead White but more quickly than Zinc White.

It is opaque in oil and acrylic forms and semi-opaque in watercolour forms. This pigment has good chemical stability, and its tinting strength is superior to both Lead White and Zinc White.

PERMANENCE

Titanium White has excellent permanence and lightfastness.

TOXICITY

Titanium dioxide is highly stable and is regarded as completely non-toxic. Animal studies do not indicate that it is absorbed biologically, even after long periods of exposure. The primary safety concern is with the inhalation of fine pigment dust particles.

HISTORY

Titanium is the ninth most abundant element in the Earth's crust. However, mineral deposits that are economical to mine are rare. Titanium dioxide was first discovered in 1821, although it could not be mass-produced until 1919. Widespread use of the pigment began in the 1940s. Since that time, it has become the most commonly used white pigment. The name comes from the Latin word Titan, the name for the elder brother of Kronos and ancestor of the Titans, and the Greek word tito, meaning day or sun.

PIGMENT COMPOSITION AND PERMANENCE

• Pigment Name: PR101-Red Iron Oxide
• Pigment Type: earth, synthetic

PROPERTIES

Red iron oxide varies in hue and transparency, depending on hydration and slight impurities. Indian Red is a slightly duller, deep brick hue with a bluish undertone.

It is very dense and opaque, with excellent tinting strength and covering power. When mixed with all other permanent pigments, it is dependable and yields good flesh tints when mixed with Zinc White.

It is the synthetic version of PR102, a pigment made from earth reds or natural red iron oxides, and the names applied to PR101 and PR102 often overlap.

Synthetic red iron oxides have mostly replaced natural red iron oxides and are brighter, more robust, more refined, and more permanent. Indian Red is the highest grade bluish shade. Light Red, English Red, and Venetian Red are yellowish shades. Mars Violet is a dull and subdued bluish or purplish oxide.

PERMANENCE

Red iron oxide is very lightfast and has excellent permanence.

TOXICITY

Red iron oxide has no significant hazards.

HISTORY

Natural red iron oxide comes from the mineral ore hematite, which the ancient Greeks called bloodstone from the word hema, meaning blood. Hematite is one of the oldest pigments, has been used by every major civilization, and was an essential mineral for medieval alchemists. It was not widely used in artists' materials until the 17th century and was not produced in large quantities until the 18th century.