GAMBLIN ARTIST'S OILS - Titanium dioxide, Zinc oxide (PW 6,
PW 4)
Zinc White: Most good all-purpose oil painting white. An
excellent mixing white, T-Z White combines the soft texture and opacity
Titanium of Titanium with the creamy transparency of Zinc for less “chalky”
mixtures. Consider using T-Z White for colour-mixing because it takes so much
colour to tint Titanium.
PIGMENT COMPOSITION AND PERMANENCE
- Pigment Name: PW4-Zinc White (zinc (II)-oxide)
- Pigment Type: inorganic
PROPERTIES
Zinc White is the coolest white with a cold, clean
masstone and a slightly bluish tint. It has less hiding power and is more
transparent than other whites. It dries slowly and is suitable for painting wet
into wet, glazing, and scumbling.
Zinc White is neither as opaque nor heavy as Lead White; its
covering power is not as good, and it takes much longer to dry. However, it
does not blacken when exposed to sulphur in the air as Lead White does.
It is precious for making tints with other colours. Unmixed
Zinc White dries to a brittle and dry paint film that may crack over the years,
so it is unsuitable for frescoing.
It is more transparent in acrylic form than Titanium White
and is the most commonly used white with gouache.
Chinese White is a version of Zinc White appropriate for
opaque watercolour techniques.
PERMANENCE
Zinc White has excellent permanence and lightfastness.
TOXICITY
Zinc White is moderately toxic if ingested and slightly
toxic if inhaled.
HISTORY
Though historians are divided on who first isolated the
element zinc, they agree that it was first suggested as a white pigment in
1782. Zinc White was accepted as a watercolour in 1834 and was called Chinese
White due to the popularity of oriental porcelain in Europe at the time.
Ten years later, a suitable oil form was produced. By the
early 20th century, it had improved to the point where it was an acceptable
alternative to Flake 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, 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.
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.
