Michael Skalka
Painting Supports - Part 2
In part one I discussed the benefits of solid panel supports and how they outperformed stretched canvas in every way except weight. ...
THE SYNTAX OF COLOR
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Michael Skalka
- Nov 4
- 4 min
Painting Supports - Part 1
Summary: Artists need to understand the positive and negative aspects of painting supports. A support that appears stable and sound when...
603
Michael Skalka
- Oct 5
- 4 min
Adventures In Color Mixing
Summary: Can a piece of software teach us how to mix colors? It may serve as a good starting point for beginner artists who need some...
1102
Michael Skalka
- Sep 7
- 5 min
Food Coloring
Summary: Both in the past and the present, foods have been used as colorants for a variety of purposes. They can serve as pigments as...
350
Michael Skalka
- Aug 21
- 5 min
Cadmium Yellow Deep: A Misnamed Pigment? Part 2
Summary: Pigments with the same Color Index name but appearing to be a different hue is confusing for the consumer. Abiding by the Color...
520
Michael Skalka
- Aug 17
- 5 min
Cadmium Yellow Deep: A Misnamed Pigment? Part 1
Summary: Pigments with the same Color Index name but appearing to be a different hue is confusing for the consumer. Abiding by the Color...
1210
Michael Skalka
- Aug 4
- 5 min
Titanium White
Summary: A very recent news article caught my attention regarding a ban on the use of titanium dioxide white in food products within the...
3393
Michael Skalka
- Jun 21
- 4 min
Materials Marketing Mishaps
Summary: Costly and elaborate advertising materials for artists’ materials have become a rarity. Specifically, hand-painted color charts...
1241
Michael Skalka
- May 25
- 3 min
The Pastel Standard
Summary: So many activities with so little time. However, I am pleased to announce that the article I wrote for the Pastel Journal –...
1502
Michael Skalka
- Apr 30
- 7 min
Get the Lead Out?
Summary: What is the impact of continued use of lead white oil paint on the health of artists? What does health/safety literature tell us...
601
Michael Skalka
- Apr 23
- 4 min
Mind the Gap
Summary: The art materials industry provides a wealth of color choices, but sometimes a gap is found in if a 12-step color wheel is used...
1100
Michael Skalka
- Mar 25
- 4 min
We tame the medium and the medium tames us
Summary: Making art is a two-way proposition. An artist masters the medium of their choice and bends it to their will. However, the...
430
Michael Skalka
- Mar 14
- 5 min
Chrome Colors
Summary: Chrome colors were derived from the discovery of chromium by the French scientist, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin in 1797. Their...
470
Michael Skalka
- Mar 2
- 5 min
...as Clear and Transparent as a Piece of Coal... Part 2
Summary: John Steuart Curry and Reginald Marsh corresponded with Jacques Maroger in the 1940s to obtain the long lost secret of Old...
760
Michael Skalka
- Feb 19
- 5 min
"... as Clear and Transparent as a Piece of Coal" Part 1
Summary: When it comes to painting mediums used by artists, the debate about their merits or problems becomes a source of heated...
880