Michael Skalka
Color Name Confusion
Summary: Were the names that art materials manufacturers invented for paints a well-thought idea or a blend of romantic, historical, and...
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THE SYNTAX OF COLOR
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Michael Skalka
- May 15
- 6 min
Pyrrole Red, The Allure of Rosso Corsa
Summary: Pyrrole Red is one of a number of pigments that were accidentally discovered. In this essay, take a trip from East Lansing,...
570
Michael Skalka
- Mar 2
- 3 min
Roses are Red, Violets are VIOLET
Summary: Documents describing the origin of a pigment can consume multiple pages of explanatory facts or be stated in merely one...
1191
Michael Skalka
- Feb 17
- 4 min
Divine Aniline, Won’t You Be Mine
Summary: The invention of mauve by William Henry Perkins in 1856 from coal tar initiated the study of aniline chemistry. A wide variety...
831
Michael Skalka
- Aug 4, 2022
- 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...
3663
Michael Skalka
- Jun 21, 2022
- 4 min
Materials Marketing Mishaps
Summary: Costly and elaborate advertising materials for artists’ materials have become a rarity. Specifically, hand-painted color charts...
1391
Michael Skalka
- May 25, 2022
- 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 –...
1842
Michael Skalka
- Apr 23, 2022
- 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...
1340
Michael Skalka
- Jan 29, 2022
- 4 min
It Sure Doesn’t Look Like Tomato Juice!
Summary: It is time once again to dive into the realm of common household foods as they apply, or in this case, should not be applied to...
470
Michael Skalka
- Jan 23, 2022
- 5 min
Let's Raise a Glass to Naphthol Red
Summary: An unusual relationship exists between the brewing industry and the invention of a host of synthetic organic pigments in the azo...
590
Michael Skalka
- Jan 14, 2022
- 5 min
Testing the Test?
Summary: The ASTM subcommittee D01.57 creates standards that manufacturers may follow to assure their products are light fast, indicate...
520
Michael Skalka
- Dec 18, 2021
- 4 min
Painting and Music
It is likely that many of you have a wide number of art forms that you appreciate. My interests in music, especially technical, music...
530
Michael Skalka
- Nov 11, 2021
- 4 min
Are We All Using the Same Yardstick?
The focus of this essay is on an apparent lack of consistency that has been going on for decades. ASTM (The American Society for Testing...
611
Michael Skalka
- Nov 4, 2021
- 4 min
"We May Never Pass This Way (Again""
Perhaps the reason I gravitate so strongly towards researching art materials and related items is that they have a long history. For me,...
590
Michael Skalka
- Oct 22, 2021
- 3 min
How Can I Be Sure?
How can I be sure, in a world that's constantly changing? (Young Rascals “How Can I Be Sure” 1967) We place a tremendous amount of trust...
280
Michael Skalka
- Oct 7, 2021
- 3 min
Should Odorless Mineral Spirits Be Scented?
I have been grappling with this question for many years. This issue has a number of technical components that make it hard to explain...
1484
Michael Skalka
- Sep 16, 2021
- 3 min
Permanent Green Light
Let’s explore another of what art material manufacturers sometimes refer to as “convenience colors.” This means a color that can be mixed...
2620
Michael Skalka
- Jun 30, 2021
- 4 min
Can Old Ads Tell Us Something?
I had both the pleasure and task of adding around 375 new images to my collection of art materials advertising. A question was raised: ...
450
Michael Skalka
- Jun 22, 2021
- 5 min
Henry Levison: A Debt of Gratitude
Depending on a person’s age, the art materials manufacturer, Permanent Pigments, may or may not be recognized. Even more senior artists...
25210
Michael Skalka
- Jun 11, 2021
- 3 min
Aurora Yellow - These are not the charged particles you were looking for...
Aurora Yellow: In artist forums I occasionally notice that a small group of art materials enthusiasts are drawn to seek out old art...
1990
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