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THE SYNTAX OF COLOR
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Can the Old Masters Teach Us Anything Useful?
Summary: A visit to a museum can be a rich and rewarding educational experience. Looking carefully at paintings as a learning tool is a...
Michael Skalka
Jan 26, 20235 min read


Painting Supports - Part 3
Summary: Looking over the Horizon - As both an artist and a chairman of an ASTM subcommittee focused on quality standards for the art...
Michael Skalka
Nov 30, 20224 min read


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. ...
Michael Skalka
Nov 11, 202210 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Nov 4, 20224 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Oct 5, 20224 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Sep 7, 20225 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Aug 21, 20225 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Aug 17, 20225 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Aug 4, 20225 min read


Materials Marketing Mishaps
Summary: Costly and elaborate advertising materials for artists’ materials have become a rarity. Specifically, hand-painted color charts...
Michael Skalka
Jun 21, 20224 min read


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 –...
Michael Skalka
May 25, 20223 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Apr 30, 20227 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Apr 23, 20224 min read


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...
Michael Skalka
Mar 25, 20224 min read


Chrome Colors
Summary: Chrome colors were derived from the discovery of chromium by the French scientist, Louis Nicolas Vauquelin in 1797. Their...
Michael Skalka
Mar 14, 20225 min read
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