Syntax of Color

I want to highlight a website called Syntax of Color which aims to focus on Art Materials and Colour. 

Highly recommended for art materials nerds like me - and those wanting to expand their knowledge of the art materials they work with currently - and might like to try in future.

This website is actually resurrecting an old site with updated and new material. 

After a considerable hiatus, the art materials website devoted to pigment history stories, interviews with artists and manufacturers, reviews of art materials and items of interest in the world of ASTM will be refreshed and renewed. Also a MAJOR name change has taken place. The old Grammar of Color is evolving into the Syntax of Color. We're back.....

"Syntax of Color" aims to educate artists and share information about art materials by exploring:

• Syntax of Color - Essays on the History of Pigments and Art Materials
• Product Reviews - Descriptions of Products and How to Use Them
• Interviews - Discussions with Artists and Art Materials Manufacturers (Coming Soon)
• ASTM Discussion Topics - The World of Making Standards for Art Material Manufacturing

The Syntax of Color - Home Page

Michael Skalka - author of Syntax of Color

The website is the idea of a chap who I've been corresponding with on and off for some years.  

Prior to his recent retirement, Michael Skalka was the Conservation Administrator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington for very many years where - among other duties - he looked after The National Gallery's Art Materials Collection.

Since 1993, I have been engaged in learning and sharing with others the love I have for art materials

Michael Skalka has an MFA in Museum Studies, expertise in Art Materials, and has been the Chairman of ASTM subcommittee D01.57 (re. Artists' Paints and Related Materials) for some years - which is how I got to know him.  (Note for new readers: I have been known to bang on online about lightfastness of art media at length - and I'm also a co-opted member of D01.57!)

Bottom line Michael is genuinely interested in increasing awareness of issues relating to colour and art materials - and has no axe to grind other than being somebody focused on quality issues. He also knows many of the technical people from the various art manufacturers.

Content of Syntax of Color

Here's a sampler of its content to date - with some quotations to get an idea of content. 

• Michael writes well and with authority. 
• If there is one thing I'd like to see him add it's shorter paragraphs and spaces inbetween! (i.e. techniques for writing for online as opposed to printed papers)

Colours

He focuses on old as well as current colours - as one might expect of a man who has worked in conservation for over 25 years.

• The Issue of Black
• Indian Yellow: A Bovine Story
• The Discovery of Thenard Blue (Cobalt Blue)
• Vermilionettes and Royal Reds
• Bodies in the Cellar or The Old and Forgotten (Scheeles Green / Emerald Green)
• The Lead White Pot

Pigments 

How an art conservator cleans and restores an old master painting

I love watching videos of paintings being restored. My jaw drops every time when I see just how mucky some of them are - and how much sheer dirt is hanging alongside the painting!

Below are two videos produced with and by Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago.  They are both about the process of restoration of a painting.

• The first one is short (1 minute 38 seconds) - produced by a company working with Baumgartner
• The second one was made by Baumgartner and relates to just one painting and is longer (9 minutes 23 seconds) - and is narrated. The processes are explained as they happen. 

They work according to a set of principles

Our philosophy is to alter the artwork as little as possible with respect to the original intention of the artist. To that end, we examine each work of art closely and tailor our methodologies to meet both the needs of the painting and client. We use only the finest materials and techniques which are found in major museums around the world. In accordance with our belief that restoration should be noninvasive, all of the work we do is fully reversible and in accordance with the AIC Code of Ethics

Definitely worth a watch if you want to know why some paintings you see in galleries have a brown cast while others are bright and full of colour.

Working with detail and care Julian labors to repair damage, stabilize, clean and restore this master work to honor the artist's vision.

Using archival and reversible materials and techniques, the work executed will do no harm to the painting and ensure that generations to come will be able to enjoy this work.

While not meant to be instructional and edited for brevity this video allows art lovers and the curious to see how artworks are conserved.