COMMERCIAL PAINTING
IF you take up any art dealer’s catalogue, you will find more than a hundred varieties of colors; and, among them, the vast majority should not be used by the average painter. But, there is a legitimate use for them in commercial painting. In sketching, for advertising purposes or for book illustration, brilliant colors are permissible, where half-tone reproductions are desired; and, under the circumstances, it would be well for the painter to know exactly what he is using. The average painter does not know that Cremnitz White, Flake White and White Lead are identical in composition. Nor, does he know that Silver White and Zinc White are the same. In many of the States of the United States, laws have been enacted which compel manufacturers of house paints to label each container as to its true composition. If a man is buying a ready-mixed paint and is supposed to be getting a mixture of Zinc Oxide, White Lead, Linseed Oil and Drier, the label must so state, and I have advocated for a long time that artists’ tube colors ought to be labeled as to their true composition.
A color, for instance, like Zinnober Green, which is purely and simply a name that trades on the reputation of Zinnober Red,[3] should be labeled as to composition. This is a mixture of Prussian Blue, Chrome Yellow and White, and is only permanent when used alone on surfaces, excepting plaster or Portland Cement concrete. The painter would then know what to use and what to avoid. It must be understood that I am not condemning the manufacture of the brilliant aniline tube colors entirely, because there is some legitimate use for them; but, it is my object to attempt to educate the painter in a simple Palette, so that he may be sure of the lasting qualities of his art.