or Penley's Neutral Orange, is a permanent compound pigment composed of yellow ochre and the russet-marrone known as brown madder: it is chiefly valuable in water-colour. Paper, being white, is too opaque to paint upon, without some wash of colour being first passed over it; otherwise the light tones of the sky are apt to look crude and harsh. It must, therefore, be gone over with some desirable tint, that shall break, in a slight degree, the extreme brilliancy of the mere paper. For this purpose, a thin wash of the orange is to be put over the whole surface of the paper with a large flat brush, care being taken never to drive the colour too bare, i.e. never to empty the brush too closely, but always to replenish before more is actually required. This first wash of colour not only gives a tone to the paper, but secures the pencil sketch from being rubbed out.

The reason why, in this compound, yellow ochre, as a yellow, is preferred to any of the others, is, that it is a broken yellow, that is, a yellow slightly altered by having another hue, such as red, or brown, in its composition. It is somewhat opaque too, and hence, from this quality, is especially adapted for distances. Brown madder also is a subdued red, which, when in combination with the former, produces a neutral orange, partaking of the character of soft light. As a general rule, yellow ochre is to predominate in broad daylight, and brown madder in that which is more sombre and imperfect: hence the pigment can be yellowed or reddened, by the addition of one or the other. For a clear sunset, the neutral orange must be repeated, with a preponderance of ochre at the top, assisted by a little cadmium yellow near the sun; the madder being added downwards.

In treating of distant mountains, a distinction is to be made between them and the clouds, the former requiring solidity, while the latter are only to be regarded as vapour and air. Mountains, being opaque bodies, are acted upon by atmosphere more or less, according to their position, their distance, and the state of the weather. To express this distinction, recourse must be had to an under tint, except where the tone is decidedly blue—an uncommon case. No mixture can give this with such truth as the neutral orange. A wash, therefore, should be passed over the mountains, with nearly all yellow in the high lights, or in the gleams of sunshine, and, on the contrary, almost all brown madder for the shadows. These two degrees of tone must be run into each other while the drawing is wet. A beautiful and soft under tone will thus be given to receive the greys.

162. ORANGE, OR BURNT ROMAN OCHRE,

called also Spanish Ochre, is a very bright yellow or Roman ochre burnt, by which operation it acquires warmth, colour, transparency, and depth. Moderately bright, it forms good flesh tints with white, dries and works well both in water and oil, and is a very good and eligible pigment. It may be used in enamel painting, and has all the properties of its original ochre in other respects.

A redder hue is imparted by mixing the ochre with powdered nitre before ignition, the orange red being subsequently washed with hot water.


163. Anotta,

Annotto, Annatto, Arnotto, Arnotta, Terra Orellana, Rocou, &c., is met with in commerce under the names of cake anotta, and flag or roll anotta. The former, which comes almost exclusively from Cayenne, should be of a bright yellow colour: the latter, which is imported from the Brazils, is brown outside and red within. It is prepared from the pods of the bixa orellana, and appears generally to contain two colouring matters, a yellow and a red, which are apt to adhere to each other and produce orange. Anotta dissolves with difficulty in water, but readily in alcohol and alkaline solutions, from which last it may be thrown down as a lake by means of alum. Being, however, exceedingly fugitive and changeable, it is not fit for painting; but is chiefly employed in dyeing silk, and colouring varnishes and cheese. Very red cheese should be looked upon with suspicion, for although the admixture of anotta is in no way detrimental to health provided the drug be pure, it is commonly adulterated with red lead and ochre. Several instances are on record that Gloucester and other cheeses have been found contaminated with red lead, through having been coloured with anotta containing it, and that this contamination has produced serious consequences.

Bixine is a purified extract of anotta made in France, and used by dyers.