The following extracts may prove of interest and value to painters.[81]
8th.
Dear Prof. Church,—I write to acknowledge your letter of the 6th, the information in which (Jaune de Naples) is to me of very great importance indeed. I believe Hills to be really anxious to help us in the matter of medium. I should be peculiarly glad if we could send forth a thoroughly trustworthy, hard-drying, supple, and not yellowing vehicle. Let us consider it. I find myself using a mixture, roughly, of equal parts of amber varnish (Roberson's) and oil of spike; and, say, a sixth of the whole of poppy oil (Roberson's): that is, 3/7 amber, 3/7 spike, 1/7 poppy; but I vary according to the work; and again I don't know what Roberson's amber varnish is, it does not seem very drying. Of course one would want a good middle drying power, to which, mixing the ingredients, one might add any one at will. I think that "Siccatif de Haarlem" has about that middle quality, if I remember it rightly. It is, I think, copal, poppy oil, and turps.; but it seemed to me to yellow a little, why, I don't know; poppy should not darken. Chromophile is delightful up to a certain point, and then the work sinks extraordinarily blind and tallowy; and as you want something in the way of varnish at the end, it seems desirable to carry that or some varnish in a moderate degree right through. Chromoph. becomes a little milky in a bottle with spir. of turp., and turns bright green when left in a dipper.
Your proposal to report to us annually is very valuable, and could be worked to the general advantage.
I am delighted to find that you are in co-operation with my friend Mr. Hills, who has a warm and genuine desire to serve Art and his friends the artists. I find his poppy oil clarified with charcoal very delightful stuff. Am I wrong in thinking the action of the charcoal on it has been to render it more drying? I think that a vehicle made with that oil, amber varnish, and oil of spike will be a very satisfactory vehicle indeed; particularly if you can, between you, bleach the oil yet more. Chromophile is quite colourless. The mastic varnish that won't bloom will be a great triumph. Pace our detractors, it shall, I hope, be seen in time that the R.A. is not unmindful of the needs of artists even in the matter of material appliances.
I observe that you speak in your valuable manual of Aureolin as a very slow-drying colour when ground with oil; finding, in use, that Roberson's Aureolin dries, on the contrary, extremely quick—it is always absolutely dry the next day, and I use no vehicle but Bell's Medium, i.e. linseed and oil of spike and turps.—I wrote to ask him what he grinds the colour in. He answers "pure linseed oil without the addition of any drier." This puzzles me. Where is the solution? Are there different kinds of Aureolin? When you have a leisure moment send me a post-card.
Among the madders in your handbook scarlet madder does not appear; I hope it is not a treacherous colour; I use it freely, but only mixture with other dark colours, to give them richness. I also use cadmium red; is that wrong? A line on a post-card will greatly oblige.