Introduction

I chose to investigate the effect of different binders and different types of paper to determine which combination made the best color. Through Chemistry and Art I found that I was extremely interested in how important paper was to the Art process. Although I have been painting for years, I had never given much thought to the type of paper I used. I also thought the colorimeter machine was neat, and was intrigued by the idea of using it to determine which binder gave specific pigments the best chroma. I decided that if I could find the right combination, I could find the perfect chroma and paper combination to create a wonderful painting.

Background

I decided upon three different types of paper, all of which consisted of pulp samples that had already been beaten and were lying around the Chemistry and Art labratory. I used a deckle box to make the paper (see procedure below) and first made 3 sheets of paper with Linen fabric, beat at level 1 for 15 minutes. I also used cotton Linters that had been beat for 9 minutes at level 2 and the same blue jean pulp we used earlier in the year. I added sizing to each sheet of paper so it would hold the pigment. I decided upon three different binders, gum arabic, linseed oil, and honey. I used the following pigments

1. Ultramarine #14501

2. Calclmium yellow

3. Alizurine Crimson Dark

4. Bone black

5. Verdigris Kremer(green)

5. Titanium White

Once I had all these supplies, I was ready to start!

Procedure

I began my project by making paper, using the Deckle box, as shown below. I filled the box with water, and placed 200mL of my various fabric pulps into the water. I then added one drop of sizing. I allowed the water to drain out fo the box, and then kouched the sheet of paper from the screen onto Felts and Pelons. I made three sheets of linen, three sheet of cotton, adn three sheet of blue jean papers. While my papers were drying, I went to work on my pigments.

I placed 1/8 of a teaspoon of each color pigment into 6 minature waying boats. I then added 10 drops of gum arabic to each boat and stirred with a stirring rod until the pigement became liquid. The crimson mixed especially poorly with the gum arabic. Next, I repeated this procedure with the honey. I added 10 drops of honey to each waying boat of pigment, and attempted to stir until liquid. The honey pigement was much more difficult to turn to liquid, and many of the paints remained grainy. I repeated the process a third time with the linseed oil. I added 12 drops of linseed oil to each pigment. The oil mixed well with the pigments. I covered all pigments with saranwrap until my paper was dry.

Once my paper had dried, I laid out all 9 sheets on the table. I drew six circles on each sheet and labeled them according to which binder I would test on that sheet of paper. I then painted a sample of every pigment, mixed with three different binders or three different types of paper. For example, I had a sheet of cotton paper, in which I tested all sixpigements mixed with gum arabic binder. Next to that, I had a sheet of blue jean paper where I tested all six pigments with the linseed oil binder. I recorded my observations of painting, such as texture, spreadability, etc.

Once all my paint samples had dried, I used the colorimeter machine to determine the L*A*B color readings from each paint sample. Once I had recorded all these results, I analyzed the results to determine, by chroma, which pigment performed best with which binder, on what paper. I then repeated my anlysis simply by looking at the dried paint samples, and recording my observations. I then tallied up the combined data and determined which paper and which binder made the best overall product.

Observations and Data

Paper Observations

LINEN FABRIC - makes poor paper. Thick and Lumpy, does not fry well. Very flakey, even when completely dry. Paper is very textured, and difficult to work with.

COTTON LINTERS - Much thiner than linen fabric, drys faster, and does not flake. Still somewhat textured, however.

BLUE JEAN - dries easily, makes very mooth, thin sheets of paper. Fibers are much smaller, as evidenced by how many slip through the mold and into the drainage water.

Binder Observations

HONEY - difficult to mix, sticky, difficult to paint on cotton. Will not paint on the linene. Sticky paint, and lumpy flakey paper do not work well together. Paints easier on blue jean, but is still not great.

GUM ARABIC - Textured, still somewhat difficult to paint. Green pigments is very gainy and does not paint well. All paints paint poorly on linen and tears up the paper, but will at least produce a color spot. Paints wonderfully on blue jean, except for the grainy green pigment.

LINSEED OIL - Paints well on cotton, and mixes well with pigments. Still difficult on texture of cotton, but produces a nice color. Still tears linen, but works better than the other two binder at producing a color. Paints very wll on blue jean. Green pigment continues to be very grainy.

Conclusions

The oil paints on cotton paper did produce quite a nice effect. I had never painted with oils before, and their slow drying process helped me understand new painting teachniques. The effect of paper and binders on chroma is actually more substancial than I was expecting. The L*A*B results, along with my personal anlysis showed distinctive differences in the binders and paper on the resulting paint color. I may not have found the PERFECT color, but given my experiment and materials, I found the best ones of the bunch, both scientifically and visually!

Links

http://www.sewanee.edu/chem/chem&art

www.colorpro.com

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank...

Jennifer Upshaw, for 1 min tutoring, and helping me operate the deckle box and not wreck the lab room

Clarence for drowning in the alfredo sause as a child, and thus inspiring me

Dr. Boardly, for answering all my stupid questions, and not kicking me out of lab all the times I wore flip flops

and finally...Townsend Ziegler for inspiring the B.S. in us all...

Pictures! In order of my project!