Duration 

04 – 08 August / 1 week

Monday - Friday 10am – 4.30pm

Course leader(s) 

Ruth Siddall and Sarah Pettitt

Level - All levels

Course Description

This five-day intensive course will introduce artists’ pigments, their chemistry, characterisation, properties and history of use through lectures, demonstrations and hands-on workshops. This course is suitable for anyone interested in pigments, including artists and crafts-persons who would like to develop hands-on skills and have a better understanding of pigments, get advice on best practice and how paints might be made in your studio.

We will present earth and mineral pigments and introduce techniques for the field identification of geological pigment materials;  introduce natural organic pigments derived from dyes and the process of making lake pigments; study the history and production of the pigment ultramarine and discover how pigments are transformed into paints and we will make an oil paint from synthetic ultramarine and look at some historical synthetic pigments and experiment with tempera and watercolour media. On the final day we will experiment further with different pigments and paints, and have feedback and a final q&a. Throughout the course there will be an emphasis on the health and safety aspects of pigments and safe working practices will be demonstrated in all workshops.

The course will be led by geologist and pigment scientist Ruth Siddall and artist Sarah Pettit. Ruth Siddall  is the author of the Pigment Compendium and hosts @worldpigmentday on Instagram. She has extensive experience of the analysis of historical pigments and recreating traditional recipes for pigments and paints. Sarah Pettitt was the Material Research Fellow, Slade Materials Project, U.C.L 2015/16 and is a practicing artist who used pigments in both 2d and 3d work.

Please Read Slade’s Terms & Conditions: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/shortcourses/evening-courses#general-information