REDS, THE TOUCHY WONDERFUL COLOR


This is a direct quote from an article by Joyce Berlew in the China Decorator Nov. 1988

CHINA PAINTERS CAN PAINT WITH REDS AND YELLOWS
  • YELLOW
  • Regular Groupings-includes YELLOW
  • yellow ivory
  • lemon yellow
  • mixing yellow
  • light ocher
  • ORANGE YELLOW
  • rich yellow
  • ocher
  • raw sienna
  • raw umber
  • ORANGE
  • nothing listed
  • RED ORANGE
  • poppy (iron)
  • yellow red (iron)
  • Persian red (iron)
  • blood red (iron)
  • RED
  • wine red (iron)
  • dull red (iron)
  • red grape (iron)
  • violet of iron'
  • CADMIUM GROUPINGS
  • includes cadmium reds
  • YELLOW
  • cadmium yellow
  • YELLOW ORANGE
  • mandarin (CD)
  • ORANGE
  • cadmium orange light
  • cadmium orange
  • RED-ORANGE
  • cadmium poppy red
  • RED
  • cardinal red (CD)
  • fire engine red (CD)
  • Christmas red (CD)
  • The following information will give you a better understanding of these two groupings
CADMIUM GROUPINGS OF YELLOW AND REDS
  • 1. Cadmium colors come from the element cadmium which comes from the earth. CD is the chemical abbreviation for cadmium.
  • 2. Cadmium is a very fragile element and in the firing process, it needs to be treated in a special way. (Rules follow below)
  • 3. Cadmium colors come in a range of yellow to orange to red.
  • 4. Cadmium colors are bright, vivid, crystal clear and intense.
REGULAR GROUPINGS OF YELLOW AND REDS
  • 1. The regular groupings come from different elements (minerals) of the earth. For example: these reds come from antimony, and these reds come from iron.
  • 2. When using yellows and reds, immediately think, "I have to be very careful here."
  • 3. The reds in this grouping are made from iron. The reds made from iron are also fragile in the kiln. And they need to by treated with respect, but the rules are different than for the cadmium colors. Be sure to read the rules below.
RULES FOR USING THESE TWO GROUPINGS.
RULES FOR CADMIUM GROUPING.
  • 1. There are eight colors in my cadmium grouping. Because they are all made from cadmium, they can be intermixed with each other. For example the Christmas red can be mixed with the cadmium yellow to make orange.
  • 2. PLEASE NOTE: the cadmium colors are fragile and cannot be mixed with any other china painting colors. (The author is talking here about mixing colors on your palette.)
  • 3. Other colors can be placed next to the cadmium colors but they cannot overlap.
  • 4. In a second fire they still cannot overlap. For example, you cannot shade a cadmium poppy red in a second fire with an iron red. It will not work.
  • 5. PLEASE: keep your cadmium colors on a separate palette and use them only when you are doing bright vivid poppies, tropical birds and flowers, Baltimore Orioles or Chinese lanterns. Save them for special occasions and respect the rules.
  • 6. These colors can be fired between 018 and 017 jr. Cone (1386 or 752-783C). (My note, we all have been firing these colors hotter than this and getting by with it
REGUALR GROUPING INCLUDING IRON REDS
  • 1. Because these five color families use different minerals (elements) of the earth, they cannot be freely intermixed. The iron reds are fragile and unstable when mixed with certain yellows and the yellow browns, so you have to respect this and find colors that work together.
  • 2. My mixing yellow can safely be mixed with wine red, dull red, red grape and violet of iron. Do not mix the mixing yellow with the poppy, yellow red, Persian red and blood red.
  • 3. Do not mix anything with the iron reds that has a yellow brownish look. The result will be unstable and unpredictable in the firing process. It may work sometimes and not others.
  • 4. The same rules apply in subsequent firings because when it goes in the kiln again, all the colors melt together again.
  • 5. It is the yellows, yellow browns, and yellow oranges that cause the problem with the iron reds. You can mix green with iron reds but not yellow greens, you can mix black with iron reds or blue with iron reds. Just stay away from the yellow families.
  • 6. These colors can be fired around .018 jr cone (1386F or 752 C)
IN SUMMARY Whether working with the cadmium colors or the iron reds and yellows of the regular groupings of china paints, you must immediately think of them as special. They need to be respected. You need to follow the rules to be successful. Of course, you may experiment beyond the rules, but you must realize you are taking a risk of the reds firing out. This is because when you break the rules, an unstable and unpredictable environment is created in the firing process because of the fragileness of cadmium and iron pigments. There is one other problem that needs to be addressed here. I am asked this question over and over again at demonstrations, "How do I know if the color is a cadmium color or an iron color?

(She goes into an advertisement for her brand of colors here) You also have to assume some responsibility and make fired color swatches of your colors so you know which colors work successfully with each other. (She states that manufactures should be able to tell you whether their colors are cadmium or iron based colors.)

I hope this article helps explain some of what we are talking about with the reds, yellows issues. It is the most comprehensive one I have found. nebraskalassie



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