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From GreatArt's online magazine
Michael Harding, unrivalled oil colour.
Michael Harding oil colours are unsurpassed and used by artists such as David Hockey, Sir Howard Hodgekin and Chris Ofili. We hear from the man himself about his research and process…
‘I started making oil colours back in 1982 while I was studying Fine Art. I had always been inspired by Rembrandt paintings in the National Gallery and I wanted to try and recreate his paint effects and glorious colours in my own work.
Not suprisingly, after a number if aborted attempts, I realised something was missing. It wasn’t just his genius that I lacked, but the actual materials I was using. They would not behave in the same way as the paint in his work, and the colours had a totally different appearance.
Clairefontaine, a brief history...
The Clairefontaine paper mill was founded in Etival by Jean-Baptiste Bichelberger in 1858.
He was succeeded by his son Paul Bichelberger who, with the help of Emile Champon, made important changes for the company by using wood as a raw material to make paper. They also introduced the envelope manufacture and the notebooks and sketchbooks which up until then had been mostly produced by printers. This was done at an important time when the tools for education were beginning to move away from children using the traditional slate.
Fabriano, supplying Artists' papers since 1264!
Paper is our history. A tradition that has been passed on for 750 years.
It is not known for sure how the art of papermaking came to the small town of Fabriano, but as the craft was originally born in China and spread to the Middle East, it is believed that the Fabrianesi learned the secrets from a group of Arab soldiers who landed in the Port of Ancona during the 13th Century.
The Master Italian paper makers introduced some major innovations. These included the invention of the Hammer Mill, which moved hydraulically and replaced the ancient mortars used by the Chinese to prepare the paper pulp, and the introduction of gelatin to the paper recipe, known as Paper Sizing, which made the paper surface more suitable for writing and increased its age resistance.
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