現代の「新しい」岩絵具

“New” Mineral Pigments at Today

Our ancestors discovered "colors" in nature and painted pictures.


In particular, mineral-based pigments have had a honeymoon relationship with the development of Asian art.

For example, the lotus pedestal of the "Samantabhadra Bodhisattva on Silk" which now belongs to the Tokyo National Museum collection, uses many materials familiar to Japanese painting techniques today, including Gunjo (azurite blue) and Rokusho (malachite green).


Gunjo is made of a type of mineral called azurite and the Rokusho is made of malachite.

The following picture shows what these minerals look like in person.

These two minerals are made of the same copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, and malachite results from the supergene weathering and oxidation of azurite.

Therefore, some pigments are a mixture of both minerals, which can be said to be a natural coloring plate created by the Earth.



Left: Azurite Right: Malachite



However, it does not mean the natural mineral pigments are the greatest.

As mentioned above, because they are made from ground minerals and other materials, they are expensive per unit (15 g), therefore, it may cost a small fortune when making larger works.


Moreover, since they are all made of natural ores and minerals, the color may vary from lot to lot.

Other than that, there are only a limited number of materials that can be ground and used as pigments, despite the vastness of Mother Earth. It is not easy to produce hues like oil or acrylic paints entirely from natural materials.



This is where the Shin-Iwa ( artificial mineral pigments) come in.

Like natural mineral pigments, these artificial mineral pigments are divided into 10 different coarseness for each color: No. 5 is the coarsest and as the numbers increase, the finer it goes, with Byaku (白) being the finest, like a powder.



From left to right: NAKAGAWA GOFUN's artificial and natural Gunjo, and KISSHO's artificial Gunjo.

As you can see, although they are all listed with the same color name, the shades of Gunjo are slightly different.



The pigment making process begins with the creation of saturated glass bricks, which are produced by firing glazes and metal oxides at high temperatures. Then a pseudo "rough stone" is produced, which is then ground to produce a color material with a grainy texture that is similar to and can be used with natural mineral pigments.

This gives mineral pigments, which are not designed for color mixing, to have a color palette that owns as many options as the oil or acrylic paints do.

Another characteristic is that artificial mineral pigments have extremely high durability compared to natural ones.





In PIGMENT TOKYO, we carry Shin-Iwa pigments made by NAKAGAWA GOFUN and KISSHO Co.

Both manufacturers produce excellent Japanese mineral pigments, so it is hard to pick a winner between them but we believe that one of the strengths of KISSHO’s Shin-Iwa is its indescribably austere choice of color shades and names.


Names like Iwa Nando (rock lumber room), Kodai Nishiki (ancient brocade), Charoku Aokuchi (bluish brown green ), etc., make you wonder what kind of colors they are!

Perhaps the brilliant way of capturing the color landscape of the Orient is what makes KISSHO’s pigments stand out from the others.


So, what kind of results do you get when you apply artificial mineral pigments?

In this article, we will focus on the color, Gunjo.



【Art Materials Used】

Pigments: KISSHO’s Asagi Gunjo, Gunjo Kachi Gunroku, Mizuiro Gunjo, Kuro Gunjo

Medium: Gum Arabic Medium

Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor Art Pad


As we mentioned in the previous article "Glittering Mica - Its History and Usage", mineral pigments can also be used with a variety of mediums.

However, the smaller the number, the grainier the texture becomes and the harder it is to paint with, therefore, it is better to use mineral pigments with finer particles like No.12 to Byaku when mixing with gum arabic medium, acrylic emulsion or oil color medium.


This sample was painted by using No.12.


The Japanese word "Asagi (浅葱)" in Asagi Gunjo(浅葱群青) refers to young green onion sprouts.

Asagi Gunjo creates a subtle tone of Gunjo, lighter than indigo blue yet darker than sky blue.


Gunjo Kachi Gunroku is Gunjo that contains a stronger shade of Gunroku. It is reminiscent of the azurite that was introduced at the beginning of this article, which has a slight greenish-blue tinge due to the moisture in the atmosphere.

The Mizuiro Gunjo and Kuro Gunjo have an interesting shade of blue too. At a glance, they may all appear to be the same color but they retain the delicate colors that are unique to KISSHO.



【Art Materials Used】

Pigments: KISSHO’s Asagi Gunjo, Kuro Gunjo

Medium: Acrylic Emulsion

Substrate: Bamboo Washi for Watercolor Art Pad



Next, it is also possible to create layers with mineral pigments by using acrylic emulsions, thanks to their water resistance ability.

Artificial mineral pigments create slightly opaque, artificial shades of color that are unique to saturated glass. This kind of unique texture cannot be created with natural mineral pigments.

This is why they aren’t just a substitute for natural mineral pigments but a new type of pigment..


Other than this, there are many other KISSHO’s pigments that come with interesting names.

So, never forget to check out PIGMENT TOKYO’s online shop for more!


Shin-iwa (Artificial)Mineral Pigments

Profile

大矢 享

Art Materials Expert at PIGMENT TOKYO

AKIRA OYA

Born in 1989 in Tokyo. Master of Fine Art and Design at Nihon University College of Art. While working at PIGMENT TOKYO as an Art Materials Expert, he also continues his career as a visual artist.

Born in 1989 in Tokyo. Master of Fine Art and Design at Nihon University College of Art. While working at PIGMENT TOKYO as an Art Materials Expert, he also continues his career as a visual artist.