Observatory on Emulsion Paints

Conservation of artists' acrylic emulsion paints: XPS, NEXAFS and ATR-FTIR studies of wet cleaning methods†

Works of art prepared with acrylic emulsion paints became commercially available in the 1960s. It is increasingly necessary to undertake and optimise cleaning and preventative conservation treatments to ensure their longevity. Model artists' acrylic paint films covered with artificial soiling were thus prepared on a canvas support and exposed to a variety of wet cleaning treatments based on aqu...

Solvent Leaching Effects on Aged Oil Paints

This paper presents a survey of significant developments in research on the leaching of oil paint films by organic solvents, from the first systematic investigations carried out in the 1950s to more recent “clinical” studies involving the sampling and analysis of paintings during treatment. Key studies are discussed in the context of an improved knowledge of oil paint chemistry that has develop...

How a painter paints

Drawing from the seminal definition of the principles of abstract art posed by Wassily Kandinsky in the early years of the twentieth century, and contextualizing that knowledge in contemporary cognitive metaphor theory (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999), the study attempts to arrive at an understanding of how cognitive structure emerges in pragmatic self-observation during the artistic process. Through a...

Paints and Pigments

Paints have been manufactured since prehistoric times, but until recently they were highly expensive and thus were mainly used for artwork. It is only since the nineteenth century that houses have commonly been painted. Today paints are used for colouring and protecting many surfaces, including houses, cars, road markings and underground storage vessels. Each of these different applications req...

Paints and Coatings