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Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell
Mr. Doak is indeed controversial and a high pressure salesman, but at least he was up front about the proper curing rates of lead primed canvasses. He also said another thing, which I think is true, that there is absolutely no regulation in the field of art supplies. The artist does not have a chance he said.
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Sharon,
What regulation there is is in the form of ASTM standards, which are voluntary standards not enforced by law, but high standards of performance that must be met before any manufacturer can claim that its products conform to the pertinent ASTM standard. ASTM Standard D 4302 is the standard for Artists' Oil, Resin-Oil, and Alkyd Paints; D 4303 is the standard for lightfastness testing methods; D 5067 is the Standard Specification for Watercolor Paints; D 5098 is the Standard Specification for Artists' Acrylic Emulsion Paints, and D 6901 is the new colored pencil standard. We are currently drafting a standard for pastels. Some manufacturers do not care to meet ASTM standards, for reasons of their own, but most of the reputable major manufacturers do. I participate in the development of these standards as a member of the Subcommittee on Artists' Paints and Materials, representing the interests of artists.
The artist DOES have a chance of getting quality materials, by paying attention to whether the products he or she considers buying meet the ASTM standard for the product in question, where there is such a standard. And the more artists insist on that, the more manufacturers will be compelled to make sure their products come up to that level of quality. Case in point, pastels. Before we (ASTM) turned our attention to pastels, many of the pastels on the market, including some with exalted reputations, had an unacceptably high percentage of fugitive colors, i.e., colors that fade significantly. As soon as I showed the Subcommittee the results of my preliminary lightfastness tests, at least three Manufacturers began to reformulate their lines in order to improve the performance of their pastels, and there are sure to be others following suit before we are done. Until that started, pastellists did not express concern for permanence, so the companies used whatever pigments were cheapest, irrespective of whether they would fade or not. This same basic process took place with oil paints many years ago, then with watercolors, then acrylics, the end result in each case being improved quality of the products. So when enough artists demand it, the manufacturers will respond by providing it. Look for those ASTM labels.
There will undoubtedly be certain purveyors of products who will have bad things to say about ASTM if the subject comes up; most likely these will be people who have products to sell that do not meet the standards. A grain of salt is advisable in such instances.
By the way, one of the issues currently being looked into by members of the Subcommittee is the possibility of a standard for painting grounds, aka primers.
Virgil Elliott