[Marvin Mattelson]

Richard,

We can go back and forth on these issues til the end of time. We can certainly agree to disagree. The reason I responded to what you said was because I felt you presented a highly reasonable argument. You are an excellent writer and are able to bring forth your arguments with a great degree of authority. I am greatly impressed.

Unfortunately, being both a superior writer and seemingly reasonable do not necessarily go hand-in-hand with correctness. I remain thoroughly unconvinced as to the superiority of refined linseed oil as a vehicle for paint since cold pressed is, in your own words, "absolutely" superior. I didn't want others to walk away believing that paint ground in alkali refined linseed oil was the best available today. It's not. I have no connections or allegiances with any manufacturers. I in fact distrust them all. Why would any manufacturer using a lesser quality oil be considered, by you, to even be the least bit trustworthy?

As an educator, I always feel it's my responsibility, if I can, to set the record straight. Below, I'm responding to a couple of points you made for the sake of further clarification.

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

would rancid paint be readily detectable?

Since I experience no difference in handling of my new and older tubes of paint I believe that rancidity isn't a factor. When something turns rancid, decomposition takes place. Wouldn't this affect the handling and feel of the paint in some way? Wouldn't some artist have noticed this at some point in time? Furthermore I have never had a bottle of CP linseed oil go rancid. I'm sure I'd be able to smell it if it had! If that was the case, wouldn't there be warning labels posted on the bottles? I think the whole issue of rancidity smells more like rhetoric on by a manufacturer trying to justify using lesser materials. Citing cooking oil to make a point about rancidity in artists colors is a stretch, to say the least. In that same vein, justifying the use of an oil in paint composition because it's used in printing is also a case of comparing apples and oranges.

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

The "old masters" used CP because it was the only extraction process available at the time. Developments in production methods of linseed oil after industrialization have resulted in a range of oils of differing qualities and characteristics.

Since cold pressed worked perfectly, why would the "old masters" needed to create something better? The desire to find something better grew out of the obsession of inferior artists trying to uncover a shortcut to honing one's skills. I agree that we now have oils with a greater range of characteristics and qualities, but all are inferior to CP for the purpose of paint mulling.

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

The major difference was the shift from preparation of paints and materials in individual studios to the industrialized production of paint materials. As we use materials made by others, we remain in the same "materials limbo" as our 19th century predecessors. So far as it's difficult or impossible to learn the exact nature of the materials we use, it's quite impractical if not impossible to re-create 17th century materials and techniques in our own studios.

It's also impossible to create anything better. Personally I think a very good and logical start would be to avoid materials that 17th Century artists didn't use. I believe that materials available today from select manufacturers such as OH and Michael Harding, using traditional materials and methods, are more than up to the task. We don't need to reinvent the wheel. Unless we want to cash in, of course.

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

The collapse of the medieval guild system ended generational transmission of the knowledge of materials and methods from masters to apprentices. This means there really are "lost secrets of the old masters".

When I look at the old master's work I don't see any evidence whatsoever of so called "lost secrets", just evidence of skill and understanding. There are no magic mediums. People should, in my opinion resist the urge to seek out magic mediums and focus their energies in the quest for true knowledge regarding approach. That's what I did and for me and my students the results are paying off quite well.

Originally Posted by Richard Bingham

Consequently, better materials (and the full disclosure of contents, etc.) are more likely to be forthcoming from small concerns where artists produce materials for other artists.

Why? Are you assuming that all these "small concerns" have the best interests of their fellow artists in mind? I believe that it is just as reasonable to assume that someone masquerading as an "artist" who puts "our" best interests first, may in all actuality be putting their own profit motives first, particularly if they are justifying their use of inferior ingredients.

Obviously a company such as Old Holland who uses windmill ground linseed oil does so by bypassing the big bad industrial supply machines. Yes it's more expensive but to me it's a sign of uncompromising zest for quality products. I don't think it takes all that much industrial sophistication to press flax seed under stone wheels. By today's standards, the big companies of the 17th century were very very tiny.

Furthermore, in regards as to my warnings regarding the risks of Maroger medium, alkyds and resins in/or as, painting mediums, there's nothing hypothetical at all. It is a documented fact that in the 18th century paintings created with megilip (Maroger medium) darkened after 100 years. Marroger medium has certainly not been in use for 100 years, so there's no proof that paintings done with it won't darken. Any assumption based on simulated aging is still hypothetical in my book. This is why it's use was abandoned long before being resurrected by Mr. Maroger. Alkyd resins delaminate. I had used them but stopped the day this actually happened to me. Resinous varnishes, like Dammar, darken, yellow and get brittle over time. These things are not reversible. In contrast, many paintings done the "old fashioned" way still look good after 500 years, or more.

People can try to search for the secret to painting in a bottle (of medium) but personally, I believe anyone interested in gaining better insight need look no further than into the mindset of 17th century "old master" artists.