This ColArt trip came as a surprise but I was very happy to be able to be part of this visit.
Overall, it was very useful and I took a lot from it. Right from the beginning where we were shown the archives of the original pigments - it felt very surreal and fascinating listening to the history of where each paint colour originated from, and the stories of Winsor and Newton. Taking us through the laboratory was amazing as well, they've recently only just achieved a red pigment that does not include cadmium, which is an amazing feat in just a few years. They had tests for lightfastness, temperature, humidity... it made me realise the importance of the scientific aspect of all these materials we've been using. Since I like working across a lot of mediums, I was delighted that we were given time to play with their wonderful watercolours/ink/mediums. This was where I learnt about mediums such as impasto and ox gall (which increases water flow, really useful for using across a bigger canvas). I also witnessed first hand how important paper quality is. The paper she gave us absorbed the pigments beautifully. All in all, this visit was extremely useful and made me think more about medium and material.
