Re: Gum pigs and ball milling

Terry King (101522.2625@CompuServe.COM)
28 Jul 96 11:36:53 EDT

To grinding gummists

>I remember Todd Walker saying that he[Mortensen] ground dry pigments with a
mortar and
>pestle. I seem to remember he would add the gum as he ground the pigments.
> I tried this and found it to be messy and for me didn't work any better.

I hope that this does not offend anyone but if Mortensen did ball mill his own
colours, it would tend to be another reflection of the preciosity I associate
with his images.

W & N and other manufacturers of fine pigments have been grinding the stuff up
to exact parameters for years. They know the chemical make up and how to mix the
solid matter into the media. Their colours are consistent. To do it oneself is
going to be more expensive and less successful.

Preparing colours in this way for oneself is well into the Anorakotype Mark III.
It really is eye of frog and toe of newt land. Perhaps we should expect the
good pasta chef to grow his own durum wheat ?

Terry King