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The differences between Modern and Traditional Colors

Paintbrushes with bright paint colors

I enjoy going to talks and watching vlogs by painting manufacturers and distributers like Golden’s and Jerry’s Artarama. Yeah, I’m a color nerd.

 There are differences between the older, more traditional mineral colors and the modern chemical/industrial based colors and paint medias. The modern colors are more vivid, mostly transparent, and give overall brighter, less muddy mixing results. They also mix truer. The more traditional colors while more natural in look are also more muted. I have tested this myself by creating my own color tests.

The newer “cadmium free” colors for example are also safer to use. From a long term health standpoint, this great over time, since I get paint all over myself. While I do my best to follow safety practices, I can’t stand to wear gloves on my hands. These are still chemicals that should be dried before disposal. As liquids they can seep into the soil and be toxic.

I personally enjoy the push and pull of different tones and values of colors and I like experimenting with colors to see how they interact with each other. I’m looking forward to adding more modern colors to my palette.