Pigments Past
An exploration of the pigments and techniques used by artists, potters and interior decorators over the last 350 years.

Andrew Hanson, Colour and Chemistry Seminar Chair
Andrew Hanson is a Senior Research Scientist at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington. Over the last 19 years at NPL, Andrew has been involved in the measurement of optical properties of materials including measurement of the colour of ceramic tiles, camouflage, road markings, cars, teeth, chocolate, artworks, cats...

Roy Osborne is an artist, teacher and writer on colour. His first book, 'Lights and Pigments: Colour Principles for Artists', was published in 1980. He has since lectured on colour at over 150 art schools worldwide. He will talk about the expansion of the artists' palette, in terms of pigments used and the various media employed to bind them.

Harry Horlock Stringer is an artist turned potter and author, who has also been a committed educationalist since the 1952. He was a founder member of the Craft Potters Association and is now a Fellow of the CPA. He will talk about how different pottery colours are created, their elusive nature and how they change when fired in a kiln. He will look particularly at Raku, Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain temperatures in oxidised and reduced atmospheres.

Dr Ian Bristow FSA is an architect who has made a particular study of the use of colour in historic buildings, and specialises in advising on this topic. His publications include "Interior House Painting and Techniques, 1615-1840" (Yale University Press 1996). His presentation will focus on the historical and aesthetic context of interior decoration in the 17th and 18th centuries..

Jane Davies currently runs her own conservation consultancy, undertaking research and analysis of decorative architectural plasters and paints and wall paintings. She has also worked extensively on several Thornhill murals, including the mural at St Paul's Cathedral. Her presentation will focus on the materials and techniques utilised by English Baroque mural painters in the 17th and 18th centuries. She will also talk about her work on murals by Sir James Thornhill.

Saturday 28th October
Powell Theatre, Abbey Road, Sherborne

10.00:		COFFEE and REGISTRATION at the Powell Theatre.
10.20:		INTRODUCTIONS by Andrew Hanson.
10.30:		PAINTING METHODS AND MATERIALS by Roy Osborne.
11.30:		THE EFFECT OF HEAT AND ATMOSPHERE ON POTTERY COLOURS by Harry Horlock Stringer.
12.30:		FINGER BUFFET LUNCH at Sherborne House, Newland, Sherborne.
2.00:		17th AND 18th CENTURY INTERIOR DECORATION by Dr Ian Bristow.
3.00:		BAROQUE WALL PAINTERS by Jane Davies.
4.00:		CONCLUSIONS with Andrew Hanson.
4.15:		TEA.

 

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