Meeting Colour Maker Michael Harding
Episode 21: In this episode Peter and Laura are in conversation with renowned paint maker Michael Harding. Michael makes some of the finest paint on the market and is uncompromising about the quality of his products.
Michael Harding Paints have a reputation of being the best in the world and in this conversation you will discover what drives Michael's successful business and why he is so passionate about paint!
Peter and Laura were invited to explore the colour mill of renowned colour maker Michael Harding to see just how he makes his famous oil paints. They not only saw how the oil paint was made but they also got a preview of Michael’s new watercolour range and new coloured acrylic primers, all soon to be released. Once they finished exploring the colour mill, they sat down with Michael to find out more about his journey from artist to paint maker and explore his views on all things painting.
In this episode…
1. Follow your curiosity: Michael’s journey started out with a curiosity and fascination to how colour appeared in the old masters works. This curiosity led him to see if he could make his own paints from scratch and thus his journey as a colour maker began.
2. Pushing the barriers and trying something new: Michael is never complacent and always looking to develop his existing range of colours and strives for something that he is truly happy with (and confident that artists will love too!). His tireless enthusiasm for colour has led him to develop a range of watercolour paints and new coloured acrylic primers. The constant critique and enthusiasm Michael has for his materials is one of his main successes for the development of his high quality paints.
3 Knowledge is Power: Having a deeper understanding and knowledge of paint will allow you a greater freedom of painting. Structuring a painting in a certain way will give it longevity and better foundation for the strength of colours. Michael recommends reading books that go into detail about the technical aspect of painting, famously found in Ralph Mayer’s ‘The Artists Handbook of Materials and Techniques’. There is also much more information on using oils and colours found on Michaels website https://www.michaelharding.co.uk/
4. The products sell themselves: Michaels relationships with artists is one of the key successful strands to his business. Word of mouth is one of the best forms of marketing and by working directly with artists and painters, they share and encourage others to use his paints. Michael and his team of painter ambassadors (of which Peter is one of them) feel part of an artistic community where they can freely share knowledge, passion and feedback.
5. Advice for buying paint: know what you’re looking for: Reading paint labels will provide you with accurate information on a colour’s ingredients and specific properties. Michael’s paint very helpfully has a painted strip on the front of it allowing artists to see exactly how it will look. Michael also promotes instinct and excitement when choosing colours. By choosing colours you instantly relate to, you’ll likely get excited by it when using them in the studio.
6. Be safe: Oil paint isn’t dangerous, assuming you use it correctly. Working in a ventilated space, keeping solvents away from food and drink and not putting the tip of that paintbrush in your mouth are all simple common sense practices all artists need to be doing when using oil paints. Oil paints don’t always need mediums or harmful solvents for them to work. The very nature of the oily paint can give artists many painterly techniques without the need of mediums.
Take Aways…
The Michael Harding website is full of information on how to use oil paint effectively and safely as well as having a gallery of artists across the world who paint with Michael’s beautiful colours. Have a question about paint that isn’t answered on there? Give Michael an email safe in the knowledge that he’ll know exactly what to do!
Michael Harding’s website - https://www.michaelharding.co.uk/
Vicki Norman’s work and YouTube videos - https://www.vickinormanstudio.com/blog
Howard Hodgkin’s work - https://howard-hodgkin.com/
Rupert Alexander’s work - http://www.rupertalexander.com/
Book - ‘The Artists Handbook of Materials and Techniques’ by Ralph Mayer
