Colour Society Of Australia, Knowledge, Inspiration, Community

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Western Australia

TO FIND OUT more and receive email notification of upcoming events, please email us at colsoc.wa@gmail.com.


Upcoming Events

    • 21 Mar 2025
    • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
    • on Zoom
    • 31
    Register

    By revealing all the chemical elements present in a painting, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping can identify the individual pigments used by the painter and their exact locations, including those beneath the surface. Please join us online for our exciting International Colour Day 2025 event at 7 pm to 9 pm AEDT on Friday March 21, to be held in conjunction with the AIC Study Group in Arts and Design (SGAD) as the first of their new series of online forums on art and design topics. Three painting conservators, Simon Ives (Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney), Marieke Gerken (Bruker Nano Analytics, Berlin) and Rika Pause (Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam) will speak on remarkable new insights provided by applying XRF and other non-invasive tools in the fields of painting analysis and painting conservation. The forum will be introduced by SGAD Chair Prof. Dr. Maria João Durão (University of Lisbon), and will conclude with a discussion of questions from the audience chaired by CSA Vice President and SGAD Co-chair Dr David Briggs.

    In addition to our online International Colour Day event, our Western Australian Division is planning an in-person ICD celebration in Perth on March 22 and their Divisional AGM on March 29, both at the Grove library, Peppermint Grove. Enquiries are welcome  at csa.nec.pres@gmail.com.

    TALK 1: New light on the AGNSW portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici by Bronzino | by Simon Ives


    Technical analysis of Bronzino's AGNSW portrait of Cosimo I de’ Medici by the conservation lab of the Art Gallery of New South Wales has revealed more details of the mysterious underlying portrait first observed in an X-radiograph in the 1980s.

    Since the 1980s, Bronzino’s paintings have been studied with technical imaging creating a greater understanding of the artist’s extraordinary tendency to directly re-work and radically modify his compositions. Art historian and dealer Robert Simon (discoverer of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi) studied the painting in depth as part of his defining attempt to establish the overall production sequence of the numerous portraits of Cosimo de’ Medici. It was through Simon’s research published in the Burlington Magazine in the 1980s that we knew about an obscured portrait image underneath the figure of Cosimo. Were the modifications revealed by an indistinct X-ray genuine pentimenti - ongoing changes of the composition as it evolved towards the final archetype?  Was the hidden figure also Cosimo - or another identity entirely, and if so, who?

    The greater clarity we sought came with the development of particle accelerators, synchrotron science and elemental mapping. By revealing all the elements present in pigments comprising the painting, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) mapping can identify the individual pigments used by the artist and their exact locations, including those beneath the visible surface.   By rendering the brushwork itself, stroke by stroke, beautifully detailed colourised maps show in exquisite detail the hand of the Italian mannerist master at work through the entirety of the process from genesis to completion.


    Simon Ives graduated from the University of Northumbria at Newcastle with a BA in Fine Art (Painting) and an MA in Fine Art Conservation. He has an MA in Painting from COFA. He is also completing an MA in Fine Art Education. He has worked as a painting conservator at the Tate Gallery in London and the National Gallery in Canberra and is now at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Published in the Burlington Magazine as its cover story in January 2023, our article detailed the results of this project which will be presented here.

    TALK 2: Glimpsing over the shoulder of artists – Mapping the chemistry of 14th to 17th century European paintings on the surface and below | by Mareike Gerken


    Studying historical technologies—ranging from the pigments used to production processes and individual working habits—unlocks invaluable insights that deepen our understanding of the past. Cutting-edge imaging techniques, such as spatially resolved micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis (micro-XRF), now make it possible to map elemental distribution from surface to sub-surface layers. This not only allows for precise identification of pigments but also uncovers traces of their application, shedding light on artistic techniques like never before.

    Thanks to open beam systems that enable in-situ analysis without any sample preparation, historical paintings can be examined and visualized non-invasively, eliminating the risk of mechanical stress or climate-induced damage. Additionally, scanning micro-XRF technology offers high spatial resolution and rapid analysis, making it ideal for studying a broad range of artworks. This capability provides a comprehensive view of art-technological trends and transformations over centuries, revealing invaluable insights into artistic evolution.

    This presentation will showcase the results of an extensive examination campaign conducted at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt between 2019 and 2022. A total of 55 paintings from the museum’s collection, along with five from external collections, were analyzed using scanning micro-XRF. The ability to visualize elemental composition in both surface and sub-surface layers not only uncovered the creative processes behind each painting but also revealed broader shifts in European painting techniques from the 14th to 17th centuries. As the Renaissance emerged, traditional workshop practices gradually gave way to a more individualistic approach, marking a pivotal transformation in the history of art.


    Mareike Gerken finished her master’s degree in conservation for paintings and polychrome sculptures in 2019 at the State Academy of Fine Art and Design in Stuttgart. From 2019-2022, she worked in a PhD project at the Städel Museum Frankfurt, before joining Bruker Nano Analytics as an Applications Scientist for Art & Archaeology in 2022.

    TALK 3: Colourful Avantgarde – a non-invasive approach to the modern artist’s palette | by Rika Pause


    Early synthetic organic pigments (SOPs) (late 19th - early 20th century) were popular because they provided the bright colors so sought after by the avantgarde painters of this period. Still, they were also infamous for their paint technical problems, particularly their poor light fastness and sensitivity to solvents. Today, conservators face challenges for preventive and remedial conservation of paintings that contain SOPs, and knowledge of their presence in the artwork is essential for the decision-making process.

    Analysing SOPs in paintings poses challenges due to their small presence owed to their high tinting strength. Additionally, these pigments have a very small particle size and are usually part of a complex system of ingredients in tube paints. Therefore, the probability that the samples taken for destructive analsysis are not representative for the materials studied might be quite high. Non-invasive devices can help locating the use of SOPs by allowing for virtually limitless measurements.

    In this study, handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Raman spectroscopy were used to identify both inorganic pigments and synthetic organic pigments (SOPs) in a set of 70 paintings by various artists, created between 1908 and 1955. This selection included 17 paintings by members of the Dutch expressionist group De Ploeg, known for their bold use of color since their founding in 1918. Our analysis identified 21 different SOPs in De Ploeg's palette between 1923 and 1949. The study’s findings will be presented broadly, with a particular focus on pigment use within this artist group. Special attention will be given to the presence of specific SOPs and inorganic pigments that may give more information on De Ploeg's material choices.


    Rika Pause earned her Master’s degree in Paintings Conservation from the Academy of Fine Art and Design in Stuttgart in 2018. She later obtained her PhD from the University of Amsterdam in 2024. She currently works as a paintings conservator at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and as a heritage scientist at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.

    Registration

    Successful registrants will be notified by reply email and will be sent the Zoom link and instructions shortly before the event. To receive this email with the Zoom link, you must register by the deadline of midnight AEDT on Thursday March 20th, but please note that this event may be booked out in advance of that date. If you're unable to attend live, please do not register, as the recording of this webinar will be made permanently available to all on the CSA YouTube channel.  Please direct all enquiries to csa.nsw.chair@gmail.com

    We ask our members and friends to please pass on news of this major event to their contacts by sharing our Facebook/ Instagram/ LinkedIn posts or the following link: https://coloursociety.org.au/event-6094003. A pdf poster promoting the event can be downloaded here.

    • 31 Oct 2025
    • 9:00 AM
    • 2 Nov 2025
    • 5:00 PM
    • RAHS History House, 133 Macquarie Street, Sydney + online


    The New South Wales Division of the Colour Society of Australia is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the 2025 CSA national conference in Sydney on October 31 to November 2

    We invite you to apply to give a presentation at our conference by submitting an Abstract according to the instructions set out below, and to pass on our open Call for Abstracts to your colleagues and postgraduate students.

    Our conference venue is the Royal Australian History Society's History House at 133 Macquarie Street, Sydney, directly across the road from The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. The conference will be hybrid with provision for both in-person and online presentations and attendance.

    We ask our members and friends to please spread word of our conference by sharing this link or our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts. A pdf poster can be downloaded here.

    Important dates

                             

     First Call for Abstracts      13 December 2024
     Second Call for Abstracts        31 January 2025
     Submission deadline for abstracts         25 April 2025
     Notification of acceptance for full-length/ short presentation     06 June 2025
     Registration opens       13 June 2025
     Early bird registration deadline    29 August 2025  
     General registration deadline       26 October 2025       


    About the conference theme

    The theme Colour Matrix acknowledges the importance of cross disciplinary approaches to colour in this era of ever-narrowing specialization. Participants are invited to consider how their own work involving colour may be of interest and of importance in other disciplines, or to critically contrast and perhaps reconcile different specialized approaches to colour within their own discipline. We encourage participation from designers, artists and other colour practitioners whose work references scientific or philosophical understanding of colour, from colour educators whose teaching programs span the art-science divide, and from scientific, historical and other researchers who believe that their insights about colour have relevance beyond their specialized areas of interest. 

    Enquiries: csa.nsw.chair@gmail.com


    Call for Abstracts

    Submissions on a broad range of colour-related topics are sought, including but not limited to:

    • Artificial Intelligence and colour | Impact of AI on colour research, colour technology, applied colour in art and design, and colour education | Limitations of language-based models given the perceptual nature of colour
    • Colour Vision I Neuroscience I Phenomenology of Colour I Colour Perception and Illusions I Colorimetry | Colour Appearance Models 
    • Colour and Language | Psychology of Colour I Colour Aesthetics I Colour Symbolism I Philosophy of Colour
    • Colour in Graphic Design, Fashion Design, Communication Design, Product Design, Packaging Design and Marketing I Colour in Photography, Image Processing, Television and Cinema
    • Colour in Architecture, Urban Environments, Landscape Design, Interior Design, Stage Design or Lighting Design and Technologies I Colour in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Environments
    • Colour in Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Theatre, Dance, and Music I History of Colour Theory and Practice in the Fine and Applied Arts
    • Colour Education in the Arts, Design, Science, Engineering and in Schools I History of Colour Education

    To submit your abstract for consideration for a full-length/short presentation at Colour Matrix Sydney 2025, please download and fill in the Colour Matrix Abstract Template and return it to csa.nsw.chair@gmail.com by 25 April 2025.

    Please indicate your preference for either full-length oral presentation (30 minutes including introduction and some questions) or a short presentation of up to 5 slides accompanied by an up to 10-minute oral summary, and also indicating if you intend to give your presentation in person or via Zoom. All abstracts will be reviewed by the Program Committee and scientific submissions will be anonymously peer-reviewed. In general, outreach-style papers of broad interest would be best suited to full oral presentation, while specialized original research might be better suited to our short presentation format. All presenters may be invited to take part in panel discussions at intervals throughout the conference program.

    Authors will be notified if their abstract has been accepted for full/short presentation by 06 June 2025. A pdf volume of all the accepted abstracts will be posted on the CSA website shortly before the conference.


    Copyright & Legal Obligations

    All information in the abstract submission, including author’s names, affiliations, authors order of listing, and the content of abstract, will be used in the conference publications. The contributor carries legal obligations of the abstract; any violation to a third party’s right will be the responsibility of the contributor themselves.

    • 31 Dec 2025
    • 12:00 PM
    • Online
    Register

    If you're not currently receiving event emails from the Colour Society of Australia, you are cordially invited to add your name to our Contact List using the "Register" link on this page. Our event emails announce our live and online events around Australia, and usually contain worldwide colour-related news as well. To get in the loop, just click on the green "Register" button and fill out your details. Registration is free and open to anyone interested in colour, anywhere around the world. You can unsubscribe at any time on our website or by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link at the end of all of our emails.

Past Events

9 Mar 2025 "Pursuit of Happiness" exhibition, Ngununggula Gallery, Bowral
10 Dec 2024 CSA national Annual General Meeting 2024
10 Dec 2024 CSA NSW Division Annual General Meeting 2024
26 Nov 2024 Fifteen years of spinning colour wheels and analysing dragons: Alexandra Loske's work on colour
26 Oct 2024 A Fresh Approach to Colour
10 Oct 2024 "The Book of Colours (Das Farbenbuch)" with Dr Juraj Lipscher
21 Sep 2024 "The Art and Science of Crafting Successful Hair Colour" with Julie Kleine
24 Aug 2024 “Colour symbolism in different cultures: China and India” with Huilin Sun and Anita Grewal
11 Aug 2024 "Every Colour" (Articulate project space exhibition & events) and upcoming NSW Division webinars
8 Jun 2024 From Screen to Print: Mastering Colour Fidelity in Digital Media by Dr Les Walkling
13 Apr 2024 "Conversations on Colour and Place" with Dr Natalie O'Connor and Jo Mellor
23 Mar 2024 International Colour Day events from the CSA WA Division and around the world
22 Mar 2024 International Colour Day 2024 event: Phyllis Shillito and her Colour Curriculum 1945-79 (ONLINE ATTENDANCE)
20 Mar 2024 International Colour Day 2024 event: Phyllis Shillito and her Colour Curriculum 1945-79
17 Feb 2024 "Dynamic Colour in Digital Art" with Steve Forster (Long Island Academy of Fine Art, USA)
18 Dec 2023 CSA national Annual General Meeting 2023
18 Dec 2023 CSA NSW Division Annual General Meeting 2023
3 Dec 2023 Jocelyn Maughan on Colour
13 Oct 2023 CSA National Conference 2023 - Additional events
12 Oct 2023 CSA National Conference 2023 Colour Sense and Sensibility
12 Oct 2023 CSA National Conference 2023 REGISTRATION PAGE
17 Sep 2023 "Dyes Ancient and Modern" with Dr Mark Liu
27 Aug 2023 "The Colour Circle at the Bauhaus and Beyond" with Michael Mentler
30 Jul 2023 Creating Colour 2: A Practical Guide for Beginner and Intermediate Painters with Dr Jean Pretorius
1 Jul 2023 CSA NSW gallery visit: Francis Giacco (Australian Galleries) and Kerry McInnis (Wagner Contemporary)
25 Jun 2023 "Objectivity in colour experience and the elusiveness of aesthetic description" with Dr Joaquim Marcelino Santos
25 Apr 2023 "Creating Colour 1: Paint Making" with Ulysses Jackson (Golden Artist Colors Inc., USA)
26 Mar 2023 International Colour Day 2023 event: "Controlled Palettes in Painting" with Tristan Elwell (USA)
21 Mar 2023 CSA WA Division: International Colour Day and National Harmony Day 2023
5 Feb 2023 "Colour in Scientific Imaging and Space” with Dr Balthasar Indermühle
17 Dec 2022 CSA national Annual General Meeting 2022
17 Dec 2022 CSA NSW Division Annual General Meeting 2022
20 Nov 2022 "Making Sense of Ancient Greek Colour Names" with Dr Peter Gainsford (NZ)
5 Nov 2022 CSA WA Division: Colours Speak 2 & End of Year Dinner
2 Oct 2022 CSA NSW webinar: "A Colourful Life" with Linda Jackson AO
20 Aug 2022 CSA WA Division August event: "Back to Basics"
24 Jul 2022 CSA July Webinar: "Teaching (and Learning) Color Theory on Tiktok" with Peter Donahue (USA)
18 Jun 2022 CSA NSW June event: Darlinghurst Gallery Walk
29 May 2022 "Painting Light and Form" with Todd Casey (USA)
25 Mar 2022 Joondalup Festival 2022
20 Mar 2022 CSA International Colour Day 2022 event: Progress in Colour Education
2 Mar 2022 Inter-Society Color Council (USA) webinar with Nick Harkness in conversation with Paula Alessi
23 Jan 2022 CSA WA Annual General Meeting 2021
22 Jan 2022 Seeing the colours of Joondalup
5 Dec 2021 CSA December webinar: "Colours of Light: An Emotive Exploration" with designer Ilan El (Melbourne)
29 Nov 2021 CSA national Annual General Meeting 2021
29 Nov 2021 CSA NSW Division Annual General Meeting 2021
26 Nov 2021 CSA WA end-of-year event: Zoo trip
31 Oct 2021 CSA NSW October webinar: "A Conversation about Colour" with sculptor and painter Ron Robertson-Swann, hosted by artist Aly Indermühle
30 Oct 2021 CSA WA October event: Castaways sculptures at Rockingham foreshore
25 Sep 2021 CSA NSW September webinar "Concerning the Shape of Color" with Marcia R. Cohen, Professor Emerita SCAD Atlanta (USA)
11 Sep 2021 CSA Western Australian Division Meeting: Colour and Music 2
30 Aug 2021 AIC 14th Congress Milan 2021
15 Aug 2021 CSA NSW August webinar: "Light on Painting" with Adrien Lucca (Belgium)
3 Jul 2021 CSA NSW July webinar: "Colour and Composition in Hilma af Klint's Swan Series" with Kristen Tivey
21 May 2021 CSA Western Australian Division: Dwellingup weekend away
22 Apr 2021 CSA NSW April webinar: "Scandinavian Colour Design of Today" with Berit Bergstrom (Berit Colour Talks, Sweden)
21 Mar 2021 CSA National Conference "Colour Connections" SUNDAY ONLY
20 Mar 2021 CSA National Conference "Colour Connections" SATURDAY ONLY
19 Mar 2021 CSA National Conference "Colour Connections" (OVERVIEW PAGE)
19 Mar 2021 CSA National Conference "Colour Connections" FRIDAY ONLY
19 Mar 2021 CSA National Conference "Colour Connections" (video registration)
13 Mar 2021 CSA Western Australian Division Meeting: Colour and Music Part 1
20 Dec 2020 CSA National AGM 2020
6 Dec 2020 CSA NSW December webinar: "The Paint Detective" with architectural paint researcher and consultant Patrick Baty (UK)
29 Nov 2020 CSA NSW Division 2020 AGM
27 Sep 2020 CSA NSW September Webinar: "Colour Notes" with abstract painter Dr Liz Coats
5 Sep 2020 Walking, Looking, Seeing
22 Jul 2020 CSA NSW July Webinar: A Colour Journey Through the Loire Valley with Virginia Handel
14 Jun 2020 CSA NSW June webinar: Paints and Paint Making with Michael Harding
22 Mar 2020 ICD 2020 event: The Routledge Philosophy of Colour Project
19 Feb 2020 Peter Tasker on "Heritage to Contemporary Projects with Murobond Paints"
4 Dec 2019 CSA NSW End-of-Year Event with Karen Haller on The Little Book of Colour.
28 Nov 2019 CSA National and NSW Division 2019 AGMS
3 Nov 2019 CSA NSW event: Encaustic Painting: History and Contemporary Perspectives with Randal Arvilla
11 Aug 2019 CSA NSW event: Aristotle and the Philosophy of Colour Perception with Professor Mohan Matthen
4 Jul 2019 CSA NSW event: Affect, Motion and Light with Christopher Moulder
29 May 2019 CSA NSW event: Leonardo da Vinci on Colour, Light and Vision with Dr David Briggs
23 Mar 2019 CSA NSW event: International Colour Day with Resene Paints
6 Mar 2019 CSA NSW Sydney Design Festival event, Unlocking the Structure of Colour with David Briggs & Annamaria di Cara
12 Feb 2019 CSA NSW event: Newton's red Hering? with Professor Paul Martin
7 Sep 2018 National Conference - Perception & Colour
7 Feb 2018 CSA QLD event: Global Fashion Colour Palettes
9 Sep 2016 Brisbane 2016 - Colour Speak
16 Apr 2016 CSA Southern Division event: Site Visit - Australia Garden Cranbourne
3 Oct 2014 Perth 2014 - Space Time Colour

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