I managed to get a couple of hours at my studio on Friday so I put in a little more work on my 'cubist' painting of Lena. As I worked on it I realised that I've done very little oil painting since the 1990s. And back then my technique was based on using Flake White which is now virtually unobtainable. (I've been using Titanium White for this painting and will switch to Zinc White if I need a more transparent paint but I can't say I like the way it handles anything like as much as Flake White).

The major problem these days is that the pigment, basic lead carbonate, is only used for artists oil colours and as Health and Safety legislation has prevented the widespread of lead based paints this pigment is no longer available. Michael Harding has started making his own pigment to make Flake White but a 250 ml tube of paint costs £195.00. As one of the noticeable differences in using Flake White is you use a lot more white to the amount of colour this I don't think I'd want to go down that road!