Following recent racial equality events around the world, we have received a lot of correspondence regarding the bias towards caucasian skin and flesh tones, among colour ranges supplied by colour manufacturers. We couldn’t agree more that this is wrong and we decided to investigate further, change our own colour names and ask our suppliers for their comments. Many had already undertaken changes.
top row from left to right: Self Portrait by M. V. Dhurandhar; A Passion Like No Other by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye; Arearea by Paul Gauguin, Portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang, First Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, circa 1300s (artist unknown)
bottom row from left to right: The Holy Virgin Mary by Chris Ofili; Night Talk by Jiab Prachakul, Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar (1831–1896) by Bahram Kirmanshahi, Self-Portrait, Black Background by Helene Schjerfbeck
Statements from Art Materials Companies
Here is a list of responses from art materials manufacturers that we received when we asked them if they had plans in place to update their colour ranges (please note that for many English is not their first language).
AV Vallejo
AV Vallejo have expressed to us that they believe ‘flesh colours should be renamed’, and that adding the word Caucasian alone does not solve a problem as their ranges do not cater for other ethnic groups. They said, ‘we will take a look at this matter as we agree with the point and something needs to be done’.
Bruynzeel
‘All our pencils where Tint or Flesh are mentioned, these will change to Naples Yellow Red going forward’.
Daler Rowney
‘We are addressing this issue. Portrait Pink was implemented one or two years ago to replace Flesh Pink, but this is clearly not enough.
We will be changing this shade to Peach. This is a growing concern that we should have been addressed already in the past and that we will address now’.
Derwent
‘It is an important issue to us and we are already in the process of reviewing all product names which we consider to be sensitive and updating them as a running change. The next production of any single pencils and tins referring to skin will have the new names’.
Faber Castell
‘Last year (we) made the decision to drop the word skin from all of (our) packaging and on the individual colours. (We) did have Dark Flesh, Medium Flesh and Light Flesh and they have now become Salmon, Coral and Beige Red’.
Gamblin
‘Robert Gamblin developed Caucasian Flesh Tone back in 1989. At the time, it felt wrong to call it Flesh Tint or Flesh Tone. So what to do? The honest path seemed to be to call it what it was, as best we could. Over the last thirty years, the feedback from artists regarding our approach has been overwhelmingly positive. But did we ever really like the name? No. We didn’t. So much so that we haven’t talked about the color in many, many years. Interestingly, however, it’s been our fastest growing color over the last five years. So it’s clearly doing the work and has earned its place on many painters palettes – both for figurative work and for landscapes.
We’ve been working on some new colors and had been planning to change the name as part of that introduction. But there’s really no better time than the present to make a change. So, we’re changing the name to Naples Orange. In value, opacity, tint and texture the color relates very closely to Naples Yellow. It also felt right given that so many landscape painters have the color on their palette for warm light situations.
There are a couple of other changes we are going to make at this time as well. Indian Red and Indian Yellow are fabulous pigments whose origins trace back to India. If you know the stories of these pigments (and they’re good ones), then you get it and no worries. Absent the story, however, the color names could feel quite different and, basically, not good. That’s no good for us. No one’s asked us about this, but it always bothers us, and so we’re changing these two colors to India Yellow and India Red to more clearly reflect the stories of these pigments’.
Holbein
Japan-based company Holbein were receptive to our suggestion that some colour names could be changed in order to make the range more inclusive, and are working to implement changes for the future.
Jackson’s
Jackson’s is committed to equality, and so we felt it essential that we look at our product lines to ensure they were in line with our company values. We have renamed our Flesh Tint oil colour Pale Terracotta and are working to add more shades to Jackson’s Handmade Soft Pastel Portrait set so that it caters for all skin colours.
Molotow
‘Due to the discussion about names of colors in respect of skin tones that arose in the general market, also MOLOTOW™ started to have a look at its own color assortment while analyzing the color shade names. Color scales with color terms existing for more than 25 years in the general art market, never were investigated in depth and/ or inspected critically.
As MOLOTOW™ is a dynamic, liberal-minded and international brand with a sustainable brand core and long-established company philosophy, the brand with an urban character wants to distance itself from all kinds of presumed, politically-questionable facts of the case. As a sign of brand positioning, the existing ONE4ALL color shade skin pastel will be changed into powder pastel as soon as possible.
Due to a long chain of corresponding processes and several platforms in prints, at b2b partners and online, a change of a color name is a very complex, extensive and partially long-drawn-out measurement. Therefore, MOLOTOW™ asks consumers to show leniency: a complete conversion of all labels and corresponding digital and non-digital images and medias will take its time’.
Montana
‘We already implemented a “silent” change for those color names and even more in our assortment. The first ones will be
Black 8030 Skin -> Iced Coffee
Gold 4040 Babyskin -> Pale Pink
We didn’t communicate this yet as it may take some time until all colors with the old names are sold out but we are aware and adjustments are in progress.’
Old Holland
‘We will be changing the names of these colours and we will announce these soon. The changes will roll out as new labels and colour charts are printed’.
Roman Szmal
In a bid to provide further information on the history of the colour Flesh Tint, Roman Szmal has added the following information to all tubes of Flesh Tint colour: ‘Shade traditionally used in medieval times for portrait painting of the wealthy, formally known as Flesh Tint’.
Royal Talens
‘Creating art can be a medium for expression and a voice for those who need it now more than ever. 2 years ago we were emboldened and reviewed our product lines to ensure they were in line with our core values, and took the decision to stop, review and amend colour names. Furthermore we looked at further ways to support organizations which engage with communities in need of assistance and exposure, as we have been doing since many years with royaltalensfoundation.org. Our commitment to ‘Empowering Creativity’ is strongly tied to empowering equality and celebrating diversity.
Schmincke
‘Thank you for your note on the name Skin Colour, which we use in some of our assortments. This is a traditional, historical designation in the international artists’ colours sector. We take your concerns about the perception of this designation and also unintentional possible associations very seriously and will change them in our future developments of the assortments concerned. However, we also ask for your understanding that any adjustments (labels, brochures, remaining stocks in the trade) and conversions will take some time. We thank you for your comments’.
Sennelier
‘Artists Oil and Oil Sticks will definitely be amended in 2021 and the rest will follow as a rolling change’.
Shin Han
‘Long term we are looking at ways to make changes across all ranges. We have added a Skin Tones [B] set in the TOUCH Twin range (comprising the following colors YR27 / YR29 / BR107 / BR112 / BR93 / R139 ). Also we’ve recently decided to change the color composition of our TOUCH TWIN 12 MARKER SET [Skin Tones] & TOUCH TWIN 12 BRUSH MARKER SET [Skin Tones]. We will share the details soon’.
Staedtler
‘Here at STAEDTLER we think it is right to question traditional terms for products such as “flesh”. That is why we are already in the process of renaming products from our FIMO and coloured pencil ranges to remove any reference to skin tone and instead, use colour names such as “peach” and “pale pink” in our product ranges in future.’
Tombow
‘A really important point you make and we had already contacted Tombow HQ regarding the ABT single pen called Flesh and we have suggested that they change this to pinkish cream. The only other product we have is our Skin Tone pack from Tombow with contents… Peach (ABT-020), Blush (ABT-772), Baby Pink (ABT-800), Pinkish Cream (ABT-850), Coral (ABT-873), Pale Cherry (ABT 912), Tan (ABT-942), Chocolate (ABT-969), Saddle Brown (ABT-977), Light Sand (ABT-990), Blender Pen (ABT-N00) and Black (ABT-N15)’ .
Winsor and Newton
‘Following the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, as a company, we have reflected on how we can make a positive change in our industry. While Flesh Tint is a historical colour name, this is not a part of our history that we will be carrying forward.
We have made the decision to change the name to Pale Rose Blush across the different Winsor & Newton ranges and are working to ensure our products have the same colour with the new name to be available late August.
In addition to the Flesh Tint colour range, we are also continuing to review all product and colour names to ensure we remain inclusive at all times.
As a company, we are committed to be a positive force for change, and we are continuing to identify actions we can take to eradicate injustice, racism and inequality from our business and industry as a whole’.
The History of Flesh Tone as a Colour Name
The term Flesh Tone, with reference to portrait painting, is known to have existed since the 17th century, when resources including Roger de Piles’ Dialogue sur le Coloris was written. In a chapter titled De la Peinture à Huile, he offered advice on how best to lay out colours on a palette for portrait painting. At this time the subject of western portraiture was almost exclusively white men and women – wealthy people who had the means to commission the work. The suggested method of laying out the colours on a palette was based on the assumption that the portraits would be of white men and women.
The availability of a pre-mixed Flesh Tone paint in oil paint ranges is a twentieth century development; a blend of the pigments often used by portrait painters throughout art history. Although different brands of Flesh Tone contain different pigments, most of them contain a mix of traditional pigments such as Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, Alizarin Crimson and Zinc and/or Titanium White.
55 Comments
This is so thorough and phenomenal! I
actually got chocked up several times,
seeing that all of these international
companies are stepping up. Thank you,
thank you, thank you!!! Great job, Lisa
Takahashi and Jackson’s! And kudos to
those companies who are doing the right
thing!
Thank you!
Thank you for this. 🙂
Thank you for this.
What rubbish – what was called “flesh
tint” never was a useful colour for flesh.
You always have had to mix in oranges,
yellows, a variety of browns, even blue.
Political correctness is getting stupid – I
have four “black” grandchildren who I
have painted many times, and never use
black either.
I plan to write a post about colours you can use to mix almost any skin hue, without the need for pre-mixed tubes of paint, soon!
That would be fantastic! I am not
good at mixing for skin tones, as I
stated in another comment here. What
you propose would be extremely
helpful to beginners such as myself.
Some of these new names, would not
give me a clue.
Yes, absolute pandering rubbish. Why wasn’t the choice made by these companies to celebrate the many beautiful skin tones found the world over. How ? Oh, I don’t know…. celebrating beautiful portraits and sharing the palettes chosen to create them. What a missed opportunity to celebrate color. Bravo, you pandered to those trying to divide us as though “Flesh Tint” was white supremacy in a tube. When we learn to “truly” celebrate diversity things will change. We can rename everything and that won’t change a thing. Seriously, who exactly has been offended by the name on a tube of paint.
Thanks for your thoughts. As you say, there isn’t just one flesh colour so having a tube of colour called Flesh is like having a tube of yellow and calling it Flower colour. It is incorrect and isn’t useful. It isn’t about offending people, it is a symptom of old-fashioned lazy thinking to assume that pink skin is the only colour meant by Flesh colour. As we become more aware we change the way we talk about things. The words we use for things affect how we think about them.
Therefore it sounds like it is a good idea to change the name of colour, if ‘Flesh Tint’ is no use for painting skin?
Wow I appreciate everybody’s intent on
this, that makes it harder for people like
me when we are looking for colors to use
for portraits. I would never think to grab
a tube of something called iced coffee to
be used for a portrait. That is just a
single for instance. Perhaps If you were
to make a separate file on your website
as well as everyone else who sells
supplies suggesting specific colors and
supplies that would pertain to skin
colors so that it would be easier to
choose those it would be more likely
that I would purchase them. But
because I’m often nowhere near
choosing the right color on my own it’s
likely I’ll end up just not buying them at
all. Just a suggestion. If you could do
that it would be great and I would
probably purchase more
Never heard such a ridiculous idea in all my
life. Paints have been named since time
began. Get over it everyone.
Hi, paints are still being given names, and paint names are being changed all the time by manufacturers, for various reasons. We have reported on this instance as many are changing the names of certain colours for the same reason. Many thanks.
Well, no. Color and pigment development continue to evolve. And the number of pigments and mixes now available truly dwarfs what was available during the Renaissance, for example. Here’s an interesting article to get you started in learning about artist pigments:
Treasures from the Color Archive
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/09/03/treasures-from-the-color-archive
This article on pigments and pigment naming is also quite great: Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours
By P. Syme
https://www.c82.net/werner/
hi elizabeth. take a moment sometime
and reflect how things feel from another
perspective other than your own. it can
actually bring on maturity!!
I have never used premixed flesh
colours, in fact, I can’t understand why
anyone would because the result would
be very flat. It is more beneficial to mix
your own colours. So it seems that the
paint and coloured pencil manufacturers
are aiming at the total beginner and in
doing so undermine them, making new
artist think that they lack the skill to
produce realistic flesh.
This warms my heart! As a black woman
new to painting it does offend me when I
see ‘flesh tone’ but none reflecting mine.
Now, if only the same advancement
could be made with bras!!
why not make one instead of cancelling the
others?
I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you to
Jackson’s for publishing the responses.
While there is historical context to “Flesh
Tone”, it definitely does not mean we can’t
move on from these names. We can
acknowledge and honour the past while still
creating our own future.
As usual….completely over the top.
As if the world has not real problems!!
There’s no denying there are bigger problems in the world. However these companies have decided to make the changes that they can, and we are pleased to highlight those changes, as we hope that they may play a small part in contributing to bigger changes.
that’s strange – you don’t think racism is a “real problem”? I disagree. It’s very limiting to name a color “skin tone” or “flesh tone” when it clearly only represents the skin tone of some (white) people. What that communicates is that white skin is seen as the norm. That excludes many other people from having their skin tone represented as well. Artists relate to the world, and making sure we don’t accept and carry on racist ideas is very important.
It would be very useful if the previous name could be included in brackets, at least until people have a chance to get to used to the new names. It’s hard enough when food shopping to buy the right thing when the manufacturer changes the label and will be even more difficult with paint because the link to skin tones through the new names is tenuous or even non-existent.
Thanks for the comment, the codes will stay the same so you should be able to identify the paint from that, if not the name.
Never heard such rubbish in all my life,flesh
tints have been going for years.
Please do not change the names.
Hello – the name changes have been made by the manufacturers listed in the post. We have no control over how our suppliers market their paints. However Jackson’s has also decided to change the name of our Flesh Tint paint for reasons indicated in the post. We hope you will be able to adjust to these changes in time. Many thanks.
What about this: add a notification on
tubes that hold colours used in portrait
painting?
Thank you for your suggestion. To be honest I feel this may lead to further confusion. There are many schools of thought regarding colours to use for portrait painting, but they are all wholly dependant on whose portrait you are painting, in what setting and in what approach. Matisse famously used bright yellow and green in portraits. There are no hard and fast rules in painting.
Is everyone going to climb on the BLM bandwagon? People need to
be aware that BLM is an anarchic political organisation that has
hijacked the original group of well-meaning protesters. BLMS
avowed intentions are to bring down governments and wreck the
world stock market so that a new world order can be created. LOOK
THEM UP before offending artists with your facile self-promotion.
Some paint-makers have decided to change the names of some of their colours in order to make them more inclusive. That is all this article is about.
Llewellyn, you’re offended that paint colors are being renamend, but you think it’s ok to “lock up” activists because you disagree with them? That’s a strange reaction.
Some of these comments are really disheartening and I hope they don’t represent the full community of creatives and artists who use these materials.
Wow! You got some really ‘interesting’ responses Lisa. Sorry to
see that.
Well done to Jackson’s for getting involved in this issue. It might
seem a small thing, but it is really important and big buyers like
Jackson’s can make a big difference in influencing the market.
Would Jackson’s also consider asking their manufacturers to sign
up to a scheme that ensures their pigments are ethically sourced
and don’t contribute to exploitation of child labour and
environmental pollution?
Some manufacturers like Wallace Seymour for instance and
Winsor & Newton in part are already doing this. It would be
amazing to get assurances from other manufacturers as well.
Well done on the great job you do on the Jackson’s blog, really
interesting and well written 🙂
Thank you Ian, you make a really good suggestion here and we will be looking into this further. We supply a huge number of different brands and so seeking assurances from each one may take time, but we agree that this is important and will endeavour to communicate with everyone on this issue.
Many thanks for your support.
Jacksons Art I applaud you for bringing this to not just
our attention but also to all the manufacturers. This is
a good step in the right direction. I must say flesh tone
always looked too pink and it was never a good colour
for portraits. I like the idea of a colour mixing blog post
to help those new to using paints. I do think however
quite a few of the comments on here are ignorant of
what is happening in the world and one must respect
these changes.
Well done to all the manufacturers! About
time too. As for trying to market anything
as “Flesh” colour you are on to a looser
from the start. Human skin tones range
from very very dark to albino, and varies
over different parts of one person too. No
way you could squeeze that into one tube
of paint or even a set. Still need to get the
message over to the underwear
manufacturers and, apparently, vast
numbers of the population, going by some
of the responses above!
Thank you Julia!
This is really great. So called flesh
tinted colors have been useful for many
things other than painting protraits.
Besides people need to learn to mix
portrait colors. That’s was art is all
about. Paint the color of the object. No
two faces are the same color anyway.
Hello, Although your article and the
paint companies responses may be well
intentioned, please be aware the the
definition of Flesh is as follows and has
nothing to do with skin tone
Def:
flesh
/flɛʃ/
the soft substance consisting of muscle
and fat that is found between the skin
and bones of a human or an animal.
Hi, this article is about ‘Flesh tone’ the paint colour, and not flesh per se. Many thanks.
Very happy to hear this, thanks for the
article.
No Golden or Liquitex?
Hello, Golden do not sell a Flesh tone or Skin paint. Liquitex has a ‘Light Portrait Pink’ in their range, which we will ask about.
Many thanks
Skin tones vary round the world. Spaniards are darker than
Iceland-ic blondes. Zulus are paler than the peoples of the Sudan.
The Basutos have paler skins than the Zulus. In China there are
differences in skin tones between the Northerners and those from
Canton and further South. There are huge differences in India
from very dark to quite pale. To call mixtures “Flesh” may be
traditional but one is painting the colour of the skin. Flesh is a
red and usually a dark red. I was once asked by an African
teenager how to mix the colour of “European skin.” I said :”Make
an orange, add white and then tone it with Burnt Sienna.” Just
because a man’s skin is the colour of chocolat does not mean one
should ignore the fact. But I recognize that some people are
sensitive about their own colour.
Everybody’s got “skin” so the term should
not be offensive to anyone. As a beginner,
learning as I go along, I do hope that
manufacturers still use the term, “skin tone”
with their colors, so that I don’t have to
waste a lot of time and money trying to
figure out the right color to use. I am not
very good at mixing to get a proper shade,
so the more assist I get, the better. Some
of these proposed “new names” throw me
for a loop. I would not have a clue going
forward what to choose for any ethnic skin
tone.
everybody indeed has skin- that is
EXACTLY why calling one single tone a
“skin tone” is problematic, see , everyone
has skin, but every single person
actually has a UNIQUE skin tone. so i’m
sorry to say but if you want to accurately
reproduce the tone of flesh as it actually
appears … your e going to have to
actually learn how mix some paints
together ! here’s a tip for all – FAIL FAST
/ FAIL OFTEN!
Thank you, I must say I agree!
Well done Jackson art and all the
manufacturers who have come alive to
the fact that their customers dont just
come from white Anglo American
backgrounds. I’m sorry so many find it
impossible in their hearts to understand
what having to fit into one section of the
world’s population does to the rest of
the world.
Great and helpful names are coming
forth so that it is possible to judge how
to mix instead of a catch all ‘flesh tone’
which means nothing. Certainly nothing
like the colour of my flesh and I’m white.
What about body tone instead of flesh
tone?
Thank you for your suggestion. The assumption that every body is the same colour is still implied, or that there is a ‘norm’ when it comes to body tone. The change in these names is to dismantle these assumptions and offer colours without them.
I never thought that skin color names will
be so troublesome.
I usually had to mix paint to create the
“skin” color paintings. But I remember that
a few years ago when i wanted to
purchase the “skin colour” paint, it was
always named “nude”.
I don’t live in english-speaking country,
and the country is pretty
homogeneous(white people), so any “skin”
looking color is still named as “nude”.
I am appalled that so many artists here in the comments found issue with name changes. “Because tradition!” Many traditions over the centuries have changed because people of current times considered them harmful, and we will keep doing that. Artists have a huge role in dismantling racism and white supremacy because our vision of the world gets portrayed in the media and is left to our descendants. White artists (including myself) have blindspots, and instead of feeling annoyed that standards are changing to be more inclusive, let’s learn!
If someone has to rely on being told by a manufacturer that this or that shade is good for portraits, this only demonstrates your painting skills need more work. Choosing the right color recipe is part of a painter’s job, and you do it based on the individual model and lighting. Not only that, but building your own portrait palette adds to the uniqueness of your expression. There are so many free resources available online on how to mix pigments to get different skin tones. How can anyone say they “don’t know”? It is very easy to find out.
Anyway… I appreciate that so many manufacturers are stepping up. I hope that color pencil, pastel and marker ranges will widen to accommodate many different skin tones.
Thanks for your comments!
thank you for this !! did you find any
companies reluctant to change? or
ignoring the issue altogether?
Hi,
No, everyone we spoke to felt this was an important issue and were thinking of ways to respond to it, if they hadn’t made changes already.
Many thanks
Lisa