Behind the Brand
LASCAUX
THE SPIRIT OF COLOURS
THE SPIRIT OF COLOURS® Lascaux was founded in Switzerland by Alois K. Diethelm in 1963. He had been an apprentice paintmaker since the 1930s and became fascinated with the art materials he was working with.
His contact with artists and designers during this formative period led him in the late 1950s to begin to develop a water-based paint that offered the qualities of traditional oil and tempera paints. This resulted in Europe’s first artists’ quality acrylic paint and it was with this breakthrough that the company Lascaux was born.
Since then, Lascaux have gone on to forge a reputation for innovation, expertise, and exceptional quality across their range of water-based paints that include gouache, watercolour, and state-of-the-art printmaking products. This has led Lascaux paints and mediums to be internationally recognised for their purity, colour depth, and durability. Trusted by professional art restorers, designers and artists, Lascaux colours are used for significant interior and exterior art and design projects. This includes two large murals for the Sony Building, New York by Dorothea Rockburne and the painted pillars of Tay Road Bridge, Dundee by local artists Fraser Gray and Martin McGuiness. Other notable artists who have put their faith in Lascaux products include Bridget Riley, Sol LeWitt, and Michael Craig Martin.
Since then, Lascaux have gone on to forge a reputation for innovation, expertise, and exceptional quality across their range of water-based paints that include gouache, watercolour, and state-of-the-art printmaking products. This has led Lascaux paints and mediums to be internationally recognised for their purity, colour depth, and durability. Trusted by professional art restorers, designers and artists, Lascaux colours are used for significant interior and exterior art and design projects. This includes two large murals for the Sony Building, New York by Dorothea Rockburne and the painted pillars of Tay Road Bridge, Dundee by local artists Fraser Gray and Martin McGuiness. Other notable artists who have put their faith in Lascaux products include Bridget Riley, Sol LeWitt, and Michael Craig Martin.
Alois’s daughter Barbara Diethelm, a practising painter, took over the business in the 1990s and continues to uphold Lascaux’s integral philosophy of premium quality and pioneering craftsmanship. She has introduced innovative products including the multisensory Resonance Gouache collection and the visionary five-colour Sirius Primary System. In 2004 she set up the charitable foundation Fondation Lascaux with her husband, the painter Werner Schmidt. The foundation explores a spiritual approach to art, life, and the cosmos with an ethos of restoring the balance between mankind and nature by promoting the importance of colours for a new consciousness.
Alois’s daughter Barbara Diethelm, a practising painter, took over the business in the 1990s and continues to uphold Lascaux’s integral philosophy of premium quality and pioneering craftsmanship. She has introduced innovative products including the multisensory Resonance Gouache collection and the visionary five-colour Sirius Primary System. In 2004 she set up the charitable foundation Fondation Lascaux with her husband, the painter Werner Schmidt. The foundation explores a spiritual approach to art, life, and the cosmos with an ethos of restoring the balance between mankind and nature by promoting the importance of colours for a new consciousness.
IN CONVERSATION WITH BARBARA DIETHELM, OWNER OF LASCAUX
"From our earliest days, we have specialised in water-based paint systems and premium quality. For us, focusing on one thing and doing it right is what really matters"
Barbara Diethelm, owner of Lascaux, visited the Jackson’s Studio to talk about the company's history, the exceptional quality and pioneering spirit of their products, and why she and her husband, artist Werner Schmidt, set up the charitable foundation Fondation Lascaux.
THE LASCAUX RANGE
ARTIST ACRYLIC
Highly concentrated with a buttery texture, Lascaux Artist Acrylic is luminous and intense offering superb colour depth. The range is lightfast, weather-resistant, and durable, making it ideal for outdoor projects as well as traditional studio painting.
STUDIO ACRYLIC
A versatile and balanced range of premium studio acrylics, particularly suited to large-scale artworks, outdoor pieces such as murals, and design projects. Colours are opaque, richly pigmented, resistant to weather, lightfast, and high yielding.
ACRYLIC GOUACHE
A unique acrylic-modified tempera paint, Lascaux Gouache is highly concentrated and can be heavily diluted. The range is characterised by its purity, brilliance, depth of colour and lightfastness, with a beautiful satin-matt finish.
RESONANCE ACRYLIC GOUACHE
This pioneering range has bioactive properties designed to have a harmonising effect and enhance creativity. Made with enriched ingredients including sage oil and naturally derived thickeners these paints are popular for art therapy.
SIRIUS FLUID WATERCOLOUR PAINT
The Sirius Primary System exclusively developed by Lascaux comprises five primary colours alongside black and white from which it is possible to mix over 78,000 pure and harmonious hues. These watercolours are pure, luminous, and vibrant.
SCREEN PRINTING MEDIUMS
Lascaux water-based screen printing mediums allow for a completely solvent-free printmaking process. This includes screen printing fluid and filler, as well as their high quality screen printing paste which modifies acrylic paints for silk screens.
COLOURS OF THE GREAT HEART - RESONATING WITH SIRIUS BY BARBARA DIETHELM
Barbara Diethelm’s book traces the path of colour from its cosmic Sirian origins to its current commodification in modern global culture. It is a highly researched quest for the transformative power of colour based on holistic and feminine principles.
SCREEN PRINTING MEDIUMS
Lascaux water-based screen printing mediums allow for a completely solvent-free printmaking process. This includes screen printing fluid and filler, as well as their high quality screen printing paste which modifies acrylic paints for silk screens.
Customer Reviews
“Lascaux products are the very best quality, I have never been disappointed.” Customer Review
“This is an amazing range. 7 years ago I painted an outdoor mural in a seaside village. It still looks like it's been done yesterday.” P. Cowley
“Best gesso I have ever used. Dries fast and smooth.” Customer Review
FILMS BY LASCAUX
RESONANCE
In this second part, Michael explains his thinking behind formulating his paints, the importance of bringing out the character of each colour, what oil content means for oil painters, and how it relates to the fat over lean principle.
STUDIO ACRYLIC
In this film, Michael Harding returns to the Jackson’s Studio to share his twenty-year journey in realising his watercolour collection. He tells us how he carefully developed the range, his love of colour, and his plans for the future.
RESONANCE
In this second part, Michael explains his thinking behind formulating his paints, the importance of bringing out the character of each colour, what oil content means for oil painters, and how it relates to the fat over lean principle.
RESONANCE
In this second part, Michael explains his thinking behind formulating his paints, the importance of bringing out the character of each colour, what oil content means for oil painters, and how it relates to the fat over lean principle.
STUDIO ACRYLIC
In this film, Michael Harding returns to the Jackson’s Studio to share his twenty-year journey in realising his watercolour collection. He tells us how he carefully developed the range, his love of colour, and his plans for the future.