Painting a Tuan Shan: Choosing Pigments That Last on Silk

Traditional fan painters used mineral pigments — azurite, cinnabar, malachite — ground and bound with animal glue. Modern painters have watercolor and gouache, but mineral pigments still set the longevity standard.

The Scenario: A fan that faded in a window

An artist painted a fan with student-grade watercolor and gifted it. Within two years, the colors had faded visibly where the fan hung in indirect sunlight.

Pain Points

• Student-grade dyes faded under UV exposure;
• The silk face absorbed color unevenly, leaving blotches;
• No fixative was applied, so pigment lifted with handling.

The Solution: Pigments matched to the surface

The artist rebuilt her fan-painting kit around pigment permanence:

1. Mineral pigments for permanence Azurite and cinnabar, bound with animal glue, are the traditional lightfast choice for silk.

2. Gouache for control Opaque gouache gives flat, even washes on silk with less bleeding than watercolor.

3. Fixative and storage A thin fixative layer and away-from-window storage preserve the finished face.

The Result: A fan that keeps its promise

The rebuilt kit produced a fan whose colors stayed true through a year of display. The artist now labels her fans with pigment type and care instructions, and buyers ask for mineral-pigment pieces specifically.