Editing Cadmium pigments (section)

==Artists' paints==
[[File:Cadmium-Hemimorphite-Smithsonite-nex15a.jpg |thumb|left|150px|Cadmium-rich [[hemimorphite]] crusted on [[smithsonite]]]]
[[File:Cadmium sulfide.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Cadmium sulfide]]
Brilliantly colored, with good permanence and tinting power, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange and cadmium red are familiar artists’ colors, and are frequently employed as architectural [[paint]]s, as they can add life and vibrancy to [[architectural rendering|renderings]]. Their greatest use is in the coloring of [[plastic]]s and specialty paints, which must resist processing or service temperatures up to {{convert|3000|C}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cadmium.org/pg_n.php?id_menu=13 |title=Cadmium Pigments |access-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212203609/http://www.cadmium.org/pg_n.php?id_menu=13 |archive-date=12 February 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The colorfastness or permanence of cadmium requires protection from the element's tendency to slowly form carbonate salts with exposure to air. Most paint vehicles accomplish this, but cadmium colors will fade in fresco or mural painting.

The following are commonly used as pigments in artists' paints:
* Cadmium yellow is [[cadmium sulfide]] (CdS), [[Colour Index International|C.I.]] Pigment Yellow 37.
* Cadmium sulfoselenide is a [[solid solution]] of CdS and [[cadmium selenide]]; depending on the [[sulfur]]-to-[[selenium]] ratio, [[Colour Index International|C.I.]] Pigment Orange 20 or [[Colour Index International|C.I.]] Pigment Red 108 is obtained.
* Zinc cadmium sulfide is a greenish, solid solution of CdS and [[zinc sulfide]], [[Colour Index International|C.I.]] Pigment Yellow 35.
* Cadmium yellow is sometimes mixed with [[viridian]] to give a vivid green mixture called cadmium green.

When first introduced, there were hardly any stable pigments in the yellow-to-red range, with orange and bright red being very troublesome. The cadmium pigments eventually replaced compounds such as [[mercury(II) sulfide]] (the original [[vermilion]]) with greatly improved lightfastness.

Cadmium pigments are known for excellent lightfastness, although the lighter shades can fade in sunlight.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/history/cdyellow.html |title=History of Cadmium Yellow |work=Pigments Through the Ages |first=Michael |last=Douma |year=2008 |access-date=2013-07-31}}</ref> A cadmium yellow paint was frequently used on [[Bob Ross]]' [[Television program|TV show]] ''[[The Joy of Painting]]''.

In July 2023, the brilliance of cadmium yellow (especially "Cadmium Yellow Lemon No.1 by Lucien Lefebvre-Foinet") used by some modern artists, was reported to have faded over time due to chemical degradation.<ref name="NYT-20230918">{{cite news |last=Korne;l |first=Katherine |title=Why Miró's Yellows Have Lost Their Brilliance - Researchers discovered that a particular brand of paint favored by the Spanish artist had an atomic structure that predisposed it to degradation. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/science/joan-miro-yellow-paint-fading.html |date=18 September 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230918123316/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/18/science/joan-miro-yellow-paint-fading.html |archivedate=18 September 2023 |accessdate=19 September 2023 }}</ref><ref name="HS-20230717">{{cite journal |author=Lobon, Mar Gomez |display-authors=et al. |title=A study of cadmium yellow paints from Joan Miró's paintings and studio materials preserved at the Fundació Miró Mallorca |date=17 July 2023 |journal=[[Heritage Science]] |volume=11 |issue=145 |doi=10.1186/s40494-023-00987-4 |doi-access=free |hdl=10278/5030880 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>