paint

NEW YORK — Scientists have identified the origins of the blue color in one of Jackson Pollock’s paintings with a little help from chemistry, confirming for the first time that the Abstract Expressionist used a vibrant, synthetic pigment known as manganese blue.

“Number 1A, 1948,” showcases Pollock’s classic style: paint has been dripped and splattered across the canvas, creating a vivid, multicolored work. Pollock even gave the piece a personal touch, adding his handprints near the top.

The painting, currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is almost 9 feet wide. Scientists had previously characterized the reds and yellows splattered across the canvas, but the source of the rich turquoise blue proved elusive.

In a new study, researchers took scrapings of the blue paint and used lasers to scatter light and measure how the paint’s molecules vibrated. That gave them a unique chemical fingerprint for the color, which they pinpointed as manganese blue.

The analysis, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first confirmed evidence of Pollock using this specific blue.

“It’s really interesting to understand where some striking color comes from on a molecular level,” said study co-author Edward Solomon with Stanford University.

The pigment manganese blue was once used by artists, as well as to color the cement for swimming pools. It was phased out by the 1990s because of environmental concerns.

Previous research had suggested that the turquoise from the painting could indeed be this color, but the new study confirms it using samples from the canvas, said Rutgers University’s Gene Hall, who has studied Pollock’s paintings and was not involved with the discovery.

“I’m pretty convinced that it could be manganese blue,” Hall said.

The researchers also went one step further, inspecting the pigment’s chemical structure to understand how it produces such a vibrant shade.

Scientists study the chemical makeup of art supplies to conserve old paintings and catch counterfeits. They can take more specific samples from Pollock’s paintings since he often poured directly onto the canvas instead of mixing paints on a palette beforehand.

To solve this artistic mystery, researchers explored the paint using various scientific tools — similarly to how Pollock would alternate his own methods, dripping paint using a stick or straight from the can.

While the artist’s work may seem chaotic, Pollock rejected that interpretation. He saw his work as methodical, said study co-author Abed Haddad, an assistant conservation scientist at the Museum of Modern Art.

“I actually see a lot of similarities between the way that we worked and the way that Jackson Pollock worked on the painting,” Haddad said.

Ramakrishnan writes for the Associated Press.

POP superstar Lady Gaga gets a bit emulsional in a photoshoot to promote her new makeup range.

The 39-year-old US singer completely doused herself in beige-tinted paint in the advertising campaign for her beauty brand Haus Labs.

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She launched the firm in 2019, and the range has 51 different shades of foundation — all vegan.

Her sold-out Mayhem Ball tour will reach the UK later this month. Let’s hope she’s brought an extra coat.

Earlier this month Gaga was forced to cancel a show and issue an emotional apology to gutted fans.

Barely an hour before she was due on stage in Miami, she shared a message on her Instagram Stories saying that she had no choice but to cancel the concert.

Gaga wrote: “Hi everyone, I am really so, so sorry but I need to postpone tonight’s show in Miami.

“During rehearsal last night and my vocal warmup tonight, my voice was extremely strained and both my doctor and vocal coach have advised me not to go on because of the risk it poses.

“I want to be hardcore and just push through this for you but I don’t want to risk long-term or permanent damage to my vocal cords.”

She continued: “There is a significant risk based on all our combined experience with a show like ours and as you know I sing live every night.

“And even though this was a hard and agonizing decision I would be more afraid of the long term implications on my voice.”

She then begged her fans to understand the position she was in, writing: “I hope you can forgive me and accept my sincerest apologies for any disappointment, let down, inconvenience.

“I am so, so sorry, I tried so hard to avoid this, I take serious care of myself to be able to put on this highly demanding show.”

Gaga concluded: “I love my fans so much, respect you and hope you can accept my sincere, regretful apology.”

The announcement was made at 8pm ET, 45 minutes before she is usually on stage.

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NOW that autumn has officially arrived, there’s no better time to give your home a refresh.

While the new season brings comfort and cosy vibes, not everyone enjoys the lack of sunshine and colder days.

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Which is why interior experts have revealed that now is the perfect time to add some colour back into our lives.

And it’s all about “edible” interior colours this year, with the quirky new decor style dominating trends.

Food-inspired interiors and, specifically, fruit-inspired paint colours are in high demand in 2025, experts have said.

A new study by pros at The Paint Shed has revealed that over 2.4million people across the globe have been searching for it so far this year.

And the most in-demand colours range from lime and apple to cherry and wine — a palette the brand has dubbed “sugar drenching.”

Colour and paint expert Michael Rolland said searches showed that 40 per cent of the top 25 shades that people are looking for are “edible” colours.

And he has revealed the top ten most sought-after “edible” interior colours in 2025.

Green dominates the list, with four of the top five spots collectively attracting over 1.2 million searches.

At the top of the list is Lime, which is a bright and bold colour, followed by the slightly softer but warmer Apple and then the earthy, calming tones of Olive.

Chocolate makes a surprising appearance at number four in the list, with its deep richness impressing homeowners this autumn.

Another green colour rounds out the top five, adding a touch of tranquillity, freshness, and optimism to the home.

Classic fruit colour Peach comes in sixth on the list, with many drawn to its soft and delicate, yet light and cheerful tones.

Lemon follows close behind, injecting some energy and brightness into the home, and then Salmon for its cosy, welcoming finish.

Duck Egg Blue is ninth on the list with the soft, muted tone that offers a versatile, calming, and fresh aesthetic.

While Mocha rounds out the top ten, with homeowners drawn to it for creating a relaxing, intimate, and cosy atmosphere.

Other Beverage tones, such as red wine and espresso, also proved popular, totalling over 152,000 searches.

PERFECT PAIRINGS

FOR those keen to incorporate these colours into their home, Michael has shared his top tips on styling these tasty tones. He says:

Lime Paint – “Lime is bright, bold and a little avant-garde, perfect for accents. Pair with emerald or neutrals so its zest doesn’t overpower and wash across kitchen cabinets and feature walls.“

Apple paint – “Apple green paint is ideal for kitchens, where it brings warmth and freshness. It pairs beautifully with warm wood tones and toasted neutrals.”

Olive paint – “Olive green paint works well in smaller spaces such as bathrooms, cosy bedrooms or studies. It complements natural textures and suits both colour drenching and single accent walls.“

And psychotherapist Amy Thomas-Owen said our growing obsession with dessert-based paint palettes is deeply rooted in psychology.

She explained that more and more people are being pulled to this because food is associated with offering safety and comfort.

And this, in turn, is exactly the feeling we want to have when we enter our homes.

Amy said: “In the wake of ongoing uncertainty, from cost-of-living stress to digital overwhelm, people are understandably turning to their homes for a sense of emotional safety and comfort.

“Food-based tones tap into this need by evoking positive emotions and memories, and help to create spaces that feel soothing, tactile and emotionally safe.”

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Destination X fans were left unimpressed by a challenge in the latest instalment of the BBC gameshow with many branding it ‘boring’ and spotting a glaring ‘fake’ detail

Destination X viewers slammed a “boring” challenge on the BBC gameshow, after spotting a “fake” detail.

Rob Brydon’s programme is in full swing, having been labelled a cross between The Traitors and Race Across The World.

It features 13 strangers competing to scoop £100,000 as they’re whisked across Europe and try to work out their location through various challenges.

In tonight’s instalment (Wednesday, 13 August), the participants were challenged with carrying wine glasses across a vineyard on a tray held by one hand, whilst answering questions about one another in an attempt to eliminate their rivals.

The more responses they got wrong, the more glasses they had to balance, resulting in several being knocked out when their trays tumbled, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Yet viewers were swift to spot that whilst the BBC episode featured sounds of glass shattering, the contestants seemed to be using plastic.

“The smashing glass sound effects for them dropping plastic champagne flutes is sending me,” one penned.

Another questioned: “Why have they put a shattering glass sound on when the glasses are clearly plastic? Haha.”

Others branded the challenge as “boring”, as one posted: “Not liking this part… it’s very boring.”

Another raged: “Well this is riveting tv.. Not!”

Someone else fumed: “Sorry that wine task was total c***. I’d rather watch paint dry. switching off.”

Prior to the new series launching, host Rob confessed he nearly wrecked the entire game by almost spilling a secret.

The high-stakes programme only functions if the contestants are genuinely able to participate without receiving any hints about the outside world during their journey.

Despite numerous production safeguards being implemented to guarantee this, Rob nearly sabotaged everything.

Speaking before the show’s debut, the star confessed that although he was “very careful”, he did encounter one close call.

He revealed: “I won’t say where we were, but we were on a hillside, that’s all I’ll say, and we were about to visit a lovely location, and I was looking forward to where we were going next.

“I was chatting to some of the crew and I said out loud, ‘I can’t wait to get to [the place]’ and then I realised that just over there was one of the players and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.”

He continued: “Luckily they didn’t hear, and I can be sure of that because of what happened next which told me that they’d not heard. That was the only one but it was a constant fear.”

Destination X continues tomorrow night at 9pm on BBC One and is available to watch on iPlayer.

Dearica Hamby lined up for one of those last-second launches as the first-half clock dipped toward zero.

The ball clanged off the front rim, appearing short — until backspin carried it to the back iron for a second bounce.

With Julie Allemand holding her knees and Kelsey Plum already prancing away, the ball kissed the rim twice more. And, finally, after a two-second pause that held the whole arena hostage, the ball dropped. Hamby fell with it, her teammates swarming to lift her as Crypto.com Arena erupted for what was perhaps the Sparks’ finest half of basketball of the season in a 99-80 stomping of the Washington Mystics.

Hamby’s arena-triggering triple capped a solo 10-point scoring spree and a 20-minute performance where the ball zipped across the hardwood, the defense suffocated and every Spark had their fingerprints on a rout of the WNBA’s seventh-best team.

By the end of the first half alone, Hamby had piled up 18. Plum chipped in 14. Jackson poured in nine and Stevens poured in eight. Facilitating it all, Allemand dealt eight assists. And — in what didn’t reflect itself on the box score the way it did on the hardwood — the Energizer Bunny chimed in with four.

Energizer Bunny?

Coach Lynne Roberts awarded that label to Rae Burrell before Tuesday night’s showdown, adding that “she brings life and energy” to the squad.

When Burrell picked off her first pass of the night, she orchestrated a play that would lead to Julie Vanloo finding a wide-open Sania Feagin in the paint, capping off a clinic in ball movement.

When Burrell stole her second pass of the night, she took matters in her own hand, going coast to coast for an and-1 layup in the paint.

And each time, it seemed as though everyone profited off the Bunny. Her contagious energy seemed to leak on to each of her teammates, who sliced through gaps on offense and brought out the clamps on defense to limit the Mystics (11-11) to just 12 points in the second quarter.

In the process, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen — the Mystics’ rookie duo who will compete in the All-Star game this Saturday — were held to a combined two points.

Meanwhile, Plum — the Sparks’ All-Star — seemed to have a dress rehearsal Thursday night, tuning up her shot ahead of Friday’s three-point contest and Saturday’s All-Star Game.

Plum opened the night on a tear — nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 start, including one from beyond the arc. With cutters carving up the defense and her bigs sealing space down low, she shifted gears into facilitator mode as well, racking up six assists by game’s end.

And this time, the Sparks (8-14) didn’t let their scoring avalanche slip through, cruising into the All-Star break with a wire-to-wire double-digit buffer.