The use, extraction and hand-making of pigments for use on the body, in art and more widely within culture is worldwide. There are areas of the world that have rich geology that are known for their mines and subsequently the name of the place enters the nomenclature of the colour itself e.g. Sienna pigments.
In Europe:
Pigments are also used widely by Indigenous communities of America, Australia, Hawaii, New Zealand, Polynesia and East Africa.
Since Palaeolithic times, pigment making and its use has been important for human expression. In the U.K. we have two archaeological sites that suggest the use of hand-made pigments dates back to 9000 BC or 11,000 years ago.
Earth pigments
These are pigments made from coloured rock, clay or sediment and are some of the most ancient forms of pigment.
For example, red ochre (ruddle, reddle) is an earth pigment that has had a multitude of different uses throughout time in the U.K:
Lake pigments
These are pigments that have been derived from a range of natural plant and animal dyes. A number of different manual and chemical processes converts the dyes into insoluble, more chemically stable pigments.
Lake pigments have been produced since Roman times in the U.K.
Uses of pigments in the UK today
Pigments are important substances that impart colour to other materials, most often used as surface colourants, they have a clear geographical and cultural link to a sense of place. They can be made from mineral origin, such as iron-rich clays, or of animal and plant origin as dyes converted into lake pigments. Lake pigments are made from natural dyes that have been rendered insoluble by precipitating them onto a substrate particle; this is a lengthy process that requires hand mixing, grinding, washing and drying amongst other processes.
The use of pigments to create paint and ink are associated with many cultural practices in the U.K:
Pigments are used in a wide variety of applications; for making paint, inks, or tinting plaster, fresco, ceramics, for colouring resin and varnishes. A pigment is a colouring material, usually a fine particulate that is insoluble and used in conjunction with a binder in order to make a paint. The craft of hand manufacturing historical pigments involves numerous processes and skilful hand techniques to extract clean and bright colourants from raw materials.
The following processes go into creating colour from these raw materials (these steps are all done by hand).
Processing Lake pigments:
Processing Earth pigments:
The pigments created from these processes can then be mixed with an appropriate binding medium to create various paints and inks or mixed into other materials (like plaster) to tint them.
These processes are by no means representative of the many different ways that pigments can be created but help to identify how pigment making uses repeated movements of the body to create colour (smashing, grinding, washing etc).
Earth pigments are sourced from the inorganic component of various geological materials, including sedimentary rocks like clay deposits and high-purity iron ores such as hematite, which often originate from metamorphic processes. The weathering of iron ores leads to their oxidation that can change the colour of nearby deposits. The composition of earth pigments contains primarily a colourant, typically iron oxide, along with secondary materials like other minerals (e.g., clays) in varying amounts that influence their color and properties. While some organic material may be present initially, it is typically removed during processing.
Ochre can have different colors depending on its source due to variations in its mineral composition and oxidation state of iron within the pigment.
Key factors include:
Iron Oxide Content: High levels of hydrated iron oxide (goethite) result in yellow ochre. Dehydration or heating can transform goethite into hematite, producing red ochre.
Other Minerals: Presence of additional minerals like manganese or clay can affect shades, creating browns or altering the intensity of the color.
Environmental Conditions: Differences in soil, temperature, and moisture at the source influence the oxidation process, contributing to the variety of hues.
So pigment making is linked intrinsically to place or locality.
Colours include:
Others:
Please note there is a considerable list of other inorganic pigments derived from minerals such as Lapis lazuli, malachite, azurite, chrysocola (etc) that are also mineral colours but are not considered ochres.
Related crafts:
Knowledge of pigments relate to all crafts utilising colour. Here are a examples:
There are many artists that use pigments as a part of their own individual practices, and a few that collect their own pigments but very few utilise this craft as their main income-generating activity. There is a definite trend within the arts to be more sustainable and use ethically sourced materials. This is something that is of the utmost importance; the artist must have control over the quality and sourcing of their materials in order to produce authentic, ecologically mindful work. The mining of specifically toxic heavy metals such as cobalt, cadmium and lead-based pigments (found in modern pigments and commercially made paint), rather than iron-rich earth colours, is detrimental to the environment. Toxic heavy metals are present in many pigments available to purchase from art shops world-wide. The production of modern synthetic pigments in a laboratory environment also brings up issues of safe waste removal/ pollution.
Sites of extraction:
Historical examples of artefacts relating to pigment making & use:
A Saxo-Norman Oyster Colour-Dish
Worked Ochre pieces
Worked Ochre pieces
Ochre drawing/inscription
Ochre drawing/inscription
Ochre pigment and paint processing equipment
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