Natural Pigments

Ultramarine is a blue pigment consisting primarily of a zeolite-based mineral containing small amounts of sulfur. Ultramarine is one of the most complex of the mineral pigments, composed of the blue mineral lazurite, which is the major component of the rare and semi-precious stone lapis lazuli.[1] The mineral occurs in nature as a product of limestone metamorphism and typically is associated with calcite, pyrite, diopside, humite, forsterite, hauyne and muscovite minerals, and is sometimes found in lava as a by-product of volcanic eruptions.[2]
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We recently met James Gurney and his wife, Jeanette, at the Plein Air Convention in Monterey, California. James is the author and illustrator of the book series Dinatopia ...

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the paint used by artists was prepared in the studio. The painter purchased pigment from apothecary shops and apprentices, who also prepared panels and grounds for the master painter, then prepared it for use as paint.

The oil paint used by artists from the 15th to 19th centuries consisted primarily of a single pigment and vegetable drying oil, although gums, proteins and resins were sometimes added for particular passages in ...