Collecting natural pigments has become a regular activity for me in conjunction with making encaustic paint. The ancient Greeks invented this process by mixing molten bee’s wax and tree resin together, then eventually adding dry pigments. They used this molten paint to seal the hulls of their ships and to create paintings to frighten off sea demons. Eventually this led to funerary portrait painting. Several people have requested information on where to find natural pigments and how to use them.
Over the past 10 years, I have collected over 40 pigments. Any location where Native American people lived and created petroglyphs will have places to collect natural pigments. Basically, these pigments are ground up rock (dirt) from centuries of erosion. Also, areas of volcanic activity are perfect locations for collecting samples. Most of the pigments that I have gathered come from road cuts throughout Oregon (Hwy 26), Steens Mountain, Broken Top, and Big Bomb Crater. Moab, UT and vicinity also are a source of beautiful pigments. An added benefit of pigment collecting is discovering petroglyphs. I found many on fallen rocks and hidden outcroppings. I often incorporate some of these beautiful marks in my encaustic paintings. The pigment colors will vary from yellow ochre, beautiful burnt siennas, ochres, to charcoal blacks.
Once gathered the pigment needs to be ground down to a very fine powder, otherwise it will settle like small rocks at the bottom of the paint mixture. I will use a heavy stone mortar and pestle first (buy one of these at an Asia market – cheap!) and next use a glass pestle on a piece of tempered glass. This is done in small batches. So the next time you drive along a desert highway, check out the roadcuts. If you see a woman putting dirt in baggies, it will probably be me.