When exploring the idea of pigments being derived from nature I came across the Belgian pigment and paint creators Lutea. Their colours are all created in small batches using plants grown by themselves and honey (as binder) as the sole ingredients and with as little ecological impact as possible.
Each of the Goddesses in this series was created intuitively with very little plan. My inspiration was taken from folk-art motifs and neolithic Goddess statuary such as the Venus of Willendorf. I worked with the paints without mixing them, just using the individual watercolour pigments as they presented themselves straight from the tube. I’m fascinated by the idea artists imbuing artwork with metaphysical properties, both through it’s method of creation, through the medium used to paint it and through colour.
The Lutea pigments as follows:
Cosmos (burnt orange) – Compassion
Madder (red) – Knowledge
Logwood (purple) – Intuition
Indigo (indigo) – Creativity
I used folk art motifs in creating these images and a meditative free-painting technique letting the paints and pigments guide the process.
The fifth illustration in the series ‘Abundance’ uses a green pigment watercolour derived from the mineral Serpentine, the paint is by Daniel Smith. The pigment is fascinating as is separates into both green and orange-gold as it dries.
You can find out more about Lutea paints and pigments here.
