Clay earth pigments are naturally occurring minerals, principally iron oxides, that have been used since prehistoric times as pigments. The primary types are
- ochre
- sienna
- umber
Earth pigments are known for their fast drying time in oil painting, relative inexpensiveness, and lightfastness. Cave paintings done in sienna still survive today.
Famous quotes containing the words clay, earth and/or pigment:
“When Nature was shaping him, clay was not granted
For making so full-sized a man as she wanted,
So, to fill out her model, a little she spared
From some finer-grained stuff for a woman prepared,
And she could not have hit a more excellent plan
For making him fully and perfectly man.”
—James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)
“He touched the soil, caressing its grains between his fingers: “I am this: this earth here, and I have it in my blood. Look at my color; it seems as though the earth faded onto me and onto you too. This country belongs to the black man and each time others tried to take it away from us, we mowed down injustice with our machetes”.”
—Jacques Roumain (1907–1945)
“Light was a paste of pigment in our eyes.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)