The Path of the Painted Earth
Handground Mineral Pigments in Egg Tempera
Lorena B. Moore
I have been collecting and using mineral pigments since 1990.
My palette now includes over 40 colors.
I grind the rocks in a mortar and pestle and mix the dry powder with
eggyolk-water medium for watercolors and traditional egg tempera paintings.
Using tiny brushstrokes, colors are applied one at a time in thin glazes.
This time-consuming process has much in common with pencil drawing.
Colors are rich, subtle and complex, and have a luminous intensity
that cannot be duplicated in any other medium.

ARTICLE (.pdf)  
Scientific Illustration and Mineral Paints for Geoscience Classes,
Journal of Geoscience Education.

POMEGRANATE VESSELS

MINERAL PIGMENTS

RED OCHRE – Hematite
YELLOW OCHRE – Limonite, Goethite
GREEN CLAY – Glauconite, Celadonite
Volkonskoite
WHITE EARTH – Chalk, Kaolin
BLUE OCHRE – Vivianite
BLACK EARTH – Charcoal, Charred Bone,
Black Shale, Magnetite, Mn Oxides
PURPLE OCHRE – Purpurite, Mn-rich Clay
COPPER EARTH – Malachite
Dioptase, Gaspeite (Ni, not Cu)
TURQUOISE - Azurite, Chrysocolla, Turquoise
PINK EARTH - Pipestone, Pink Clay

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All artwork, electronic images, and text copyright ©2003-2006 by Lorena Babcock Moore.
Reproduction in any form without permission is a violation of copyright law.