Ochres in their natural state are the backbone of art history. From time immemorial people have made them into paint. From a pale yellowish peanut butter color to rich browns these earthtones span a huge range of colors. (For Red Ochres, reference PR102 and PR101, and for more browns check out PBr7).

Natural and Synthetic ochres are given different pigment codes. Natural Yellow Ochre is PY43 while the synthetic kinds are PY42. Sometimes the natural ochres are a bit softened compared to their synthetic counterparts due to naturally-occurring minerals that get labeled as impurities. However the natural characteristics actually can be quite nice for the paint. We have heard that many (but not necessarily all) natural ochres may have a little bit of the synthetic pigment to ensure color consistency.

As some of the oldest pigments, Yellow Earths are foundations of the palette. Some of the common names for paints are Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, and Golden Ochre. There is a lot of variety in the names- one might also encounter Orange Ochres. Several different kinds and colors are identified by names like Ochre Havane, Transparent Yellow Oxide or Mars Yellow, though there are no consistent naming standards. Ochres can vary in transparency, color, and particle size.

There may be a slight advantage to genuine earth pigments. Some synthetic iron oxides were found to have anomalies in watercolor (see Bruce MacEvoy’s work here). It is unknown what caused the problems with the synthetics or whether they were resolved by the manufacturers. Another disturbing trend has arisen in the paint world wherein earthtones are being emulated by a handful of pigments. Such imitations will not have the handling and permanency of iron oxides.