Wild Pigment

Madder root red. Walnut brown. 20 recipes for making paint and ink from plants, berries, minerals, and earth -plus a tracker for your own palette.

Before tubes of paint, every artist ground their own colors. Wild Pigment is a field guide to the ancient craft of making natural paint. It gathers 20 recipes from across history — from the ochre used in cave paintings 73,000 years ago to the iron gall ink that Shakespeare wrote with, to the copper verdigris that illuminated the Book of Kells. Each pigment comes with its full story: where it grows, which season to forage it, how to fix it, and how long it lasts. Browse pigments by source — plant, berry, mineral, earth, bark, flower, or fungi. Filter by season so you know what you can make right now. Every recipe includes a full ingredient list, step-by-step method, fixative, difficulty rating, and lightfastness guide. Track every batch you make. Record your notes, batch size, success rating, location, mordant, and fixative. Build a personal collection of swatches over time — a palette that's entirely your own. Wild Pigment has no accounts, no subscriptions, and no internet connection required. Just the plant, the water, and the color.