Some Substance

Lately I’ve been learning about where to find and how to process natural materials for pigments and ways of recycling paper. This is with a view to eventually reduce my reliance on acrylic paint (my usual medium of choice) and to utilise the beauty in rough, home-made paper.

Despite acrylic possessing a crude and naïve quality which compliments my style of painting, it is plastic-based and as such not exactly an ideal material to be washing off my brushes regularly.

Image: Unearthed Paints

One of my favourite movements that I take real inspiration from is Art Brut – or ‘raw art’. By foraging for and using more natural pigments in my painting and recycling paper where possible, my work will literally become more raw, more Art Brut.

Below are a couple of natural substances which have at one time been mined on a large scale in an area native to me; the southwest of England. In both cases there are artisans who still use them.

Biddiblack

Bideford, a town in North Devon on the River Torridge has been home to several creative industries over the centuries, pottery and boat-building among them. They were aided by the availability of rich, naturally-occurring raw materials.

Image: Kremer Pigments

Red earthenware clay from nearby Fremington and Bideford Black - a locally mined earth pigment – both contributed to a unique creative style in North Devon. Fremington clay is still sought for its quality, although it takes years to mature enough to be workable after being dug.

The substance which came to be known as Biddeblack is the result of the continuous churning of dead trees while logjammed for millions of years in the bends of ancient rivers.

Image: Simon Ryder

Gradually stripped to their trunks they were further compressed with the build-up of other materials, eventually forming the low-carbon coal. It was mined from the mid 1600s until the 1960s when it became less viable as an industry.

Max Factor - renowned for its experimentation in cosmetics in the first half of the 20th century and the choice make-up brand in Hollywood at the time - even used the pigment in its mascara.

Purple Ochre of The Forest of Dean

The sprawling Clearwell Caves in the Forest of Dean is another area fairly close-by which was mined industrially for its raw materials. Again, industry slowed towards the mid-20th century but some of the pigments - especially the rare purple ochre - are sought after for their quality and still mined today, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Freemining - an ancient practice of local people working coal, iron ore and ochre out of designated personal mines or ‘gales’.

Image: Clearwell Caves

The techniques used by the last remaining miners in the area are virtually identical to those used by miners centuries ago. Pickaxes are used to remove small chunks and once enough has been gathered, the ochre is washed and bashed to a fine powder in pestle and mortars.

Last year London-based street artist STIK painted ‘The Ochre Man’ - a large piece, deep in the caves (see image below) with the help of Jonathan Wright (one of the last surviving freeminers of ochre). The piece was presented as part of ‘Back to the Cave’ – an exhibition within Clearwell Caves last summer curated by Gallery Pangolin.

Image: Gemma Compton

Despite the numerous benefits of seeking out, processing, storing and using natural pigments, there is always a risk. Materials differ in their composition and as such in their effect on our health but from what I’ve learned, grinding silicates (most rocks other than limestone) can be extremely hazardous without proper protection (overalls, goggles and extraction).