The mythical origins of Dragon's Blood

The “pigment” dragon's blood NR31 is actually a resin that medieval artisans used, and despite the dramatic name, it came from a rather more mundane source than you might expect. It was harvested from the dracaena draco tree, a type of rattan palm, which grows in places like the Canary Islands, northern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, parts of Indian sub-continent and famously Socotra island off the coast of Yemen. The resin is a beautiful deep, warm crimson-red with slightly brownish undertones and was prized for painting, varnishing, and even medicinal purposes. Medieval crafts people valued it because it was vibrant and had decent staying power, though it could be pricey, which meant it was often reserved for important illuminated manuscripts or high-end decorative work.

 I’ll leave the best story telling to Evie Hatch, Jackson’s pigment expert and researcher.

Proof reading and summary assisted by Claude Sonnet 4.5 (AI)

I just missed "world pigment day"

 

I discovered that yesterday was “World Pigment Day” thanks to an email from Windsor & Newton. Honestly who makes up these names & days?, but it is an excuse to post my revised portable watercolour palette based on the idea of six primary colours (ie combining the photographic RGB scheme and the printers CYM(k) schemes). BTW Being watercolour I’m not using black. Whereas previously I had tried the conventional idea of a warm and cool version of each, I’ve now concentrated on trying to get a transparent and opaque version of each. Some of the pigments are same as before but I have more transparent versions now. The #watercoloursocietyofvictoria ‘s #paintaway was a great opportunity to try this out for “plein air” work. I enjoyed it a lot. (also see my instagram)

A more convention RYB Pigment based Colour Wheel (from Winsor & Newton)