Alchemy at the Historic Colour Maker's House
on the edge of the Lake District - 017683 53530
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Umbers - PBr7
We have a range of Umbers extracted from the soils, ranging from rich chocolate brown to a greenish brown.
Umbers are usually mixtures of iron and manganese.
Around the Orton Fells, a large area of limestone pavements and scars, we have extracted an exciting range of colours through Levigation from pockets of earth.
The Mallerstang and Newbigging on Lune umbers were discovered when roadside drainage ditches were re-dug, exposing the underlying clay sub-soil.
To the north west of the Lakes is the mountain of Skiddaw. At its foot beneath the peat is a range of various coloured clays.
Joining the Langdales to the remote Western Lakes is the notoriously difficult Hardknott Pass. As the road cuts through the rocks close to the isolated ruins of the old Roman fort. The artist noted how pockets of intriguing coloured earth were exposed.
Again through refining and washing, we have extracted some exciting colours from the artists' viewpoint.
