LibGuides: Color: Color In Nature (Pigments / Dyes)

Color In Nature

Find resources about color in nature by searching with these Keywords and Phrases

Color or Colors
Color Mixing
Dyes and Dyeing
Dye Plants
Gems
Henna
Interaction of Color (phrase)
Paint Mixing
Pigments
Precious Stones

Image: Rainbow Mountains of China’s Zhangye Danxia National Geologic Park (Credit: imaginechina.com)

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Pigments and Dyes - Books & eBooks

Dyes from American Native Plants

True Colors : world masters of natural dyes and pigments

Natural Palettes : inspiration from plant-based color

In Pursuit of Color : from fungi to fossil fuels, uncovering the origins of the world's most famous dyes

Eco Colour : Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles

Make Ink : a forager's guide to natural inkmaking

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Pigment Timelines - Colourlex.com

Click on a color to see its composition, properties, names, origins, preparation, history of use, and spectral identification including videos and articles.

Image from the Colourlex.com page "Pigments Sorted by First Date of Use".

Colourlex.com
Scholarly information and resources on painting pigment analysis, painters, pigments, and the scientific methods used in the investigation of paintings. Author: Juraj Lipscher PhD.

Artists' Pigments : a handbook of their history and characteristics (3 volumes) by Robert L. Feller (Editor)
Publication Date: 1986
Now distributed by Oxford University Press for the National Gallery of Art, Artists' Pigments is the first and most complete handbook of its kind. Volume 1 looks at Indian yellow; cobalt yellow (aureolin); barium sulfate; cadmium yellows, oranges, and reds; red lead and minium; green earth; zinc white; chrome yellow and other chromate pigments; lead antimonate yellow; and carmine.

Books on Natural Pigment and Dyes

The Art and Science of Natural Dyes : principles, experiments, and results by Joy Boutrup; Catharine Ellis
Publication Date: 2019
Botanical Inks : plant-to-print dyes, techniques and projects by Babs Behan; Kim Lightbody (Photographer)
Publication Date: 2018
Color Science and the Visual Arts : a guide for conservators, curators, and the curious by Roy S. Berns
Publication Date: 2016
The Colourful Past: Origins, Chemistry and Identification of Natural Dyestuffs by Hofenk de Graaff, Judith H.
Publication Date: 2004
Eco Colour : Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles by India Flint
Publication Date: 2010
Indigo: cultivate, dye, create by Douglas Luhanko; Kerstin Neumüller
Publication Date: 2018
In Pursuit of Color : from fungi to fossil fuels, uncovering the origins of the world's most famous dyes by Lauren MacDonald; Ananda Pellerin (Editor)
Publication Date: 2023
Journeys in Natural Dyeing : techniques for creating color at home by Kristine Vejar; Adrienne Rodriguez
Publication Date: 2020
Make Ink : a forager's guide to natural inkmaking by Jason Logan; Michael Ondaatje (Foreword by)
Publication Date: 2018
Natural Dyeing : learn how to create colour and dye textiles naturally by Kathyn Davey
Publication Date: 2022
Natural Dyeing with Plants : glorious colors from roots, leaves & flowers by Franziska Ebner; Romana Hasenöhrl
Publication Date: 2018
Natural Dyes : sources, tradition, technology and science by Dominique Cardon
Publication Date: 2007
Natural Palettes : inspiration from plant-based color by Sasha Duerr
Publication Date: 2020
True Colors : world masters of natural dyes and pigments by Keith Recker
Publication Date: 2019
Wild Color by Jenny Dean; Karen Diadick Casselman
Publication Date: 1999

Videos on Pigments / Dyes

In search of lost colour : the story of natural dyes (DVD)
Publication Date: 2007
In Search of Lost Colour, travels the world to document the growing, harvesting, extraction and use of natural dyes. From the Bogolanfini mudprinting of Mali to the madder-root of Turkey, from cochineal insects to the rare shellfish purple, this documentary provides a look at some of the most exotic colours in existence.

Books on Colors in Flowers

Find More Titles Using OneSearch (Flowers -- Colors)
Flower Colors

Colour by Jane Packer; Georgia Glynn Smith
Publication Date: 2008
Flower Color Guide by Taylor Putnam; Michael Putnam
Publication Date: 2018
Flower Color Theory by Taylor Putnam; Michael Putnam
Publication Date: 2021

Material Coatings in the News

The Blackest Black - Vantablack - Surrey NanoSystems.com (web)
Vantablack®, the super-black coating, is a globally registered trademark of Surrey NanoSystems 2016
'Whitest ever' paint reflects 98% of sunlight - BBC News
"Ultra White" developed by Purdue University Professor Xiulin Ruan. Article posted by Victoria Gill, Science correspondent, BBC News, April 17, 2021

Rainbow Mountains of China and Peru

The Spectacular Coloured Mountains
of China and Peru

Image & Article from LBV Magazine, November 28, 2019

The Spectacular Coloured Mountains of China and Peru (LBV Magazine)
Beautiful images and descriptive article about the rainbow mountains in China and Peru.

Auroras - Natural Color and Light

South Pole | Night in Antarctica -- Southern Lights (aurora australis) (YouTube)
Peaceful, colorful display of the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) in Antarctica.

South Pole | Night in Antarctica -- Southern Lights (aurora australis)

Shot by Robert Schwarz, CMB-Observatory (Cosmic Microwave Backgroud) operator and technician at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. Post-Production, Edit and Stock-footage management by Martin Heck, Timestorm Films (Posted on YouTube Feb. 4, 2019)

Color