7 Cornish Pigments: first findings

THIS TOXIC(?) BEAUTY

Cornish Landscape (raw and ground Cornish pigments) © p ward 2018

The 7 colours shown here have been gathered close to historic mining sites in west Cornwall. Some are waste products from tin and copper mining and may contain toxic minerals such as arsenic and cadmium, ironically both used historically in paint and pigment production. Despite being found alongside public rights of way until sufficient mineral analysis has been made of the samples I am unable to share them with the public.

However, I am comfortable enough to start using them myself (with care). Inspired by the milling process used to extract tin I have started to mix the raw materials with water before filtering with a fine sieve. This minimizes the grinding process and hence the possible inhalation of dust. So far I have only used PVA glue as a binder but enjoyed the difference in colour, provenance and nature of the pigments compared to the North Devon pigments I am more familiar with. As such the imagery has started to take on its own character relevant to the materials, the geographical space and my personal experience of Penwith and west Cornwall. I am currently working with Geevor Tin Mine Museum to develop educational workshops using the pigments. The mine itself and attendant museum is utterly fascinating allowing me to better understand the differences between pigments from natural landforms and those extracted from deep underground. In due time I will be able to better share my findings but for the time being here are some of my first paintings made using the wonderful, beautiful but maybe a little toxic Cornish pigments.

As yet the paintings are relatively small (up to 60x60cm) but I look forward to taking some of these ideas to a larger scale and context. If you are interested in any of the work shown here or would like to support or contribute to any further research please get in touch.

7 Cornish pigments – paint samples on paper @ p ward 2018

Cornish Quilt (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

6x6x6 (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

red, grey, green (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

grey, green, white, mauve I-III (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018

fox walking (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018

dagdu (Cornish earth pigments on board) © p ward 2018

in landscape I-V (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

botallack black – arches, obliterate, behind a rainbow (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

vertical palette (Cornish earth pigments on board) © p ward 2018

untitled – explorations in colour and form I-IV (Cornish earth pigments on board) © p ward 2018

falling (Cornish earth pigments on board) © p ward 2018

in relationship I-III (Cornish earth pigments on board) © p ward 2018

in relationship – butterfly (Cornish earth pigments on canvas) © p ward 2018

storyteller IV (Cornish earth pigments on canvas) © p ward 2018

bird box (Cornish earth pigments on wood) © p ward 2018

4 vertical colours (Cornish earth pigments on board) © p ward 2018

sketch I and II (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

house on wheels – sketch (Cornish earth pigments on paper) © p ward 2018

With thanks to the people and places of west Cornwall. In particular, the staff of Geevor Tin Mine, Fiona, Natasha and of course Francesca and family for your inspiration and support.

© P Ward 2018