Irish red ochre
Formed over 60 million years ago, as the Antrim lava fields weathered, Irish red ochre has stained the hands of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, medieval manuscript illuminators, 19th Century iron ore miners and five hundred generations of Irish artists.
Ócar comes from an ancient time, of fracturing continents and volcanic eruptions. It has survived between layers of basalt, through extremes of heat and ice over many millennia. Our micro-business works with care and respect for the unique geology of our region. We source red ochre only from quarry spoil. Carefully processed by hand to a particle size of less than 30 micron, Ócar pigment can be used as a dry medium, or ground with a binder and water to transform it into paint. The colour smudges smoothly and blends beautifully, while retaining granulation properties as watercolour. As with most earth pigments, the colour is highly lightfast and is safe for artists of all ages.
The Ócar pigment we now offer to artists everywhere is the symbolic colour of resilience. Just as the first people to settle in Ireland were drawn to this ancient red ochre, we hope that you will be too.
An chéad lámh dearg go deo - the first red hand forever!
