Irish red ochre
Formed over 60 million years ago, as the basalt surface of 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. As a pigment maker, I work with care and respect for the unique geology of our region. I source red ochre only from local basalt quarries, where it is an unwanted product. 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. A full range of artists' quality Ócar paints is made exclusively by independent artisan paintmakers, Wallace Seymour Ltd, and is available from their stockists worldwide.
Ócar pigment 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.
Below, you will see a link for friends worldwide to support the Ócar workshop in the current quarter of the Celtic year. In appreciation, you will receive a gift of this ancient and unique pigment, and you will be kept updated as to what's happening in the Ócar world, here on the North coast of Ireland.
An chéad lámh dearg go deo - the first red hand forever!
