Workshop: Pigment & Paint Making - Colours inspired by John Ruskin

Join artist and pigment specialist Lucy Mayes for a hands-on exploration of historical colour, inspired by John Ruskin’s 19th-century palette.   

This is a repeat of the workshop that was held in September 2025 and returns due to high demand. 

This practical workshop introduces participants to the philosophy and materials behind Ruskin’s approach to colour and pigment usage. The session will begin with a brief discussion of Ruskin’s writings on art, nature, and truth to materials, followed by an introduction to historical pigments such as ultramarine (lapis lazuli), red ochre, verdigris, and lead white.  

Participants will learn to grind and wash natural mineral and earth pigments, before using traditional muller and slab tools to bind them with traditional media like gum arabic to create watercolours.   

The session emphasises tactile knowledge, historical context, and the sensory richness of handmade colour. Attendees leave with their own handmade paints and a deeper understanding of how pigments connect the artist to geology, history, and material truth.  

This workshop will briefly cover earth-derived pigments and focus on botanically derived colourants. There will be a workshop on The World of Earth Pigments on Sunday – for more information about this, please click here.

Previous attendees said:  

“[I learned] far more than I expected about natural pigments, identifying them, using them and mixing them. I got what I wanted, which was to understand and experience how painters in the past created pigments. The tutor gave a huge amount of information and tips to allow us to experiment and to carry on after the workshop. She was friendly and approachable and did her best to answer all questions. We were given paper and tools that we needed and the whole day was well prepared.” 

“Lucy Mayes was extremely knowledgeable about colour making. She demonstrated the making of pigments and dyes, discussed the science and ecology of the process and demonstrated by grinding and rendering clays and other natural materials. We all had the opportunity to make and apply pigment ourselves and stabilise it with substances such as gum arabic. She also explained where to find rocks, clays etc. and the rules and regulations relating to land, foraging and other information we might need to know if collecting materials ourselves. The level of the event was quite high which I appreciated. I would love to attend follow up workshops by her.   She is very knowledgeable and professional and also made learning fun.”