When I visited Morocco, I bought six “organic” pigments from the local souk, from a trader who didn’t speak English very well. Their origins are therefore a mystery but I’ve managed to identify some of them, although others will remain anonymous until the depths of time. The names for the pigments I’ve taken from the labels he wrote on them, although I suspect some of them may be incorrect.

• Murex: This is my favourite as it glistens in the light. It is composed of crushed sea shells, and when water is added turns to a bright turquoise in colour. This is the only pigment I’ve managed to positively identify. I have to be careful with it as any escaping flakes tend to dye anything it touches, including carpets, fingers, tabletops, sinks…
• Mogadon Blue: I suspect this is plant-based and is possibly similar to Indigo.
• Jojoba: I know that you can get oil from this plant, so perhaps another part of the plant can be dried and used to produce yellow.
• Caba Caba: This is labelled incorrectly I suspect (possibly Cara Cara? but then that would be red?). It is a red colour when dry which turns to blue when wet. It could be smalt (made from glass) and hopefully doesn’t contain copper which is poisonous.
• Rose: This is an interesting pigment as it becomes a very deep rich pink when mixed with a binding medium or water. It is possibly Rose Madder.
• Pistache: This is my least favourite as it becomes a very pale green when mixed with binding medium (or perhaps it is better used as a dye for fabric).

I know that fabrics and items such as carpets and leather goods are produced in Morocco using these organic pigments. So it would be interesting to know if they can be used successfully in egg tempera without changing radically in colour over time.

If you are reading this and have some idea what these pigments might be, then leave me a comment. Any sensible suggestions will be appreciated.

Where can I buy art materials online?

Dick Blick Art Materials sell a vast range of pigments in various sizes. It is an art supplies company that is based in the US.

Sennelier Dry Pigments are suitable to use with an egg tempera binding medium.

If you order over a certain amount, shipping can be free within the US, conditions apply. Orders placed from outside the US will have a different shipping charge and may be subject to import duty. (Click on the shipping information link at the bottom of the page on Dick Blick Art Materials for details.)

Other pages of interest

• A test of the lightfast quality of organic pigments:Read more about natural pigments, how stable are they?
• You will need to use traditional gesso with egg tempera: Read more about traditional gesso
• Before adding any paint, you will need to create an underdrawing: Read more about underdrawing
• Before you can mix up your paints, you need to grind them: Read more about grinding pigments for use with egg tempera
• This is the traditional recipe for making egg tempera paints:Read more about mixing egg yolk with pigment (traditional egg tempera)
• Using this recipe gives a paint that is closer to the quality of oil paints:Read more about the whole egg tempera recipe
• A technique that mixes layers of egg tempera with oil paints: Read more about the Mische technique