Offering in limited quantities on an occasional basis, a custom mini Earth Palette with six gorgeous earth- and plant-based colors from historic and legendary sources.

Colors are from Rublev Colours Artist Watercolors (Natural Pigments Inc.) and Daniel Smith and are samples of each (not a complete half-pan):

• FRENCH RED OCHRE is a semi-transparent, deep red ochre from the last remaining European company operating the ochre deposits in the French quarries of the Luberon Mountains, the legendary and historic ochre country.

• PURPLE OCHRE from quarries in the Lori province of Armenia. This is a semi-opaque deep bluish red with cool undertones, medium grained. It harmonizes perfectly with other earth colors of Rublev Colours Artist Watercolors, and is impossible to reproduce by mixing other colors. Mixed with blue it furnishes grays and chocolates and is most invaluable in neutralizing greens.

• ITALIAN YELLOW EARTH OCHRE from quarries in Northern Italy is a semi- transparent deep golden yellow with good tinting strength, medium grained that makes pale bright yellow tints. NOTE: This is a very grainy, low-flowing paint, very unlike most yellow ochres.

• LAPIS LAZULI GENUINE from Daniel Smith Primatek line is a historic and gorgeous color—the original Ultramarine, so-named because it came from “beyond the seas.” Lapis Lazuli has been prized for its beauty, its mystical properties, and its perfection as a pigment. Ancient civilizations believed that the veins of glittering pyrite found in the lapis were actual gold, driving up its value. The stone’s expense today, as in the ancient world, results from its hardness, which makes extraction difficult. Mined in the mountains of South America, this gem-quality pigment is a subtle blue-grey, with a classic color that is light reflective (due to the irregular and angular shape of the pigment particles); this paint is at least 80% pure gem pigment suspended in a natural binder.

• MAYAN DARK BLUE is made using methods derived from ancient Mayan chemistry. These unique, metal-free pigments have been recreated using an eco-friendly process; the indigo plant and natural clays are part of the recipe—leaves of anil (Indigofera suffruticosa) plants combined with the clay palygorskite. Color is sacred to the Mayans and their compass points oriented to colors: white - north, red - east, south - yellow, and black - west., with blue representing sky and earth. This Mayan Dark Blue is darker and warmer than Mayan Blue Genuine. It’s an extremely useful color; mix with Red or Purple Ochre or other reds for black as well as a wide array of subtle grays and violets for colorful, complex shadows. Use full-strength for enigmatic, deep darks.

• MAYAN RED is an amazing color—the range it produces is remarkable, from a natural strong red, to a clear intense rose, to sublime smooth pinks. It also mixes beautifully with other natural and organic paints. Used to adorn the murals and sculptures of the Mayan people, this remarkable red has remained vibrant even when exposed to more than a thousand years of severe heat and humidity—it is derived from the plant Bixa orellana, also known as achiote, also a spice, mixed with native clays.

Mini size: 2.5 inches x 2 inches x .5 inch and holds 6 half-pans with magnetic bottoms

NOTE: Tins may be white or natural metal color, due to supply issues.