Colour news
Pigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetPigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom鈥檚 Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game Set
Rang

Colours of painting and art

On the palette: oils, watercolour, fresco, miniature and mural.

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)
Blue Woad A blue dye once vital to Europe's textile trade, made from the leaves of a flowering plantDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3 Blue Indigo A deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denimDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Red Rubia A group of plants whose roots once dyed cloth and paint a lasting redColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Blue Haematoxylin A natural dye from logwood, best known for staining cell nuclei in histologyDye 路 馃嚨馃嚟 Philippines Orange Annatto A yellow-orange dye and flavour from the seeds of the achiote treeDye 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 #3D2B1F Bistre A dark brown pigment and colour made from soot, once used in Old Master drawingsPigment #E49B0F Gamboge A strong yellow pigment tapped from Southeast Asian treesPigment 路 馃嚢馃嚟 Cambodia +5 #73C2FB Maya blueazul maya A vivid turquoise blue pigment made by the ancient Maya and AztecsPigment 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +1 Red Brazilin A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +4 #E32636 Rose madder A traditional red pigment made from the roots of the madder plantPigment 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 #A91101 Turkey red A lasting bright red dye for cotton, made from madder root by a complex processNamed shade 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey +4 Black Ebony A jet-black hardwood valued for its smooth finish and rarityColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +5 Red Dragon's blood A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +3 Red Betalain Red and yellow plant pigments found in beets, bougainvillea, and cactiPigment Purple and violet Orcein A reddish dye made from lichens, changing colour with acidityDye 路 馃嚦馃嚧 Norway +4 #E32636 Alizarin crimson A deep red with blue undertones, once made from madder rootsNamed shade 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt #FADA5E Stil de grain yellow A yellow pigment made from buckthorn berries, once known as 'pink' or 'sap green'Pigment 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2 Red Santalin Red pigments obtained from the wood of the red sandalwood treePigment Yellow Safflower A thistle-like plant whose petals yield red and yellow dyesColour named from nature 路 馃嚜馃嚞 Egypt +4 Brown Walnut A brown dye and ink made from the husk of the walnut fruitColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚪 Iran +5 Orange Annatto A natural orange-red dye from the seeds of a tropical shrubColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 Orange Carotene The orange pigment found in carrots and many fruits and vegetablesPigment Blue Indigofera tinctoria A shrub whose leaves yield natural indigo dyeColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +5 Red Rose madder A red dye and pigment from the roots of a climbing plantDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +4 Red Brazilwood redybyrapytanga A deep orange-red dye from the heartwood of Brazil鈥檚 national treeDye 路 馃嚙馃嚪 Brazil +1 Yellow Lutein A yellow-orange plant pigment used in food and supplementsPigment 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +2 Yellow Dyer's greenweed A yellow dye plant with golden flowers, found across Europe and TurkeyColour named from nature 路 馃嚬馃嚪 Turkey Red Dragon's blood (from Dracaena cinnabari) A deep red resin from the Socotra dragon tree, prized as a dye and medicineColour named from nature 路 馃嚲馃嚜 Yemen +1 Red Sappanwood A tropical Asian tree whose heartwood yields a red dye called brazilinColour named from nature 路 馃嚦馃嚨 Nepal +4 Yellow Weld A plant once prized for its bright yellow dyeDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +3 Red Alkanet A Mediterranean plant whose root gives a red dye used since ancient timesColour named from nature 路 馃嚭馃嚘 Ukraine +2 Blue Indigofera suffruticosa A shrub from the Americas used to make indigo dye and Maya blue pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚭馃嚫 United States +5 Purple and violet Turnsole A blue-purple dye once prized for manuscripts and textilesDye 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +2 Red Indian madder A plant root once prized for its red dye and pigmentColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +1 Orange Crocin The deep red pigment that gives saffron its colourPigment Yellow Wolf lichen yellow A bright yellow-green dye and poison from a shrubby lichen of western North AmericaColour named from nature Blue Pala indigo A tree from India whose leaves yield a blue dye like indigoColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +4 Blue Genipin A natural compound used to make blue pigment from gardenia fruitColour named from nature Red Haematoxylum brasiletto A Central American tree whose heartwood gives red and pink dyesColour named from nature 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +5 Red Apoplanesia paniculata red dye A red dye from a Yucatan tree, once used in Maya murals and paperDye 路 馃嚥馃嚱 Mexico +1 Yellow Bisdemethoxycurcumin A yellow pigment and curcuminoid found in turmeric rootPigment Purple and violet Chrozophoridin The blue-purple dye compound from the fruit of Chrozophora tinctoriaDye 路 馃嚝馃嚪 France +2 Yellow Gamboge (from Garcinia cambogioides) A yellow resin from the Garcinia cambogioides tree, used in food, paint and medicineColour named from nature 路 馃嚠馃嚦 India +2 Purple and violet Turnsole A medieval dye from Chrozophora tinctoria, shifting from blue to red with acidityDye

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.