SPRING Term week 4

Date: 4th & 5th February

Tutor:Siân

Harbour House : Art Studio

Free Painting

what to bring

You usual painting materials

THIS Week:

This is a ‘free painting’ week, so you will be working on your own projects.

colour of the Week

Opuntia ( Prickly Pear cactus)

Prickly Pears growing wild above Mairena

A shepherd hut above Mairena, covered in Prickly Pear in 2018

The same hut 2020, denuded of Prickly Pear cacti by the cochineal beetle

Cochineal

The history of red paint is a fascinating one. The world lacked the ability to make a rich bright red, so obviously it was a much sought after colour. Such was the desire for red that the rich spent vast fortunes in search of one. The required red was eventually discovered in South America, the product of squashing the cochineal beetle. The Spanish, having taken control of South America, quickly capitalised on this discovery, importing the ‘pigment’ to Spain in huge quantities. In fact this single import was hugely important in the development of Spain as a financial superpower. It is thought that in 1587 144,000 pounds was shipped from Lima to Spain. Given that it takes 70,000 dried bugs to produce one you d of raw cochineal hat is some achievement!

For more fascinating facts about the history of the paint ‘The insect that painted the town red.’ ( a BBC article) is a great read.

The cochineal beetle is still being used by the food and cosmetics industries: Rob has checked, look for E120 on food labels. For more information about the bug itself Wkipedia has page worth reading : ‘Cochineal’. this page talks about the way the beetle has been farmed, and mentions biocontrol.

Sian’s experience of this beetle has been the observation of the devastation it can cause when the beetle population is out of control. One of the delights of visiting Mairena in Spain was seeing prickly pears growing wild on the arid mountainside. The photos above were taken by Siân on successive trips. the region suffered an infestation of the cochineal beetle. Having seen the mountainside covers in the the cactus, it was upsetting to see them covered in a white web-like structures, the cactus yellowing and wilting as the beetles scucked them dry. By 2020 the cacti had all but gone.

‘homework’ challenge

Take one of your tubes (pans) of green paint. Try to mix this colour exactly by using the primary colours you have. Can you achieve it?
Repeat using a tube of one of the purples you have.
Do you own an orange? If you do, repeat the above exercise , attempting to mix the same bitgh orange using your primary colours.

You could extend this exercise by seeing what happens when you try using your mixed green, purple or orange in further mixes, and compare when using the manufactured paints in the the same mixes.