Lapis lazuli has long been one of my favorite specialty blue colors for previous pigment projects and a perfect choice for the current Spring Unveiling at Bronze Coast Gallery. Artisans around the world have used this mineral for jewelry, inlays, furniture decorations, paint, tombs, and temples in endless varieties. Seventeenth Century Dutch painters crushed it to a powdered consistency for use as paint in masterpieces that hang in museums worldwide.
Thousands of years ago, ancient Egyptians made beautiful inlays in sarcophagi and created many varieties of jewelry including magnificent pectoral necklaces that covered the entire chest area with a counterweight for the back. Still today, lapis is coveted for its beauty. Because it was traded in early trade routes ‘across the sea,’ lapis was known as the first ‘ultra-marine blue.’ Today, a synthetic pigment replaces the genuine much more expensive color, and it is known as ultramarine blue, a staple on artists’ palettes.
A Region in Turmoil
This superb mineral has a long and complicated 7000-year history mostly because of its origin. It is found in several locations globally such as Chili and Russia. However, the most vibrant blue and sought-after variety is mined in Badakhshan, Afghanistan in one of the starkest, arid, rugged, mountainous, and remote places on earth. Because of the turmoil in this region today, it has become very expensive and difficult to find in its purest form.
Zecchi’s Art Supply: The Dick Blick of Italy
In 2003 while traveling in Italy, I purchased a supply of powdered lapis pigment at Zecchi’s Art Supply in Florence, and of course, I have been hoarding it all these years for special projects like Quintessential Blue. My research shows that several art supply companies still sell it, and the price is high. One source sells it for around $150. per 10-gram jar.
Trick of the Trade
If you choose to use this in your paintings, I suggest you paint an underpainting using black and white gray tones or a lesser priced blue. When this is dry, paint your final top layer with genuine lapis.
Photo Courtesy Holly Brown
Nice. Love Holly’s photos.
Thanks Annie, Glad you like Holly’s photos. She loves going to Hawaii and shares many of her photos with me. She has become quite the photographer. And I love comparing the colors of ocean with my still life paintings!