When the earth turns into color
What if the colors we use to paint came directly from the landscape around us?
For centuries, natural pigments were humanity’s primary source of color. Long before the industrial production of paints, our ancestors collected earth, rocks, and minerals to create paintings, decorate objects, and express their creativity. This intimate connection between art and nature continues to inspire artists around the world, and it is precisely this experience that we offer in this Watercolors from Natural Pigments workshop, led by Marta, in Cerdeira.
Participants will be invited to immerse themselves in a fascinating process of discovery and creation and to explore the colors hidden in the Serra da Lousã, learning to collect local pigments and transform them into handmade watercolors.
The workshop begins with observing the landscape and collecting natural materials. From there, a journey of transformation begins that brings us closer to the ancestral practices of the first creators: grinding the raw material, separating the different components of the earth through the levitation technique, and producing a natural binder capable of binding the pigments and transforming them into paint.
More than just learning an artistic technique, this is an opportunity to understand the origin of the materials we use and develop a more conscious relationship with the creative process.
In September, during the “Colors of Serra da Lousã” course, each participant will take home not only a collection of colors unique to our mountains, but also the knowledge needed to continue exploring this practice on their own.
If you wish to dive into this unique experience and take part in a course dedicated to natural pigments, join us: sign up here.