spices for pigment?

[mark]

so i got a spice rack for the containers for storage of pigment powders and noticed that i like some of the colors that are there can i use them for paint or will it mess with the egg?

[turlogh]

so i got a spice rack for the containers for storage of pigment powders and noticed that i like some of the colors that are there can i use them for paint or will it mess with the egg?
Not every colored powder makes an acceptable pigment. While some ground plant matter has historically been used for painting (saffron and genuine sap green come to mind), most of it is unlikely to work very well. At best, you will make a painting with colors that fade rapidly.

[Alessandra Kelley]

There's no need to reinvent the wheel. Lots of people have admired the brilliant colors of spices and tried them as pigments. About the best I can say of them is that (in an egg medium at least) they are totally non-toxic. But they are seriously fugitive. Truly there is a reason why the accepted pigments are as they are.

Also, as a warning: Once in art school I had a teacher who encouraged experimentation with food-based pigments. We tried spices, instant coffee, etc. Mostly what I got out of it was a serious aversion to those foods for awhile, as the combined smell of food and art media was pretty revolting.

You can play with them if you like, but they don't have a lot of permanent value (now that I think about it, I remember trying to argue with a fellow-student that it was a waste of time to try paint made with olive oil, if after 4000 years it hadn't been found an acceptable medium . . . )

[mark]

thank you for your info i will try some and report back thanks again

[Dennis H]

Certainly try them, but I don't believe they will hold their colors over the long haul (and in some cases, the short ride.)
The good news is that most of the beautiful colors you find in spices are mirrored in the wide range of natural earth colors that are available. Iron oxides provide a rainbow of colors including intense yellows, oranges, reds, violets, browns; and they are completely permanent and among the most inexpensive and non-toxic pigments you can buy. You can also collect them "in the wild" yourself, which is a fun pursuit in and of itself.
A couple of books you might enjoy reading that relate to color are:
"Color: A Natural History of the Palette," by Victoria Finlay (2004, Random House Trade Paperback)
"Colors from the Earth: The Artist's Guide to Collecting, Preparing, and Using Them," Anne Wall Thomas (1980, Van Nostrand Reinhold) (This one may be out of print. www.abebooks.com probably will list some used copies, though)
Dennis