When I made my very first pan of watercolor paint, it was a russet from one of the sandstones on the ground outside. The color was nice, but at the bottom of that pan there was a very thin layer of a much deeper shade. I coveted the tiny bit of that and used it sparingly. But today I found the Nirvana rock.
Deep, dark russet. The Holy Grail of my pigment hunt.
Chasing the Grail
Once I started running low on the original pan of russet paint that I had, I started looking for the rock I’d used to create it. Many rocks have a russet colored inside, and there’s red clay everywhere. But none of them yielded the shade of rusty brown I wanted.
The Nirvana Rock
Today I found the one. It has a dark outer covering and a deep color inside. The texture is less gritty than the other sandstones and grinds to a much finer powder in the pestle.
It soaked up the media much faster than the others. Some don’t want to soak it up much at all.
Nirvana on the Mulling Board
While the paint still has a slight grain to it, this will not be a problem for my style of painting.
My heart had already picked up the pace when the mound of pigment began soaking up the media. The mulling of this incredibly rich color that came from a rock outside on our driveway put me in a blissful state of mind.
I dare say it might have even counted as a spiritual moment. I’m the sort of person who could never name my favorite color. If someone asked, I’d say ‘earth tones’. That’s because I had not yet met this one.
THIS is my favorite color.
And I’m calling it Nirvana.
I wrote the ‘Russet Sandstone’ on the tag before I’d processed the paint. It’s Nirvana.
Want some?
Until I find the mother load of these rocks, this is always going to be one I offer in very limited quantities and the price will reflect that. All of the paints I’m making will go on sale on September 16. They’ll be at the Kingston Square Arts shop in Kingston, AR and eventually I’ll have some on the shelf in the online shop here at the website.
Check back with me then, or email me to reserve a 1/2 pan now. They’re $10/ea. and a 1/2 pan is not a lot of paint, I realize. There aren’t a lot of Nirvana rocks here, either. If you want it for half that price, bring me the right rock 😉
There will only be about 10 of them made by then. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for more Nirvana rocks…
Update! I found more rocks! All I have left of them are a few 1/2 pans, though. I’ll include this color in another upcoming collection this winter. Follow me on Instagram to keep up to date, or subscribe to my mailing list for announcements. Instagram is more current, mailing list is sporadic though I’d like to do one monthly. To keep up with products as they go up for sale, you can watch my Etsy shop. But some things never make it to the shop because they are sold out from requests by my Instagram followers.
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