French Red Ocher French Red Ocher is a single pigment color made of natural iron oxide mineral from the last remaining European company operating the ocher deposits in the French quarries of Gargas and Rustrel nestled in a 12-mile long enclave in the heart of the Luberon Massif, the ocher country.
Red iron oxide or ferric oxide is the principal coloring agent in red ochers. This color is based on the natural mineral hematite associated with varying proportions of other minerals such as alumina, calcium carbonate, and silica. They differ from other ochers in that they do not contain water. In other words, the iron to which they owe their color is iron oxide not hydrated iron oxide. Natural red ochers are opaque, absolutely permanent, and have good covering power. They are strong absorbers of ultraviolet light.
Composition and Permanence| French Red Ocher | |
| Color: | French Red Ocher |
| Binder: | Linseed oil |
| Additive(s): | None |
| Pigment Information | |
| Pigment: | |
| Pigment Classification: | Natural inorganic |
| Colour Index: | Pigment Red 102 (77491) |
| Chemical Name: | Natural Iron Oxide |
| Chemical Formula: | Fe2O3 |
| CAS No. | 1309-37-1 37338-85-5 |
| Properties | |
| Code: | 506 |
| Series: | 1 |
| Opacity: | Semi-Transparent |
| Tinting Strength: | Low |
| Drying Rate: | Medium |
| ASTM Lightfastness: | I |
| Permanence: | A - Permanent |
| Safety Information: | No acute or known chronic health hazards are associated with this product's anticipated use (most chemicals are not thoroughly tested for chronic toxicity). Protect yourself against potentially unknown chronic hazards of this and other chemical products by keeping them out of your body. Do this by avoiding ingestion, excessive skin contact, and inhaling spraying mists, sanding dust, and vapors from heating. Conforms to ASTM D-4236 |
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Some separation of pigment and oil may occur in Rublev Colours Artist Oils and is a natural process when no wax or stabilizers are added to paint to prevent this from occurring.
All images of color swatches on this website are only approximations of the actual color of the oil paint. We have carefully matched the color in these pictures on calibrated color monitors to the actual color. However, your results may vary because of the wide variance in color monitors.
Color Swatch Note: The color swatch was created with a thick application (left side) of color and a tint (right side) made with equal parts of color and titanium white and applied on acrylic primed cotton canvas.
Drawdown Note: The image of the "drawdown" contains a pre-mixed paint film of 6 mils (0.006 inches) thickness applied to a standard test card to examine color consistency, opacity, and other qualities. The drawdowns show the full-color strength (mass tone) on the left and mixed in a 1:2 ratio with titanium white on the right. The bottom area of the drawdowns is scraped to show undertones.
| Color Names | |
| Common Names: | English: red ochre French: ocre rouge German: Ocker rot Italian: ocra rosso Russian: охра красная Spanish: ocre rojo |