These patterns were sketched and painted by hand using only natural colorants. The exotic and valuable colorant of "Grana cochinilla" (Dactylopius coccus Costa) which is a parasite found in some species of cactus that belong to Opuntia family, tipically you can find these insects mostly in the south of Mexico and some other countries in Latin America, although now a days is very hard to keep growing them and the farming process is very difficult.
The diversity of tones from bright red to deep purple that this amazing insect can show is incredible and endless. Every work I have done with this colorant is totally different even using the same powder from the ground insect.
In the end of this screen you will find a color sample sheet I made using different substances to create a wider palette of tones.
Zoom-in to the image of the pattern gives an interesting view of pixels in different tones, would be great to make embroidery based on this!
Color test sheet with variations of the colorant from the parasite, changing the ph of the substance with more acidic of basic ingredients like vinegar, soda, lemon juice, salt, chilli sauce etc.
It is usually tricky to find the way to get specific tones, but is something that makes this kind of work so special.
