Before Colors: Where pigments and dyes come from by Annette Bay Pimentel illustrated by Madison Safer

Our eyes see colours (Australian spelling) but many of the colours used in art took a long time to develop and some discoveries were entirely accidental.

Here is a tiny sample of facts from this book:

• 2,500 years ago in India the roots of the tumeric plant were ground to make yellow dye.
• Vincent Van Gough loved to use many shades of yellow
• Cochineal red comes from the cochineal insect. Today this is used in food dye US Code E120.

Check out the webpages for the illustrator Madison Safer and the author Annette Bay Pimentel. See inside Before Colors here. 

Along with precisely drawn botanical and mineralogical vignettes, Safer underscores the author’s global perspective with frequent full-page scenes of artists and dyers, mostly women and often with children in attendance, linked by dress or surroundings to a broad range of times and cultures. Lyrical notes add wonder to a bright mix of creative arts and scientific fact. Kirkus

I highly recommend adding this book to your library - especially to a High School library where the art department are sure to really make good use of this book with different groups of students. This book is presented in a very large format so I am pleased to see the publisher list it for only AUS$35. Your High School Library will also want to purchase this second volume: