Our PrimaTek™ paints are literally made from the ground up. From prehistoric times to the Renaissance and beyond, artists have relied on pigments mined from the earth. We are truly proud to have revived these time-honored colors for today’s painters. PrimaTek began in 1998 with a cache of Lapis Lazuli—the gold-speckled blue gemstone seen in King Tut’s mask—that we found, ground and formulated into artist-quality watercolor paint. The response was great, and soon we hired a mineralogist to travel the globe in search of other exciting natural pigments.

Finding these minerals involved Indiana Jones-worthy journeys by plane, jeep and even mule to remote locations, to identify high-quality veins of ore and then negotiate procurement from local miners. The large minerals are then processed to reveal the color within. From this pigment, our chemist and paint makers blend it with the perfect ratio of medium, then grind and regrind it to bring out the natural beauty of each color. Click here to read more about PrimaTek and download a comprehensive color brochure.

Be sure to check out all of our PrimaTek resources to learn more about the pigments and how to use them to create unique texture and depth in your art.

• PrimaTek Swatch Gallery
• PrimaTek Color Stories
• Product specifications – PrimaTek Watercolors
• Product specifications – PrimaTek Oils
• Artist Tutorials for painting with PrimaTek
• John Cogley talks about PrimaTek (Zoom video)
• Mining for minerals in Tasmania

“PrimaTek Watercolors mix beautifully with other paints on your palette and bring excitement to the surface of a painting. They are heavier in body and settle into the valleys of your paper leaving behind wonderful granulation and texture. The pigments were carefully selected to give you a wide range of colors and textures you’ll find nowhere else.” — Brenda Swenson