‘Abdita’ is the Latin root of the English word for secret or hidden place. 
Dip-pen drawing in oak-gall botanical ink
Hand-made watercolours and gouache, traditional recipes and techniques using historically accurate methods with hand-applied Dutch gold leaf [copper:aluminium:zinc]
Features rare ochre pigments sourced from Australia. 
Italian, eco-certified, archival, artist quality, animal free
 
The bespoke paint is a made with a special group of ochre pigments. I was on a nature walk when I was suddenly inspired to walk off the track and explore a small creek near by. I came across a large rock with beautiful ochre colours and so I looked around the rock only to find tiny pebbles of different coloured ochres. I have since followed the creek for miles and have not found any other ochre. This truly was a special find. 
This is beautiful natural earth at its finest and ochres are the pigments once used before industrial 'copies' were invented, going back to a time when small amounts of hand-sourced colours were cherished and precious. This art is made in celebration of nature and as such only uses carefully selected historically accurate, natural ingredients to be extra kind to the planet.
 
Ochre is a coloured rock, a pigment used by painter throughout human art history from pre-antiquity to now. Thousands of years old, ochre comes from deep in the earth and is different in character depending on the place of origin. In this work, I have used genuine natural tree gum from African acacia trees, known as gum arabica which has been used for centuries as a binding medium for traditional watercolours and gouache. My research continues to find an Australian alternative that is equally clear and strong. The paint is naturally optimised to showcase the nuances in the pigments as it dries to a clear crystalline form and allows the colours to be vibrant and pure.
 
In the spirit of 'all is connected', these ochres are sourced from layers of earth below the surface of different landscapes, the similarity and beauty of the materials is a connection, a meeting point laid out in this artwork, symbolic of love, protection and our good fortune to live with such beauty in our flora and fauna.