This afternoon was spent with my great friend Nick Hunt and his photogenic dog Otto. Years ago Nick stumbled upon a valley near Bath, the site of a now defunct ochre works which ran for hundreds of years. When he sent me the pictures of Otto’s red feet I could not believe the intensity of the colour, I had never seen anything like it. Within a week a parcel of uncanny weight arrived at my boat and on opening it I found the deepest red haematite powder, with mica sparkles. Imagine looking at a deep purple-red velvet cloth with tiny silver sequins spread across a woodland floor and you will get an idea of the sumptuousness of this pigment. That year, I went to collect a little for myself with Nick, and now we return when we meet to walk the public footpaths, visit the great trees, gather a little earth and to visit the wild bees whose hive is a gnarled oak.
First published here with full transcript, notes and more images, October 2nd 2023.
Episode 45 - Well Red