Description
A colour described as 'Mars' means it is made from synthetic iron oxide, in comparison to a traditional earth paint like ochre or umber (generally a natural iron oxide with additional minerals) it is cleaner and more consistent.
Now there are a lot of good things to be said for natural earths and quite frankly I am a massive fan of them, one reason why there is the widest range available in the UK on this site.
However they can struggle to keep up with more modern pigments in mixes due to their low tinting power, these synthetic earths, with their greater tinting power and cleanliness, can fair better.
John Singer Sargent used Mars colours which is a pretty good endorsement.
In masstone this is chocolate brown, with a reddish undertone which leads to warm, purplish greys as a tint.
Technical Overview
Pigment - PBr6
Vehicle - Linseed Oil
Opacity - Opaque
Munsell - Hue 10 R - Value 3 - Chroma 4
Langridge Oil Paint
