Hopi Black Sunflower Lake

Description

Hopi Black Sunflower Lake is a handmade natural lake pigment prepared from Hopi black dye sunflower, precipitated onto a mineral substrate. It produces a calm, medium grey with a subtle, organic cast more like weathered stone or graphite wash than a plum or brown tone. In light applications it reads as a soft, silvery grey; in masstone it deepens to a mid-value neutral grey with a gentle, plant-derived softness rather than a hard, ink-like black.

In use, Hopi Black Sunflower Lake gives a quiet, versatile grey ideal for sketching, atmospheric washes, underdrawings, botanical and textile studies, and toned-paper effects. It has low to moderate tinting strength and a transparent to semi-transparent character, building smoothly from pale veil-like layers to richer mid-greys without becoming chalky. It mixes beautifully with yellows and earths for warm stone greys and weathered parchment tones, with blues for cool slate and storm greys, and with reds and pinks for subtle, muted neutrals and skin shadows that retain a gentle, organic character. As a natural lake based on an organic dye, it is best reserved for work kept out of direct sunlight or digitized for long-term preservation.

This sunflower-based lake is bound to a mineral base (typically alumina and/or calcium salts), giving it better handling and stability than the raw dye while preserving its characteristic transparency and soft, plant-like neutrality. In artist’s colors it offers a uniquely agricultural, medium grey—neither stark nor cold—that pairs beautifully with other botanical lakes, earths, and mineral blacks on historically minded or eco-focused palettes.

History

Hopi black dye sunflower is a traditional dye plant, cultivated for generations as both a practical crop and a source of dark color. Its seeds and hulls can yield deep, neutral dyes that natural dyers use to obtain greys, dark neutrals, and softly muted tones on fibers and textiles. These understated colors, more akin to weathered cloth and stone than to synthetic black, have long appealed to makers interested in plant-based palettes.

With renewed interest in natural dyes and land-connected color, artists began exploring Hopi black sunflower as a source not just for fiber dyeing but also for inks and paints. By converting the soluble dye into a lake pigment—precipitating the color onto a mineral substrate—its medium-grey hue can be used in watercolor, gouache, and other water-based media with greater control and stability than the raw dyebath. While it does not offer the permanence of mineral pigments, Hopi Black Sunflower Lake provides a direct link to traditional dye-plant cultivation and to the landscape from which its quiet greys are drawn.

Pigment Information

Pigment Type: Natural (Organic) plant-based lake pigment on mineral substrate

Source: Hopi black dye sunflower (dark seeds/hulls)

Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Gouache, Ink, Egg Tempera, Casein, and other water-based media; suitable for paper and some sized surfaces; not recommended for oil or alkaline lime/fresco applications

Lightfastness: Moderate to poor (best in masstone and protected from strong light; more fugitive in light tints and prolonged direct sunlight)

Opacity: Transparent to semi-transparent (low to moderate tinting strength, soft staining)

Other Names: Hopi Black Sunflower Lake, Hopi Black Dye Sunflower Grey Lake

Color Index Code: Natural lake pigment (no standardized Color Index designation)