Mulberry Lake

Description

Mulberry Lake is a handmade natural lake pigment prepared from mulberries, precipitated with a mineral substrate. It produces a soft, berry-toned violet–rose with gentle wine and plum undertones. In light washes it appears as a delicate pink-lavender or dried-berry stain; in deeper applications it builds to a medium, mulled-wine purple with a quiet glow. Compared to mineral violets and reds, Mulberry Lake is more translucent and dye-like; compared to modern synthetic magentas, it is softer, more muted, and distinctly botanical, with the look of aged ink or pressed petals.

In use, Mulberry Lake gives a gentle, expressive color ideal for botanicals, fruit and textile studies, portraits, aged paper effects, and atmospheric landscape passages. It has low to moderate tinting strength and a transparent to semi-transparent character, building smoothly from pale, tea-like stains to richer glazes without becoming chalky. It mixes beautifully with yellows for warm parchment and dried-leaf tones, with reds and pinks for natural skin hues and rose-plums, and with blues and blue-greens for soft mauves, ink-like browns, and dusky neutrals that retain a subtle berry warmth. 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 rather than for highly archival display.

This fruit-based lake is bound to a mineral base (typically alumina and/or calcium salts), giving it better handling and stability than the raw juice while preserving its characteristic translucency and gentle, plant-derived character. In artist’s colors it offers a uniquely “ink-and-pressed-berries” violet-rose that pairs beautifully with other botanical lakes, earths, and mineral violets on historically minded or eco-focused palettes.

History

Mulberries have been cultivated for thousands of years across Asia, the Mediterranean, and Europe, best known for their role in sericulture as food for silkworms and as a sweet, staining fruit. The juice of ripe mulberries has long been used to tint drinks, sweets, paper, and textiles, leaving behind the familiar purple-red stains associated with berry picking and summer markets. Traditional dyers and artisans explored mulberry as a source of soft purples, reds, and browns, especially on protein fibers and handmade papers.

With renewed interest in natural dyes and plant-based color, mulberry has been revisited as a source for inks and watercolor-like washes. By converting the soluble dye into a lake pigmen, precipitating it onto a mineral substrate, its characteristic berry hue can be used more controllably in paint and ink. While Mulberry Lake does not match the permanence of mineral pigments, it offers a tangible connection to fruit, orchard, and garden, appealing to artists who value the origin and story of their materials as part of the work itself.

Pigment Information

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

Source: Mulberry fruit/juice (mulberry-derived dye)

Suitable Mediums: Watercolor, Gouache, Ink, Egg Tempera, Casein, Oil

Lightfastness: Moderate to poor

Opacity: Transparent

Other Names: Mulberry Lake, Mulberry Violet Lake, Berry Lake (Mulberry)

Color Index Code: NA