Terres et Couleurs
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French association to promoted ochres and coloured earths
Natural sienna Ardennes Natural sienna Italy Calcined sienna Ardennes Calcined sienna Italy Yellow ochre Vaucluse Yellow ochre Nièvre Icles ochre Havane ochre Dunkel ochre Red ochre Vaucluse Red ochre Nièvre Hematite Nièvre Natural umber Italy cpr Calcined umber Italy aek Calcined umber Italy cccn Natural umber Cyprus hg.or Natural umber Cyprus fl.or Natural umber Cyprus b.c.or Calcined umber Cyprus b.or Yellow earth Red earth Sardinia Green earth brentonico Rome’s black Red Pozzuoli Red ercolano Red venetian

Operations “local colors”

The tradition serving the future

Terres et Couleurs has the mission of promote the return to the land colors, encouraging in particular the use of traditional recipes of paintings that contain natural pigments such as ocher. The operations "local colors" are part of this process. They are an opportunity to rediscover the "ochre" for its technical and aesthetic interest, and reconnect with tradition.

 The return to the land colors

Collective interventions in a festive atmosphere

Terres et Couleurs propose to the people to find the "local colors" of wood elements from their houses. The interventions are made by the population helped by professional volunteers (20-130). After an exhaustive inventory of traces of ancient paintings on the wooden elements of the houses, a range from 3 to 5 paintings is proposed to the population (they are, if necessary, validated by the architect of buildings in France). After a public presentation meeting of the operation, a weekend to painting is organized. Two coats of paint are applied over the wood elements through collective interventions in a festive atmosphere.

 The interventions are made by the population helped by professional volunteers

What interventions!

Since 2006, more than 15 operations have been performed :


  • Drée (Côte-d’Or)
  • Verrey-sous-Drée (Côte-d’Or)
  • Châteauneuf (Côte-d’Or)
  • Salmaise (Côte-d’Or)
  • Semur-en-Auxois (Côte-d’Or)
  • Reulle-Vergy (Côte-d’Or)
  • Echannay (Côte-d’Or)
  • Nolay (Côte-d’Or)
  • Gemeaux (Côte-d’Or)
  • Mont-Saint-Jean (Côte-d’Or)
  • Abbaye de Reigny (Yonne)
  • Missery (Côte-d’Or)
  • Wash - Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye (Nièvre)
  • Basilica of Saint-Andoche - Saulieu (Côte-d'Or)
  • Châtellenot (Côte-d'Or)
  • Wash of Ménetreux - Millery (Côte-d'Or)
  • Blesle (Haute-Loire)
  • Détain-et-Bruant (Côte-d'Or)
  • Grosbois-en-Montagne (Côte-d'Or)
  • Grande Forge - Buffon (Côte-d'Or)

 

Planned :

  • Cussy-la-Colonne (Côte-d'Or)
  • Cathedral - Chartres (Eure-et-Loir)

 

All of them have been carried out with the help of the Council of Architecture, Urbanism and Environment of Côte-d'Or (C.A.U.E. 21). 13000 lb of paint have been applied in more than 380 interventions !

The local colors interventions

Click on image
to view the slideshow

For more information:

A small illustrated guide about painting with ochre on wood, by Félicien Carl, Ed. Terres et Couleurs, 2008.