Umber Shade Wash

Umber

Umber is a natural earth pigment consisting of iron oxide and manganese oxide; it has a brownish color that can vary among shades of yellow, red, and green. Umber is considered one of the oldest pigments known to humans. Umber's advantages are its highly versatile color, warm tone, and quick drying abilities. While some sources indicate that umber's name comes from its geographic origin in Umbria, other scholars suggest that it derives from the Latin word umbra, which means "shadow". The belief that its name derives from the word for shadow is fitting, as the color helps create shadows. The color is primarily produced in Cyprus. Umber is typically mined from open pits or underground mines and ground into a fine powder that is washed to remove impurities. In the 20th century, the rise of synthetic dyes decreased the demand for natural pigments such as umber.

Tint, shade and tone

In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. A tone is produced either by mixing a color with gray, or by both tinting and shading. Mixing a color with any neutral color reduces the chroma, or colorfulness, while the perceived hue can be affected slightly.

umber

Noun

1. A brown clay, somewhat darker than ochre, which contains iron and manganese oxides.
2. Alternative form of umbrere.

Adjective

1. Of a reddish brown colour, like that of the pigment.

shade

Noun

1. Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.
2. Something that blocks light, particularly in a window.

Verb

1. To shield (someone or something) from light.
2. To shield oneself from light.

wash

Verb

1. To clean with water.
2. To carry away or erode by the force of water in motion.

Noun

1. The process or an instance of washing or being washed by water or other liquid.
2. A liquid used for washing.