Imagine walking into an art store today and seeing a tiny tube of blue paint worth more than your car 🚗 That was basically Ultramarine Blue during the Renaissance — roughly 500 to 700 years ago. This wasn’t just “blue paint.” This was luxury.Power.Status.The colour of the rich 👑 The pigment came from a rare stone called Lapis lazuli, mined deep in the mountains of Afghanistan and shipped across dangerous trade routes into Europe. Artists then had to crush the stone into powder and carefully refine it into pigment by hand And the craziest part? The finest Ultramarine Blue was sometimes worth MORE than gold 🥇 Yep… painters were literally brushing wealth onto canvas. That’s why wealthy patrons often demanded it in contracts: “Use genuine ultramarine.” Because they were paying a fortune for that brilliant glowing blue 🔵 You’ll notice many old Renaissance paintings show Virgin Mary wearing deep blue robes. That wasn’t random. Blue became associated with holiness and importance partly because the pigment itself was so expensive It was basically medieval luxury branding 😄 Meanwhile today… we squeeze ultramarine acrylic from a $10 tube while eating a meat pie in trackies 🥧😂 Makes you appreciate modern paint a bit more hey. I sure do! Cheers Heff...

🎨 Did Artists Really Paint With Mummies? As strange as it sounds… yes, they did. For hundreds of years, artists used a paint colour called Mummy Brown — a rich transparent brown pigment made partly from ground-up Egyptian mummies. Human remains, linen wrappings, and resin were crushed and mixed with oil to create a warm earthy colour loved by painters in the 1700s and 1800s. It became popular because it created beautiful shadows, glowing skin tones, and deep transparent layers that other browns struggled to match. Many respected artists used it, often without thinking too deeply about where it came from. The trade was fed by a growing European obsession with Ancient Egypt. As tombs were opened and artefacts shipped overseas, mummies became collectibles… and sadly, also raw material. Some were sold to museums, some to private buyers, and some ended up in pigment factories. One famous story tells of artist Edward Burne-Jones. When he discovered his tube of Mummy Brown was made from an actual person, he was horrified. He reportedly buried the paint tube in his garden out of respect. By the early 1900s, real Mummy Brown began disappearing. Supplies ran low, public attitudes changed, and people realised how disturbing the practice truly was. Paint makers eventually replaced it with synthetic versions using ordinary pigments. Today, when you see “Mummy Brown” sold in modern art ranges, it contains no mummy at all — only a colour recreation. So next time you squeeze out Burnt Umber or Raw Umber, be thankful. Some old paint history is better left in the tomb.

G’day legends! Heff here — truckie, tradie, and part-time artist finally getting the chance to create again after life and work got in the way for a while. This space is for anyone who’s ever felt that same pull to pick up the brush and have a crack at art again. I also run a YouTube channel — Ben Heffernan Art — where I share easy tutorials, time-lapses, and creative tips for beginners and returning artists. Drop a quick intro below 👇✅ Who you are✅ What kind of art or creative stuff fires you up✅ Bonus: Share a pic of your workspace or your latest project! Let’s build a laid-back, inspiring corner where we can all learn, share, and have a laugh along the way.Cheers,— Heff 🎨🔥

If you're here you probably have a creative streak that you like to give a flex here and there? Well i have just dropped this video on an easy painting that will be sure to give a few smiles to that special 50 year old. Now I'm using 50 here I've already done a 40 year old painting....? Hmm well you'll get the gist. See you in there, Heff.

G'day Legends! If you're selling your art on eBay or Etsy etc and they give you the opportunity to do a short video of your finished work then I encourage you to take the time to push your ad that little bit further. I know we have little time but I personally think it's worth it. Your collector gets to see much more than what a photo has to offer. From scale to colour and even composition. Be transparent as possible and no filters! Let them see the raw artwork. That way when they get it in their hot little hands they aren't saying gee it looks different than the photo? I get so many comments saying it look so much better in real life. Which is great feedback for others to read. Now you dont have to go overboard. Just a quick once over of the art and boom you're done. Hint, film it in the ratio the platform uses. Eg, eBay likes 1:1 so take photos and videos in that scale. Here's a quicky of one I did recently, Cheers Heff.