The Search for Green

We are surrounded by green because it's the color of an entire kingdom of life. The green in plants comes from chlorophyll, but chlorophyll has to be constantly produced. When a plant dies, production stops and the green breaks down pretty quickly. But the color is important to artists, who want to recreate the real world. To make green pigment for paint, you have to go to other chemicals, and that's been a difficult journey for a couple of thousand years. Natural ingredients that made green pigment all had something wrong- the paint faded, reacted badly with other pigments, or was downright poisonous. Or it could just be prohibitively expensive. This video from the Getty Museum goes through the many minerals and other materials used for green pigment over the centuries. 

You don't have to be afraid of green paint now. What you'll find at an art supply store is synthetic- the product of modern chemistry and safety standards. (via The Kid Should See This)