Cinnabar Red - No. 36

Cinnabar Red feels like that exact moment at the kitchen table when everything was quiet enough to think, but not quiet enough to feel lonely. Someone in the house was doing something. The radiator was doing its little ticking thing. And you were just… drawing. Not because you were “an artist”. Just because it felt good to make something exist.

This is a deep, warm red with a steady pulse. It doesn’t scream. It doesn’t do neon drama. It’s more like: I’m here, I’m solid, and I’m not leaving. In watercolor terms, it’s the friend who actually shows up on time and doesn’t make everything about themselves.

It’s beautiful in details, warm shadows, berries, lips, brick walls, autumn leaves, poppies, cherries, and anything that needs that grounded red backbone. And when you dilute it, it turns into the kind of soft faded wash that looks like a memory, not a color chart.

It’s also one of those shades that makes you look more confident than you feel. Like you knew what you were doing. Like your name was Jack.

Lightfastness 5/6 (Good)