Color Guide: How to Work With Red Ocher

Red ocher is yellow ocher's fraternal twin. Both are ancient colors originally derived from clays and minerals. Both were used extensively in ancient art (Cro-Magnon artists used it to paint caves), and both are still used in traditional art and design from Africa to Australia.

Red ocher is the color of the clay the Namibian woman smear on their skin and hair. It's the color of the cliffs of Sedona, Arizona, and the dust in Kauai, Hawaii. It's red and brown and orange all rolled into one — almost burnt orange, almost barn red, almost terra-cotta brown. It's burnt umber, sienna, copper. Almost.

Like its yellow sister, red ocher is rich, warm and mellow. There is no such thing as a cool ocher. But it's the more dramatic of the two and less able to blend into the background. It's earthy and organic looking, reminiscent of autumn and fire and dirt (and I mean that in the nicest way).

It goes well with warm whites and yellows, and all spectrum of fall colors. It also looks lovely with charcoal gray, which tames it a little (think slate and terra-cotta together). I also like it with grass green and azure blue — also colors of the natural world.

As you can see from the 17 examples below, it's versatile too, playing well with all manner of styles — from Southwest to traditional to modern.