A deep rich red pigment that came from the Earth originally, this color is almost always a synthetic iron oxide in modern paints.

Generally Indian Red is relatively opaque and a deep ‘bluish’ red Earth color, it can be a useful when painting the Australian landscape. At one time natural Earths were used but while the best were excellent, the quality varied considerably, even from batch to batch from the same source, and the synthetic pigment is generally considered an improvement in this case. Mixed with white or yellow ochre it produces delicate pinks, salmon, and subdued oranges of great subtlety.