Why burnt sienna is not "weird"

Its called burnt sienna because that's where the best brown iron oxide rich clay used to create that pigment came from back then. Also, I think at one time, it was actually burnt. There's also raw sienna, which is a yellow. The iron oxides are basically the most ancient pigments, the oldest probably is yellow ochre. Maybe white clay too but. Yellow ochre was used notably by ancient Australian natives , but all over the world. Anyway, iron even makes blue. So it makes Prussian blue ("iron blue"), brown, dark brown, deep yellow, light yellow , red (venetian red , pr101), and even dull greenish brown of the raw umber ( I think to be fair, that raw umber gets its color from manganese that's in it ). I think pg18 viridian might technically be an iron as well, but I'm not sure. Burnt sienna is the most indispensable non primary pigment in watercolor ( White is not included because it isn't used ). Of the last 4 paintings I've done, all of them are mostly iron oxide. the Illithid one, the entire floor is all burnt sienna and ultramarine and white mixed( So half the painting. The tile and the color between the tiles is the same mix of 3 pigments. ) . The church, asens fortress, is mostly yellow iron oxide (75%). The one I was doing when we called is almost all yellow iron oxide, burnt sienna, and white. The burnt sienna is used to make the shadows and the rocks with ultramarine. Faputa , her whole body is burnt sienna and her fur is a warm gray made again from burnt sienna and ultramarine, then lots of white is added to make an off white. Also that painting of the hallway in the castle in Chillon, Switzerland , with the columns ? 95% of that painting is burnt sienna, burnt umber, and ultramarine, with almost nothing else. I use brown iron oxides umber and sienna with ultramarine to make a range of dark neutrals from a dark brown black to a blue slate black, which I dilute with water (white paint if its casein or gouache ) to create an even broader range of colors from silver to, khaki I guess ? Silver is on the ultramarine end. Anyway, ultramarine and burnt sienna complement each other in a way no other two paints do. Nothing makes a better gray. Even if I actually buy Paynes grey or carbon black or sepia , most of the time I just use burnt sienna. By the way, uck, I almost never use carbon black. Its in some of the mixture pans I have like the Daniel smith Moonlight and the Neutral tint I used to use, so I use it sometimes if its in a mix. You can really ... quite easily actually... make an entire watercolor painting with just burnt sienna and ultramarine. So burnt sienna is not "weird". Probably the second most epic pigment in the world of watercolors ( The first is reserved for that Holy Madonna of pigments, Ultramarine ).Make sure your burnt sienna is good quality. Its not just a "brown", it has a diverse mixing profile and probably the greatest versatility of any pigment. I personally like burnt umber better because I use it mostly to create greys and silvers and in mixes, but burnt sienna has more diverse uses because it also functions as a red in a pinch, so if I had to choose for a limited palette, I'd choose sienna. I don't really like raw umber as much but it does have a nice texture. Addendum : If I had to pick just four colors ( Which I've often had to since I'm in prison and I have limited funds, so when I just want to test a brand or type of paint, I buy as few as I can since it'll take forever to arrive and I can't inspect them first the way you would on the street ) ... I'd probably pick Daniel Smith Quinacridone Coral ( Because its more orange shifted than quinacridone red, but after all, still a quinacridone so it probably makes a more passable violet with ultramarine , also, Daniel Smith only makes this pigment as far as I know, so , I am a Daniel Smith whore but I'm not being paid to say this ) , French Ultramarine , Benzimida Yellow medium , Burnt sienna. If I had a fifth, I'd choose either a green , or pthalo blue green shade because after all, you can still make green. I like viridian better than pthalo green , because its not as overpowering in mixes. However, pthalo green makes a great black with perylene maroon.