Many of the elements in our universe were formed in stars that lived and died long before our sun existed.

The iron in your blood, just like iron oxide found in many brown, red, and yellow pigments used by painters was formed in the cores of stars through nuclear fusion processes. The Lazurite in ultramarine blue is another example of this. Cadmium yellow, a relatively rare element in the universe was formed by nucleosynthesis in certain classes of stars.

Upon their death many stars go supernova, spewing gasses and elements into space, eventually condensing into new stars and planets. Some of these elements ended up inside of you while others end up in paintings.