Some tests from The Brown Homestead bricks, some charcoal, slate and tumeric powder.
Recently, I taught a Natural Pigments course at The Brown Homestead in St. Catharines, Ontario. The course focused on creating paints from natural pigments found in nature, followed by painting with them. Reflecting on this experience, I wanted to document it for my personal keepsake.
A VERY VERY BREIF BACKGROUND OF WATERCOLOUR
PAINT AND HOW TO USE IT ( WESTERN )
Watercolour, a transparent medium, has a rich history dating back to prehistoric times when humans used charcoal, ochers, and water to depict their stories and lives. By the 18th century, artists began making their own paints to assist in their artistic processes. During this period, pigments could be sourced from a colourman or apothecary, then mixed with gum arabic as a binder.
In Western culture during the 19th century, watercolour became invaluable for its ability to quickly capture scenes, serving as preparatory sketches for larger oil paintings created in their studios. Unlike oil paints, which were labor-intensive and required extensive tools, watercolour offered artists a portable and efficient way to document ideas or scenes while traveling.
Watercolour consists of four principal ingredients :
Pigment for colour
Gum Arabic for binding
Honey for preservation & rewetting agent
And water to be treated as a solvent ( to thin or dilute the pigment )
Watercolour is characterized by its translucency, where the amount of water exceeds the pigment. Increasing the pigment-to-water ratio on your brush results in thicker and brighter colors on paper.
One of watercolour's unique qualities lies in its wide range of values achievable with just water and pigment, eliminating the need for white to lighten colors. While there are white pigments available for creating a milky hue, white itself isn't essential in watercolor painting. In contrast, white plays a crucial role in acrylics and oils.
Quality brushes and paper are essential tools for watercolourists. I prefer using cold-pressed watercolour paper for its textured surface, which has a toothy feel that helps retain water and pigment. In contrast, hot-pressed paper, smoother in texture, is ideal for intricate and detailed artwork.
There are two foundational techniques in watercolour and they are “wet on wet”, and “wet on dry”.
Wet on wet : Applying wet paint to wet paint or wet paint to water. Will give a soft blend of colour.
Wet on dry : Letting a layer dry before the use of another colour or stroke. Layering adds depth and detail to paintings.
Some Notes to consider :
Acrylic is very forgiving, watercolour is not as much. But if you learn to work with it, there are ways to work around it - paper towel will be your next bestfriend!
Very important to start light and layer & leave white space.
Paint dry's lighter, therefore use more pigment and less water on your brush if you want pigment to appear more vibrant.
Watch out for bleeding, make sure an area is dry before you paint next to it. Unless this is the desired look you are trying to achieve. This is known as Bloom : when you touch a pigment to another pigment or water, it can either create a smooth radiant or an undesired bleeding of two pigments.
CREATING YOUR OWN WATERCOLOUR PAINT
FROM NATURAL PIGMENTS
My outdoor studio for making natural pigments ( my deck haha )
Suggested Tools to Get Started
PIGMENTS FROM ORGANIC MATERIAL
Colour pigments can be extracted from plant and fruit materials such as beets, flower petals, and berries. When extracting pigment from vegetables, it's best to boil the material. Simply fill a pot halfway with water, place it on the stove, bring it to a boil, then strain the pigment from the plant matter. Refrigerated, the pigment can be stored for up to one week. Using less water during boiling enhances the vibrancy of the pigment.
Red cabbage yields a PH-sensitive dye that changes colour when mixed with substances like vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, or soap. For example, mixing red cabbage pigment with baking soda turns it turquoise green. Teas such as black tea and green tea can also be steeped to extract pigments, with darker pigments resulting from teas high in tannins.
For creating longer-lasting pigments from plants and vegetables, one can make a lake pigment by combining the dye with a binder like a metallic salt. This process produces a powdery substance that, when mixed with gum arabic, can be used to create paint—a method I have yet to explore.
Produce
Flowers
PIGMENTS FROM EARTH & MINERALS
A series of images throughout the process.
A pigment can be derived from earth materials such as clay and stone by breaking them down into powder form, which can then be mixed with a medium to create paint. Once you have obtained your powder-like substance from the earth, the next step is to prepare the watercolour medium. This typically involves using the following ingredients:
Gum Arabic: This natural gum is used as a binder to hold the pigment together and adhere it to the painting surface.
Honey: Adds a slight viscosity to the paint and can enhance color intensity.
Distilled Water: Used to adjust the consistency of the paint to achieve the desired transparency and flow.
( Optional ) Clove or thyme essential oil for natural preservative
Mix these ingredients carefully to achieve a balanced watercolour medium that suits your painting needs. Adjust the proportions of each ingredient based on your preferences and the specific characteristics of the earth pigment you are using.
Prepare the Watercolor Medium:
Pour gum arabic powder into hot water and stir until fully dissolved.
Mix in honey for added viscosity and moisture retention.
Optionally, add 1 to 2 drops of a natural preservative. Let the mixture sit for 24 hours.
Mixing the Paint:
Combine one part of the prepared watercolor medium with one part of the earth pigment to form a paste.
Preparing the Paint:
Transfer the paste to a glass palette.
Use a muller in a circular motion to grind the mixture until smooth, removing any grittiness.
Storage and Drying:
Scoop the smooth paint mixture into a container of your choice.
Allow it to dry for a few days in a location away from direct sunlight.\
Maintenance and Tips:
If the paint shows signs of cracking after drying, adjust by adding more gum arabic or honey to future mixes.
Experiment with new techniques and document your findings.
The natural preservative extends the paint's shelf life to about a year; refrigeration can further prolong this.
Step by Step with Visuals :
During my time at Willowbank School of Restoration Arts in Queenston, Ontario, I participated in a course with two local artists who introduced me to the concept of pigments and the art of making paint by adding binding agents. It was my first exposure to this craft, and I was captivated from the start. I took careful note of the tools involved and the entire process, and began gathering the necessary materials.
My initial curiosity centered around flowers and the colors they could yield. I experimented by crushing them directly in my mortar. Depending on the flower, the resulting pigments ranged from vibrant to more subdued hues. Drawing inspiration from my mother, who used to dye wool with vegetables like beets and onion skins for her own crafts, I decided to explore this method further. I began to experiment with ingredients such as purple cabbage, beats & tea bags. My interest in creating longer-lasting natural watercolour paints came about when a friend introduced me to the idea of repurposing natural elements from the earth and building sites, and asked me to be apart of a program at her work The Brown Homestead, in St.Catharines, Ontario. I began experimenting with crushing slate, bricks, and other minerals, combining them with binders and natural preservatives.
During my experiments extracting pigments from organic materiaI, I made some interesting discoveries. While steaming red cabbage, I discovered that due to its pH sensitivity, adding another ingredient to the pigment and water solution can create new colours. For instance, adding a drop of lemon to the original colour produces a pinkish hue. I think it would be interesting to further experiment with flowers, aiming to create a powdered substance that, when mixed with a binder, forms rewettable pigments. I also think it would be interesting to further explore egg tempera and natural pigments for oil paints. There's still so much to explore and learn!
The first time I tried making these paints, they didn't turn out perfectly, but they still worked well. I'm continuing to refine my process and thoroughly enjoying experimenting with it all. It's bringing back that sense of joy and discovery, almost like being a kid again :)
A picture of me teaching a course in watercolour & natural pigments at The Brown Homestead in St.Catharines. Very thankful for the opportunity to learn more about natural pigments and teaching others what I love to do.
Visit and explore The Brown Homestead website here : https://thebrownhomestead.ca
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