Most are from lake pigments, with a few earth pigments in the mix.
From the top left, reading right:
Top row: Red roses, iron oxide, greens from florist waste, cranberries
Middle row: Red roses (again,) red cabbage, kyanite, lemons
Botton row: Spinach and corriander, just spinach, beets, agate grindings (from my rock tumbler)
These are just the ones I managed to get potted and dried, I have a whole box of mixed paints waiting on another order of watercolour pots.
They all look a bit different in consistency in part because I’ve tried a few different formulas of watercolour mix, and because they’re made from different things. Cranberries and red cabbage always end up a bit “sticky.”
My latest formula for watercolours is:
- 300g Gum Arabic Solution (gum arabic powder and water)
- 280g Glycerine
- 20g Clear honey
- 20 Drops clove oil (antibacterial - paints will mold)
I mix into pigment at a 1:1 ratio by weight.
All plant based pigments are fugitive, they will fade and discolour, while most earth based pigments are more permanent in ideal conditions. I use a UV blocking archival spray on anything I want to keep to help preserve it a bit longer. A painting should never be left in direct sunlight anyway.
The clove oil and drying prevents rot, but I’ve definitely had a few bottles go moldy because I didn’t use enough oil. I just re-mix them and let the mold be more pigment. Once they’re dry they won’t grow mold.