make your own paint

  • 0 replies
  • 734 views
*

OMG

  • *****
  • Administrator
  • 139996
    • View Profile
    • Mikey Gatal Worldwide
make your own paint
« on: June 13, 2010, 05:15:00 PM »
Be in total control, make your own paint

by Rob Tyrrell

Like a lot of artists, pet portrait painters are constantly open to ways of saving money, so what better way than by making your own paint! It's possible to make all forms of paint yourself, nevertheless, water based paints are easier to manage than oil based ones, so they make a good starting point. One of the easiest water based paints to make yourself is egg tempera, a medium that has a long history in art and if used with a properly prepared support can remain in good condition for centuries.

As tempera is comparatively brittle once dry, a support has to be inflexible and stable in normal atmospheric conditions. Supports that are vulnerable to movement, only bring disaster. Good materials to use are MDF treated with a gesso primer or, as a more traditional support, water colour paper or acid free card mounted onto a stretched canvas.

Start by mixing up a pigment paste, do this by simply putting dry pigment into a small jar with just enough distilled water to make a thick paste. The the amount of water needed will vary from colour to colour as each will have it's own degree of absorbency. Mix well until smooth. Once prepared the paste can be kept until needed.

To make up the required amount of paint, crack an egg and separate the yolk. Dry the yolk sac by rolling around in the hand or absorbent paper. Hold the yolk and cut the sac with a scalpel, letting the liquid run into a glass jar. Whilst stirring add distilled water until the consistency of thin cream is achieved. Gradually work small amounts of the egg mixture into the pigment paste on a flat piece of marble or glass using a palette knife until the desired consistency is achieved. To test the binding power of the paint, use a brush to apply a small amount to a piece of glass, when dry, peel it off with the palette knife. If it is ready it will come off as a skin, if it crumbles, add more egg.

As egg is the binder used here, it cannot be kept for any length of time, as it will putrefy. So it's better to make the paints as and when you need it.

If you wish to make your own water colour, it's crucial that the pigment is worked into a very fine state using a marble or glass slab and muller. The best results can be gained using a stone slab (marble is ideal) as you can get a fine texture with less effort.

The principle binder used for water colour is gum arabic and this can be purchased from most art stores. Very small quantities of water colour can be made up by mixing the ground pigment directly into gum arabic to make a soft, semi-fluid paste. For a less casual approach, work the pigment to a paste using water alone, this can then be mixed with gum arabic in a ratio of one to one, as needed. Ox gall is used to improve the flow of water colours, can be added to the painting water if required.


About the Author
Rob Tyrrell is a professional pet portrait artist. For more information about his work or just to see samples of his pet portraits go to http://www.robtyrrell-petportraits.co.uk