A quick and easy way to create your own water colour paints
With most artists, pet portrait painters are a careful bunch and, whenever they get the chance, like to look for the ways to save money. Watercolour, in tubes or pans, is relatively expensive for the artist to buy. However, it is possible to save money by making your own relatively easily.
To make own water colour paints, you need to make sure the pigment is ground to a fine texture using a marble or glass slab and muller. By using a stone slab (marble is ideal) you can get a fine texture with less effort.
The principle binder used for watercolour is gum arabic and this can be purchased from most art stores. Very small quantities of watercolour 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 can be used to improve the flow of watercolours, can be added to the painting water if required.
To make watercolours in pans, begin by dissolving 1 part sugar and 1 part glycerine in 1 part of water. A little heat may be required to assist the formation of a solution. Now add 1 part of this solution to 2 parts gum arabic solution. (If your gum arabic is in it’s solid form, dissolve it in cold water by letting it stand. Add 1 part crushed/powdered gum to 2 parts cold water. Shake to break up any lumps, After 24 hours the gum should have dissolved completely, if not, mix again and let it stand longer. When ready pour off the solution, making sure to leave any sediment at the bottom undisturbed. If you wish, 1 part glycerine to 20 parts gum solution will also help it become more supple.)
Once the these solutions are mixed, add it to the pigment paste in equal parts, aim for soft semi-fluid paste. You can now let the mixture dry for day or two until sticky and thick. Take an oblong or square piece of watercolour paper or thin card, fold and glue to make a shallow trough then fill with the pigment mixture. You then need to let it finish drying for a few of days. As the colour dries it will contact, using paper to make the trough will allow the side to move with the paint and so avoid cracking of the pan. When the colour has dried to the consistency of toffee, you can remove the paper and reform the pans to fit your existing watercolour box. If you would like, you can choose to make many pans of the colour in one go, so offering the pet portrait artist a years supply of colour in one go. However, if you would like to store the pans for a long period, it is a good idea to wrap them in tin foil to avoid so they don’t dry out too much and forming a brittle crust.
