Paint - Ink - Paint Mediums - Varnishes
Tools and ingredients: for making my own art supplies, I often find tools and ingredients in unusual places. There are several basic things that an artist needs on hand for making various art supplies. Some things are found at the grocery store, others from soap and candle making suppliers, and sometimes craft or hobby stores. Art supply catalogs will sometimes carry things, but are usually much more expensive and sell in quantities too small to make useful amounts.
I always keep on hand ingredients like gum arabic, walnut oil, shellac flakes, beeswax, talc and dry pigments. It is a good idea to keep lots of small jars or clear plastic containers for mixing things, as well as a pot or two for stove use. I use a mortar and pestle when grinding shellac or minerals. Most ingredients fall into one of three categories: vehicles, binders, or colorants.
Vehicles: A vehicle is the medium which carries the color. Water is the vehicle in watercolor paint and in water-based inks, oil is the vehicle for oil paint, and talc is the vehicle for pastels and chalk.
Binders: Binders are what cause the pigment to suspend in the vehicle. They are the most important part of any pigment-based art supplies. Binders are usually a starch or glue, and may be water-based or dissolve only in specially prepared vehicles. Some common binders in art supplies include gum arabic, rice starch, rabbitskin glue, gum tragacanth, wheat paste, oat flour and shellac.
Colorants: Colorants are usually either pigments (ground earth, minerals, oxidized metals, etc.) or dyes (walnut husks, chamomile, beets, etc.). Pigments require a binder to be suspended in a vehicle, and dyes impart their color to the vehicle by use of a mordant (a chemical that causes the dying agent to release its color).
A recipe for water-based shellac ink (water-resistant when dry):
2 oz (about 1 cup) dry shellac flakes
1 tsp. borax
1 c. water
pigment of choice
Grind the shellac flakes (buy from a woodworking hobby store)
with the borax until a consistent powder is achieved. Add the water and
heat (on the stove or in a crock-pot) and heat until the shellac is dissolved,
stirring regularly. Do not boil. If the shellac turns cloudy, it has been
heated too much. Cool and Add your choice of pigment until the desired
color intensity is achieved.
