Handmade Watercolor Binder
A recipe for making handmade watercolor binder & watercolor paints
Equipment
- pipette
- measuring spoons/cups
- mortar & pestle
- glass palette
- scraper
- palette knife
- whisk
- jar with lid
- muller
- paint pans
- small strainer
- mask for when working with powdered pigments
Ingredients
- artist pigments
- 1 cup hot distilled water
- 1/2 cup gum arabic powder
- 1/5 cup mixed honey and glycerin in equal parts to make 1/5 cup total
- 2 drops clove essential oil
- 2 drops ox gall
Instructions
- Mix together – 1 cup hot distilled water, ½ cup gum Arabic powder, 1/5 cup honey and/or glycerin (I mixed equal parts of box), two drops clove essential oil, two drops ox gall (optional)
- In a separate bowl, mix 1 Tbsp. honey with 9 Tbsp. of the above mixture (1:9)
- Mix watercolor base with pigment starting at a 1:1 ratio. Adjust as needed depending on the color. Mix with a palette knife and then mull. The pigment is bound when color won’t rub off of a painted swatch. Store mixed paint in paint tubes or let dry into cakes or pans. Store watercolor base mixture in the refrigerator for about a week.
Notes
Original recipe sourced and adjusted from HERE