It’s time for Art on the Border! I’ll be at 1000 Fianna Way, Ft. Smith, AR this evening and all day tomorrow with original watercolor and oil paintings featuring the Ozark pigments. Lots of 8 x 10″ giclée prints, and a few note cards, too!
I’m looking forward to meeting the other artists and seeing their work. Come out if you can. All purchases support local charities and the artists.
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🗓️Art on the Border
🕰July 19 5PM – 9PM: $20 Donation at the Door
🕰July 20 10AM – 4PM: Free and Open to the Public
📍ACHE Research Institute • 1000 Fianna Way • Fort Smith, AR 72916
A Little About My Paint-making Process
Since my paints are handmade and (mostly) locally foraged, I have to make sure I have the colors I need before I begin a project. If it’s a plant pigment, then I’ll need to harvest the plant and process it to make the pigment. The only plant sources I use at this time are thyme, and the root bark of Osage trees. The rest comes from foraged rocks, soot, bone, or purchased lapis and titanium dioxide powder.
Here’s a blog post I made earlier about making oil paints:
So, if it’s a rock, then I’ll break it to smaller pieces, then crush it as finely as I can. The crushed rock is the raw pigment. After that I put the powder into a jar and fill the jar with water. Depending on the source rock, I’ll either pour off the colored water into another jar to let it settle, or pour the rinse water out and keep the sediment for the paint. After the water clarifies and the pigment has settled, then I pour off the clear water and let the sediment dry. That is what I’ll make the paint from.
When it comes to plants, there’s more chemistry involved. I’ll make what is called a ‘lake’ pigment. Here’s a post that gives more information on that process.
I hope you love this earthy palette of color as much as I do! Thanks for reading ~ Madison