Going Down Rabbit Holes

I’ve got several small panels in 4 x 6” size, and I want to get a few of those painted before the June art festival in Bentonville. So, I think I’ll paint this plant, and some of my other favorites for a small collection of woodland natives. But, first I need to make more green paint. And to do that means I need to make more yellow. There’s always so many rabbit holes to follow every time I have a project I want to do.

To make yellow is a process. First I need to harvest the thyme, since that’s what I use for a nice yellow. The pigment in it is the same as that found in weld, a plant used since antiquity to make yellow dye that’s lightfast.

Then it has to be dried, and the thyme leaves separated from the stems. That gets thrown in a pot and a strong decoction made to extract the color. But to get the pigment, that liquid is used to make a ‘lake’ pigment by adding alum and a base to cause a reaction. The reaction causes the pigment molecules to attach to the aluminum in the alum.

Once that happens, then the sediment made in the reaction is separated from the water, and the sediment gets washed and then dried.

THEN I can make the yellow paint. And then, I can use the blue I still have on hand to make the green.

Following Rabbit Holes

This frustrating detour to the goal seems to happen often, even when the goal seems so simple at first. Rob always has the same complaint when he wants to get something done around the house or land.

Does rabbit holes bother you at all? Or do you take it in stride and just keep going? Most of the time, I do take it in stride. The only time it really irritates me is if there’s a time constraint to work with.