Home-Crafted Paints

One of the most interesting and enjoyable things you can do with art is to make your own paints, whether it be because of boredom or because you want your own homemade paint. One positive aspect of making your own paint is that you can change almost anything about it, such as the consistency or the saturation. Home-crafted paint also does not hold the harmful chemicals and plastic that store-bought paint may contain.

The paint medium that you want will change what materials you need for your paint. Homemade paint consists of two parts: the raw pigment that gives it color and the base ingredient that changes what type of paint it is. If you like to paint with watercolor, then you will use a base of berry juice or flower petals to make your paint. If you paint with oils, then you will want a base of ground stone or nuts. Finally, if you paint with acrylic, then you will find a base of ground stone or plants to your liking.

First up are watercolor paints because they are quite simple. Watercolor paint is used by having the paper absorb colored water to obtain the texture seen in watercolor paintings. For the pigment of your paint, you will need a substance that already contains quite a bit water and color. Therefore, berries are a good choice. If you do not wish to use berries, you can also boil plant leaves, petals, or dried spices in water and then strain the mixture to get the paint. I recommend making paint in small batches, because it could mold if it is left unused.

For oil paint, the process is quite different. You will need a heavy rock with a flat side that is comfortable to hold, as well as another rock, which should also be large and flat. In place of the second rock, you can use a flat and sturdy surface such as a table or the floor. To make the paint, you place small parts of brick or colorful rocks on top of your flat rock or surface. Then, using your other rock, crush them into as fine of a powder as you can. Using some linseed oil or another kind of oil, you will mix it with the powder while moving your handheld rock in a figure-eight motion. Every now and then you should lift the rock up and scoop the paste into a mound, repeating these steps for several minutes until you reach your desired consistency. Please note that this homemade oil paint will dry out after a few hours. To prevent this, you will want to store it in an airtight container, though a pig’s bladder was traditionally used to serve this purpose.

While making paints might seem easy, foraging for ingredients, especially blue wildflowers, can be quite difficult depending on where you live. Bricks and rocks can be found by old construction sites, dilapidated buildings, or parking lots. You can find all sorts of plants in the woods or fields, and your local hardware store might also carry the materials you need. While purchasing paint from stores is not bad or lazy, making your own paint will offer you a creative perspective on nature.

Works Cited

“Recipes.” Natural Earth Paint, naturalearthpaint.com/recipes/. Accessed 24 Aug. 2023. 

King, Lise. “How to Make Natural Paints from Plants (2 Popular DIY Methods).” Online Art Supplies Store, 14 Jan. 2022, www.kingsframingandartgallery.com/blog/post/how-to-make-natural-paints. 

Nathaniel. “How to Easily Make DIY Natural Paints.” Enviroinc, 10 Nov. 2020, enviroinc.com/how-to-make-natural-paint/. 

Jyotsna. “How to Make Natural Pigments from Foraged Raw Resources.” Lost in Colours, 15 Feb. 2023, www.lostincolours.com/foraging-for-pigments-from-local-rocks/. “Home.” Homemade Natural Paint Recipes | DIY Natural Paint Recipes, www.earthpigments.com/natural-paints/. Accessed 24 Aug. 2023.

Photo Credits

Yuri Neumann

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