I found that I had another 10 x 10″ frame, so I bought another panel to begin another painting in that size. While going through my photo files, I settled on this pastoral scene that I’d take a photo of a few years ago. I love the composition, the mood, and the colors.
A Pastoral Scene for a new painting. I love the colors and composition of this.
The Progress
As I get more done on it, I’ll update here. But to see it as I do it closer to real time, follow me on Instagram 🙂
A Little About My Process
Since my paints are handmade and locally foraged, I have to make sure I have the colors I need before I begin a project. If I’m close to out of one, then I’ll go look for the rock that gives me the color I need. If it’s a plant pigment, then I’ll need to harvest the plant. The only three plant sources I use at this time are indigo, thyme, and the root bark of Osage trees. The rest comes from rocks, soot, bone, or purchased titanium dioxide powder.
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.