PAINT ALCHEMY

TRADITIONAL METHODS AND MATERIALS

AIM

This workshop is a practical foundation for any form of painting. Particularly helpful  for artisans who want to have a deeper understanding of their tools and materials. The core of this workshop is an introduction to the world of making paint from raw materials using the traditional techniques of cultures from around the world.

Students make there own brushes and prepare pigments using a range of traditional recipes. They are taught to pound and grind minerals, for example malachite or azurite are transformed into beautiful turquoise and blue pigments. They grind roots,  dried beetles and berries, solidifying these fugitive elements into effervescent bubbling pots and then straining the resulting mixture and grinding again into a fine pigment.

By the end of the workshop the students have a set of watercolour paints, and the ability to make gouache, egg tempera and oil paint.

The workshop is colourful, exciting and full of hands on activity and experimentation.