Natural binders for paint making: New Workshop
Over the last little while we have been developing a new workshop which we ran for the first time at the Dukes of West Barns near Dunbar a few weeks ago. The focus of the course is an overlooked area in an overlooked subject, that being the binder, or the medium, which forms a type of paint. A binder is what literally holds pigments together while also giving a particular paint certain qualities. It is also literally giving body to the paint, infusing the pigments with life and enhancing their brightness and radiance. Dr David Cranswick describes the binder as,
'each expressing a different quality in the paint, the refraction of light, paint texture and luminosity. The medium is not just the binder, it gives flow to the paint and is the transmitter of light.'
During the workshop, the students are guided through the various stages and processes involved in creating different binders from raw materials before mixing them with a variety of pigments. We start with the a fairly familiar medium named Gum Arabic, the dried sap of an acacia tree, which is the binder in manufactured watercolour paints to this day. We then look at other tree gums that have been used historically, such as cherry, plum and apricot. They each have their own distinct characteristics and are wonderful to experiment with, with the added benefit that cherry gum in particular can be foraged in Scotland. In the medieval era the words Gum Arabic were used broadly to describe all water based tree gums and many were used at that time, particularly in manuscript production.
We then moved on to the fascinating medium known as egg tempera with each participant separating the yolk of an egg before mixing with pigments. This technique was especially popular in medieval times for creating icon paintings, each layer slowly added to build up a radiant gloss finish. Another less known medium was glair, which is formed by whisking the egg white and leaving to settle.
Another really curious and very much forgotten binder that the day includes is one known as casein. This is essentially a milk protein mixture which dates back possibly as far as 48,000 years ago. The combination of milk and pigment produces a very durable opaque finish which dries quickly and can be worked with water.
As well as creating binders and mixing with different pigments, students also fill out a poster showcasing the varying paints created as the day moves along. This builds up a visual catalogue of the differing qualities of each binder and can then be taken home at the end of the day for further inspirations.
The next running of this workshop is going to be this Sunday 26th October at the North Yorkshire Art School.
'Each medium expresses it's own unique qualities and refracts light in a similar way to quarts crystals, giving luminosity to the colours in much the same way as stained glass window.'
- Dr David Cranswick
