How to Make Oil Paint

7/28/2019 How to Make Oil Paint

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How to make Oil PaintMaking oil paint is a much easier process than most people imagine. If you already have basic tools such asa palette knife, some linseed oil and a clean flat surface: you can experiment by making small batches of

paint.

It doesn't really matter which pigment you start with, although you might want to choose an economicalearth pigment, to minimize your initial investment and because earth pigments are easier to work with thanthe mineral pigments.

1. No matter what amountof paint you are making,always start by pouring asmall amount of pigmentonto a flat non-poroussurface.

2. With a palette knifemake a small crater inyour mound of pigment.

3. Next pour a smallamount of linseed oil intothe crater. Start with asmall amount of linseedoil. It takes a lot less thanyou think.

4. As you can see in this picture, there is only abouta tablespoon of oil for approximately 30g of

pigment.

5. Next, take your palette knife andcarefully fold the pigment into the oil,taking care that the oil does get awayfrom the pigment.

6. Continue to fold the pigment into the oil and blend the two together byapplying pressuredownward with the paletteknife. This is where asturdy palette knife iscrucial. Flimsy ones tendto snap.

7. Once all of the pigment and oil have been blended into asmooth paste, the paintcan be used right away.You can use this paintdirectly on your palettealongside any other

pre-made paints you

may have.

If you want to make paint for storage, go on to the next steps


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8. Take the glass muller and place it on top of your

pigment paste. Gentlymove the muller across thesurface in a circular motion. This forces the

pigment into a more evensuspension.

9. Once the paint has beenmulled out into a thinlayer, collect the paint

back into the center of thesurface. You will noticethat the paint has a runnier consistency.

10. Once the paint has been mulled out into athin layer, collect the paint

back into the center of thesurface. You will noticethat the paint has a runnier consistency.

11. In order to thicken the paint again, add a smallamount of pigment. Foldthe freshly added pigmentinto the paint.

12. With the muller spreadthe paint out again. Noticehow there are little peaksin the paint. This meansthat the paint is becomingthicker.

13. The mulling processshould be repeated two or three times, so that more

pigment can be packedinto the paint. Once the

paint has reached the pictured consistency, it isready to be stored.

14. Paint can be stored inany sort of airtightcontainer. For thisexample we will showhow to put the paint intotubes.

15. Flatten the end of thetube, so that the paint can

be scraped into the tubewith a palette knife.

16. Pick up a small

amount of paint onto your palette knife.

17. Scrape the paint into

the tube.

18. Repeat. 19. Since the paint has a

thick consistency, it willgather at the opening, blocking the way for more paint.


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20. In order to force the paint further into the tube,grasp the head of the tubein your palm.

21. Next pound your closed fist onto the table,thereby forcing the paintinto the tube, withoutdestroying the cap end of the tube.

22. Once the tube has been filled 2/3 of the way,flatten the remaining

portion of the tube.

23. Take your paletteknife and place it acrossthe end of the tube.

24. Fold the tube upward,thereby creasing the endof the tube.

25. Repeat the folding process once or twice andyou are done.

Casein & Milk Paint Recipe


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Casein

With this type of paint, Casein glue acts as the binder for the pigments. Casein is one of

the natural components of milk. It is made from precipitated milk, which is thenreconverted into glutinous casein glue with the aid of alkali. Casein is one of the first

binders ever used by mankind. Casein can be painted on a variety of surfaces, includingwood and plaster. Which ever surface used, it must be a rigid one as casein is too brittleto paint on a flexible surface (such as canvas). Casein is also an emulsifier this allowsyou to "combine" oil and water. There are two methods of using casein in combinationwith pigments: Lime-casein and Borax Casein. Of the two, the Borax Casein is easier touse and suitable as an artist grade pigment binder. It is used to make such paints that arecommonly known as Distemper colors, but can also be used to make larger quantities of

paint for interior wall paint applications.

Casein is natural product and will spoil if kept in a wet state. Store unused caseinsolution in the refrigeratorthis should preserve it for two weeks.

Borax Casein

Ingredients by weight:

2 1/2 oz. (80g) Casein Powder 9 fl. oz. (apr. 250ml) cold water 1 oz. (32g)Crystalline Borax9 fl. oz. (apr. 250ml) hot water

...by volume

5 Parts of Casein w/ 9 Parts Cold Water 2 Parts Crystalline Borax w/ 9 Parts Hot Water

Directions

1. Soak Casein powder in cold water in a covered container overnight.2. Dissolve Borax Powder in hot water.3. Add Borax Solution to the Casein Solution and stir.

4. Hydrolysis will start right away and must be completed before the next step (waitapprox. 2 hours until no more swelled casein particles can be seen and theyellowish mass is evenly translucent)

5. Heat the solution in a double boiler until it becomes liquid (140 F).6. Once the solution has cooled, it will return to a syrupy consistency and is ready to

be used as a pigment binder.

As with all water-based media, the chosen pigment has to be wetted first. This isachieved by adding small amounts of water to the dry pigment. Then using a palette knife


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Encaustic & Wax Paste


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Encaustic

Encaustic (Hot Wax) painting dates back to ancient Greece. Beeswax is the oldest known

pigment binder. Encaustic literally means "Burning In". The process itself is very simple.Pigment is added to molten bees wax and (often) resin, which is applied to a surface. Thesurface itself may be warm allowing for manipulation of the encaustic paint.It may also

be cool causing the brush stroke to "Freeze" immediately.The final treatment is the"burning in" which consists of passing a heat source over the surface, causing a fusingand bonding of the painting. The surface may then be polished with a soft cloth for a nicesheen. This is the "Classic Way", today there are any number of ways of working withwax. Encaustic has the advantage of not yellowing, of weathering well , being unaffected

by moisture and being able to with stand higher heat than oil paintings. Encaustic is goodfor creating texture and can be painted on any number of surfaces (Canvas, Paper, StoneWood Panels, and so on). The advantages of adding balsams and resins to the wax is

argued endlessly. To the beeswax you can add Linseed oil, Larch Turpentine, Dammar Crystals, Mastic, Colophony, Carnauba Wax, Copal, and so on. With a little research youwill find many "encaustic" recipes. Be willing to experiment to find what works.

Basic Encaustic

There is no prescribed way to produce encaustic paint. Pigments vary in weight, tintingstrength and transparency, so they require experimentation to achieve the results you'relooking for. The wonderful aspect of creating your own encaustics is that you can controlthese properties, and create your own unique colors; you can't do this when you buyready-made wax blocks. The following recipe produces an encaustic medium that can be

used exclusively to create an encaustic painting, and is ideal for beginners. But, after youtry this recipe, you'll probably want to get even more adventurous and try other ingredients!

Recipe for Encaustic with Dammar Crystals Adapted from The Art of Encaustic Painting, by Joanne Mattera

All you need is:

* 10 parts Refined Bleached Beeswax * 1 - 2 parts Dammar Crystals (optional) * Pigment (quantity varies)

Step #1: Melt 10 parts Refined Bleached Beeswax. We recommend you use a largedouble boiler with a pour spout or an old sauce pan over an electric hot plate to makeyour medium. Later, you can transfer your mixture into a stainless steel or teflon muffintin so that you will be able to individually mix and re-heat various colors. Refined


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Traditional Gesso Chalk Ground


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Traditional Gesso Recipes

Chalk Grounds made with Natural Glues

Making Chalk Grounds is probably one of the most difficult processes to learn, becauseso many things can affect the outcome of a chalk ground (temperature, humidity, type of chalk, type of glue, etc.) While there are many approaches to making a chalk grounds,here is a simple approach that can be altered as needed. The first thing to consider is thatany chalk ground has to be applied onto a rigid surface. Chalk Grounds have a tendancyto be brittle and therefore would crack and separate from a flexible ground. The best rigidsurface would be a wooden panel. In order to avoid uneven moisture absorption by thewood, the panel has to first be sized front back and side with a natural glue size (rabbit or hide glue).

Preparing Glue Size

Soak one measure (by volume) of glue to 12 measures of cold water Allow glue to soak preferably overnight Heat glue mixture in a double boiler bath Apply glue while warm with a flat brush

Usually two layers are enough to seal the wood effectively.

At this point it is advisable to adhere a piece of fabric (thin muslin sheeting) to the panelto help stabilize the ground and to protect it from joints in the panel that might show in

the gesso.

The fabric can be adhered to the panel by painting down a thin layer of glue-solution tothe front of the panel and soaking the fabric in the glue solution. Once the fabric isstretched over the front of the panel, allow the glue to dry thoroughly before trimming off the excess fabric from the edges. The left over glue-size then gets used for the chalk ground.

Chalk Grounds: Ingredients

3 parts of glue size (by volume) 1 part chalk 1 part pigment (white, english red, umber, etc.)

Chalk Grounds: Directions

Measure out the glue size solution into a metal container Add the dry ingredients Stir well but don not whisk to prevent air-bubbles Place container in a double-boiler bath


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Waterbased Paint Recipe


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How to make Waterbased Paint

Making waterbased paint is a much easier process than most people imagine. If you already have basictools such as a palette knife and a clean flat surface: you can experiment by making small batches of paint.Depending on what sort of waterbased paint you want to make, you will need a vehicle of your choosing(acrylic emulsion, egg yolk, casein or any kind of watercolor binder).

It doesn't really matter which pigment you start with, although you might want to choose an economicalearth pigment, to minimize your initial investment and because earth pigments are easier to work with thanthe mineral pigments.

Making water based paints, starts the same way as the oil paint. Placea small amount of pigment onto a flat non-porous surface.

With the palette knife, make a small crater in the pigment.

Next, pour a small amount of water into the pigment mound.

With the palette knife, carefully fold the pigment into the water.Applying pressure with the palette knife, helps break up any sort of

pigment lumps. With really difficult pigments, add a few drops of adispersing agent such as oxgall, disponil or even rubbing alcohol.


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Street Chalk RecipeTraditional Street Painter's Pastels Recipe

The following recipe has a very high beeswax content and low alkali content:

14 cup boiled linseed oil34 cup (liquid measure) beeswax5 oz. (1/2 cup) ivory bar soapwall paper paste solution (follow directions on package) wheat pasteelectric skillet and microwave oven,2 12 cups water

1. Melt the pieces of beeswax in a microwave oven if available. Otherwise, heat thebeeswax in the electric skillet until liquid. Remove excess beeswax from the skillet.Measure 34 cup of the liquid beeswax and combine in skillet with 14 cup linseed oil.and heat to 350 degrees.

2. Grate Ivory bar soap and place in a pan with 2.5 cups water. Over medium highheat, bring to a rapid boil and stir with a French whisk until dissolved.

3. Pour boiling soap solution extremely slowly into 350 degree wax solution, beatingrapidly with the French whisk until well combined.

4. Pour emulsion into metal pan or bowl and place into ice water bath still whisking

constantly. Stir until room temperature. The emulsion should be smooth and free of grains. The consistency should be like a heavy cream. You can add more or lessboiling water in Step #3 to adjust the consistency.

5. Prepare wheat wallpaper paste solution. Must be wheat paste, can get at mosthome improvement stores.

6. Combine an equal part of soap solution/beeswax & oil solution/ to an equal part of wall paper paste solution for a waxier chalk.


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* One part emulsion to 2 parts wall paper paste solution creates a normal chalk. Stirwith French whisk until combined.*Best for street painting!

When I am making my colors up, I generally begin with mixing the emulsion, saving itin a air-tight container. I store it in a cabinet, away from direct sunlight., as it will

mold if left out.

Different combinations of the emulsion and wallpaper mixtures can make almost anypigment usable. The pigments that weigh less generally need more emulsion to makechalks that match the more waxy colors such as titanium and cadmium produce. Onepart emulsion to 2 parts wall paper paste glue solution creates a normal chalk. A half and half mixture makes a waxier one. The less emulsion/binder used, the softer thechalk.

For my pigment colors, I add marble dust as an extender, (considering the largeamount of colors used on the asphalt of a 12'x12' square. As stated previously, everypigment will need a different proportion of binder. An experimental chalk should bemade from every pigment to determine its properties. Once the binders are added tothe pigment, I mix with painter's putty knives.

Care on forming the pastels will yield a better product. My pastels are formed byplacing pigment in center of smooth marble surface, adding marble dust (up to 50%proportion to pigment). Carefully blending the dry color and filler using painter'sputty knives, I make a "volcano shape" with a small well in the center (This is forapproximately a 1/2 cup dry powder). I then place the emulsion into the center of well, using about 1/2 teaspoon emulsion, and small drops of water to begin blendingprocess, adding small amounts of water until stiff. If pigment does not accept water,one or two drops of denatured alcohol will help disperse the liquid into the powder.

I use the putty knives to mix the ingredients, a dding drops of water as necessary toform a shape. It is easiest to work with when pastel is a "pie crust" consistency. Iprefer shaping large rectangles of anywhere in size about 2.5"X2"X1"

Pastels can be formed between the fingers to the appropriate shape, and only rolledback and forth in one or two passes to round them. Rolling the pastels too much willmake the glue leach out to the outside, forming a shell or crust, which is undesirable.

Remember, the less emulsion, the softer the pastel. If very little emulsion is used, itcan crumble as you touch the surface!

Recipe provided by: Alice Scott Crittenden

Warning: when working with pastels wear a dust mask and gloves in orderto minimize the exposure to pigment dust. Do not eat, smoke or drink whileworking with powdered pigments and do not allow children to use pigmentsunsupervised. Do not use powdered pigments if pregnant or contemplatingpregnancy. Please read additional warnings on selected pigments.

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How to Make Oil Paint