Wednesday 12 February 2020

WOYWW - Paints and paintings





Well.... January disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  All good now as the fires are out after 
torrential downpours and floods.  Australia is definitely the land of extremes.

Since the last post a dragonfly painting completed and 
moving on to a seascape of one of the local beaches.  

In between painting started making my own watercolour paint.  

Not content with making several paints with the pigments I bought.  I headed off to the beach and foraged for ochre rocks.  Next few photos show the long and complicated process.  But as a crafter/artist I love the process of "making".  I am sure a few woyww's will understand.  DH thinks I have gone mad (nothing new).

First step - find ochre like rocks. Crush and make a muddy slurry.

Once the slurry is a dry powder mull with a binder medium (yes, I made my own binder and that took 2 days!!)

End result 3 pans of Australian red ochre.  Hard to tell the difference between these and some very expensive watercolours in my collection.   Ochres have been around for 1000's of years and are lightfast, so there should be no problem once I use them in my paintings.  


Learnt so much from the process and have found a bit of a passion for making my own paints.




Last photo a display of the cards I painted using the store bought pigments.  Which turned out quite bright.  Initially worried about how useful they would be in my paintings.  But, you can do so much by mixing colours and toning down the value using water.  

Sorry about the long post but I have been a busy woyww.
Have a great crafty week. 


15 comments:

  1. Gorgeous paintings as ever.. LOVE the dragonfly! Happy WOYWW Helen #2

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  2. Always a pleasure to visit you Sandra. So glad you were ok re the fires that have devastated your beautiful country. My sister sent me two photos of the Blue Mountains yesterday, one showing it ablaze and the other showing a raging torrent of water - as you say, and the point she was making, a country of extremes.
    I am so impressed with the making of your own pigment. Have never seen that done before so I found it truly amazing to read and see the photos.
    Obviously I like the trio of paintings you have shown us but the dragonfly in your opening photo really is beautiful and once more captures the beauty of nature and showcases your talent.
    Thanks for sharing, stay safe
    Hugs, Neet 9 xx

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  3. I'm doing a whistle stop tour of all my favourite desks before I make my next Memory bear [and this one is for a very special little girl to take to her new adoptive home...what lovely jobs eh?].
    Your dragonfly is truly amazing...just like a photo only better :-) I am so impressed with you making your own paints too...what a talent.
    Hugs,
    Annie x #13

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  4. I love finding colour from nature, it's amazing how many things around us we can use without putting harmful man made substances into our earth and water supply. You took me back to my college days when we had to find products from a field trip to dye fabrics so rewarding to look back on those eco dying days.
    Glad the rains have now came to quench and help heal a little of what's been taken in your beautiful country and i'm so happy you shared your amazing painting. Spring time awaits us all in the UK.
    Creative wishes & Happy WoywW Tracey #10

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  5. That dragonfly - WOW! You have such control of technique, it's amazing. And I loved reading about how you used the ochre to make your own paints, really interesting!
    Hugs LLJ 3 xxxx

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  6. Hi Sandra I LOVE the dragonfly. It's so beautiful, so realistic. But then all your paintings are- the realism you capture is amazing. Very interesting process with the Ochre, even if it was a slow process. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz #1 X

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  7. Wonderful dragonfly and the idea of making your own paints must be very satisfying - such lovely colours. xx Jo

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  8. Oh my goodness the dragonfly is stunning - absolutely exquisite and so realistic. I am fascinated by your paint making techniques - there must be something very satisfying to not only produce a beautiful piece of work but to know you have produced the substances to make that piece too - doubly satisfying in fact!
    Hope you have a lovely week mixing your potions!
    Diana xx #20

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  9. Dragonflies are among my favourite creatures - it's that irridescent blue-green shimmer that gets me every time! Those wings are exquisitely done.
    The paint-making process sounds fascinating, and very satisfying too. There's such depth in those ochre washes, and you seem to have achieved a wonderfully smooth textured paint. Thanks for sharing!
    Amelia #24

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  10. My hubby thinks I'm mad all the time so why should you be any different Lol! Gorgeous dragonfly, love it. Wishing you a happy and creative woyww, Angela x16x

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  11. Beautiful art work Sandra. The Australian ochre is such a beautiful colour; well worth the time creating your own, not strange at all. Happy belated WOYWW. Sarah #8

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  12. Sorry to be so late...just running through to wish you a Happy WOYWW!
    Glenda #21

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  13. Wow, a long post is no problem...fascinating stuff S! Love the ochre, no wonder it’s given you a taste for making your own paint, what a result! Hope you can bulk make the binder, that would be useful. I really like the bright watercolours and was surprised at how you’d managed to tone them down....but thinking about it, I shouldn’t be surprised, your skill with a lump of paint is beginning to be legendary!

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  14. Stunning dragonfly.. the best I saw right up close were in Florida in 2018, visiting my friend she lived near cotton fields.
    Amazing paints.. what a task you set yourself, but hey it worked! Well done you!
    Thanks for sharing, and may God bless you.
    Hugs, Shaz in Oz.x

    {Wonderful Words of Life - Shaz in Oz}
    {Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}

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