The Early Art of Making Paint From Nature

[ad_1]

From his earliest existence man exhibited and acted upon a wide variety of natural inclinations. Hunters developed weapons to enhance their hunting skills. Gathers sought after tools to effectively plant and harvest larger producing crops. So it went. Each generation built upon the knowledge and experience of the past until we have the sophisticated systems that work for us today. The building block process is global – the affect is global touching all levels of cultural strata. Math and science, yes, but no less has it touched the art of making paint from nature.

In the beginnings of civilization its can safely be assumed that color existed only in its most natural form. Sky and water was blue, plants and leaves green, birds, butterflies, insects were arrayed in varies hues; animals sported their colorful finery. As with so many processes we now take for granted, mans’ discovery that he could arbitrarily add color to his life was most likely accidental. Imagine first discovering the stains of grass and leaves, of ripe juicy berries or of falling into a puddle of colored mud.

We are told that primitive works of art depicted on the walls of caves and the faces of rocks around the world were created when our ancestors discovered that specific types of stone, when scraped against another, created a mark. Soon, our creative forbearers were seeking colored marking (painting) stones. With painting tools as basic, as simple as rocks and charcoal from long cooled fires, they decorated their dwellings and bodies as well.

Because the essentials of life were so closely attached to the earth, ancestral cultures were deeply rooted in the earth itself. Dependent upon the culture, rock formations, mountains, rivers, animal specials, birds, trees and so on took on the sacred. Belief systems were developed around them. Even ideas about the earth became sacred. Ceremonial rituals sprang up around meaningful events associated with these elements and ideas. In hundreds of recordings of ancient ceremonies, body painting was a common thread. Colored rock, when ground between other rocks, became powdered pigment. Water added to pigment powder made a colored mud. Mud! One of the first forms of making paint from nature!

Pilgrimages and rites of passage were associated with pigment gathering. Australia’s aboriginals traveled hundreds of miles to gather sacred rocks: yellow, white, black. They learned that heating the yellow ochre stones caused the iron in the stone to darken the pigment adding a red element to their paint color palette. So important were the painting stones to early cultures that trading them with other tribes and settlements became part of the commerce system as well.

Finding materials to permanently bind the pigment together was the challenge of many generations. Early paint makers mixed pigments with a variety of substances including bees wax, tree resins, seed oils, animal fats, egg, even milk. Then in the mid-20th century plastics were added. Most paints on today’s commercial markets incorporate plastic binders. However, making paint from natural elements is not a lost art.

While some paint color pigment is now chemically generated it may be surprising to know that much of the color in modern paint, particularly earth tones, remain powdered rock pigment. Still paint can be homemade for those who are so inclined. A quick web search of powdered pigment reveals dozens of suppliers where pigments and binders can be purchased. Recipes abound for a variety of mixes in quantities both large and small.

Today’s quest for the perfect paint color involves a simple pilgrimage to the nearest paint store, art supply store, or online store. The use of paint is universal. We color our world, indoors and out, based on our personal preference rather than only on what’s available. Color can be brushed on, sprayed on, baked on or mixed in to nearly everything. Access to brilliant works of art by artists from around the globe are as near as a web search. Street Fairs bombard our senses with an enticing variety of decorative arts. Colored gasses in tubes attract our attentions. Galleries and museums near and far host eclectic collections of artistic works for our entertainment, education and admiration. In an age where color is conveniently available in so many forms we can only wonder what the next generation will add to this colorful tower of building blocks.

[ad_2]

Source by Barbara Stuart