Making Botanical Lake Pigments for Watercolors and Pastels

Making a botanical lake pigment from a plant dye, then using that pigment to make watercolors and pastel pigment sticks.

[@dawnmcdaniel347]

Very interesting. I learned a great deal from your video.

[@k.elmaraghy1370]

Your videos deserve more views Just informative and overall entertaining

[@user-ml6gh3yx9z]

This is an awesome video! Definitely need to try making my own pigment sometime, this looks like a fun activity to try with my daughter. Thanks for sharing

[@woodsiastudio]

I think i finally understand this process! Thank you….

[@KJodiGear]

Glad it was helpful!

[@woodsiastudio]

@@KJodiGear i have an urge to figure out how to make marbled paper with the clay/earth pigments…using natural materials from local sources…so kinda rules out the seaweed thickener…any thoughts?

[@KJodiGear]

@woodsiastudio Do you follow Skye on instagram? @aequoreamarbling She will know.

[@Azuredblu]

the earth pigments or ochres we forage are supposed to last long, but have you experienced some of them being unstable as well, thank you.

[@KJodiGear]

no instability in the ochres. They are lightfast. I have started playing with changing the color of some of them with heat. (Which is historically how burnt umber and burnt sienna were made.)

[@1aliveandwell]

So pretty a design when your using the glass thing with "Lake" on the glass, if could frame that on a wall. Use dyes for wool and cotton, but read if laked, wont work on cotton later. Am researching what else besides alum works for laking, and you use calcium carb(chalk), but read of bismuth (thought of buying it at dollarstore). If you changed that pH, would your pigment colors have changed? So many interesting things you show !!

[@KJodiGear]

@aliveandwell early on, i experimented with changing the pH of the dye to get a different color, then doing the laking process, and found that if I made the dye too acidic, the laking process didn’t work. Sometimes the process completely changes the color on its own - I have a couple of purple leafed trees and the dye is purple, but when you add the sodium carbonate, the lake pigment turns green.

[@1aliveandwell]

@@KJodiGear think to dye wool from a lake, acid is added (so called a split lake)(wish worked on cotton fabric also, will try painting on fabric, then after mordant)

[@KJodiGear]

@@1aliveandwell yes, that would make sense that acid would undo it. (As when you add it beforehand, it doesn't allow the precipitate to form)

[@1aliveandwell]

@@KJodiGear just found this by M Garcia on chem of Al in clay, think is saying using lime or ashes to make useable?! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHXSpauanKuXj6M You have clear information on your videos

[@tamwall2070]

How do you differentiate what rocks are lightfast and not? Or any other natural mediums? TIA

[@KJodiGear]

The iron oxide/hydroxide earth pigments are light-fast. So rocks that you find that are soft enough to grind will make a light-fast paint. The color/dye you get from plants (the botanical pigments) will not be light-fast. Some will last longer than others, but they will all fade in UV light.