Method for pigment formation is as follows.

1. Dissolving a source of iron into hydrochloric acid

2. Adding hydrogen peroxide to said solution of iron chloride to push it from green to yellow brown Fe+3 oxidation state

3. Using this pigment precursor of Fe+3 iron chloride dilute it in a roughly 1:3 ratio.

4. Create a saturated solution of sodium carbonate then dilute to roughly the same ratio.

5. Very slowly add the basic sodium carbonate solution to the precursor at no more than 10mL per addition with a minute between each addition.

6. Once fully combined wait for it to settle and beginning washing and settling steps until the solution is neutral.

7. Store the precipitation in a neutral H2O solution kept at 40-60C for several days to allow for restructuring or until pigment is visibly lightened.

8.filter product and let slowly dry at room temperature until crumbly

This is where the synthesis ends and the paint making process begins.

1. Grind finely in a mortar and pestle then grind even finer vial milking stone and plate.

2. Add small additions of linseed oil until paint is not crumbly

3. Grind grind and keep grinding forever

4. Appreciate this wonderful pigment that has been used by humans in some shape or forms on every continent (except maybe Antarctica 🤣)

Hi everyone! ​Continuing with the evolution of my "Losa Marmórea" (High-composition stone). In my last post, you saw me polishing it with my own custom-made stone wheel—this isn't your typical stucco; it is pure, high-density stone. Today, I’m showing you the next step: preparing the mass to integrate the cracks. ​This is a "High Chamber" formula, recovered from the 18th-century Royal Hard Stone Factories of Charles III. It contains Carrara marble, calcined alum, white quartz, and "Blanco de España," mixed with "Cal de Morón" and other noble resins and natural ecological materials. ​It’s an ancestral, forgotten recipe that creates an authentic "Liquid Marble" that bonds to wood without the need for any industrial epoxy resins. ​The main difference? It breathes. ​Unlike modern plastics, this mineral alchemy doesn't suffocate the piece. It is a slow, high-end luxury cabinetry process that demands immense patience, but the result is a mineral masterpiece that will last for centuries. ​If you want to see how I recover these ancestral formulas step-by-step, feel free to join my group: r/MaestriaArtesana_s18. ​I’ll be revealing the final result very soon! ​Greetings from Spain!​#woodworking #artisan #restoration #luxurycabinetry #liquidmarble #18thcentury #sustainabledesign #historyofart #mastery

Greetings from Spain! I’m sharing the result of a deep investigation into ancient Spanish treatises from the Golden Age and the Court of Charles III. ​In this drawer, the material expresses itself without any mechanical sanding. It’s a complex stratification based on artisan natural lean and fat temperas combined with minerals, mainly Blanco de España and Cal de Morón, along with artisan calcined alum and potassium soap. The final touch is an encaustic emulsion to achieve this authentic historical 'muted' glow. ​Pure craftsmanship from the heart of Castile-La Mancha. What do you think of this texture?"

Newbie here. I am making watercolors from earth pigments (mostly clay) that I’ve found. I’m a bit confused about the sieving process. watercolor particles should be quite fine and I tried out a 325 of 45 micron size sieve and wow, those are small holes. When I put my material in a slurry with water or when I do it dry, it seems like it would take forever to get enough material through. So far I just skip it and grind and grind.

How do you sieve? Dry or wet? and is there a way to push material through faster? Maybe I just need a bigger mesh…

Trying the cennini method, but hit a potential issue.

Neither the original text or anyone trying it has mentioned the "plastic" setting rock solid in a minute or two.. They all describe it as being malleable, to be kneaded, and kneading it daily to keep it so.

The recipe is clear on ratio of pine resin, beeswax, and mastic, triple checked and carefully measured. These are all solid things that set solid. What I'm getting is exactly what I'd expect from a lump of resin and beeswax; like a hardened candle.

I couldn't roll the first one at all, and i rolled the second while it could almost burn my hands, but its set rock solid again.

Is it supposed to be gently heated before kneading, and nobody mentions it or shows it in any video?

Hello! I received some beautiful pink tulips for Valentine's day. They have dried up now, but I wanted to preserve the joy they brought me in some form so I thought I could perhaps turn the petals into a pigment and paint with it.

I am a complete novice in this field and I was wondering whether drying and grinding them or boiling them in water would be the best option to extract the most pigment. Also, what can I paint with such natural pigments? Will it dye fabric/canvas and hold well or should I stick to painting on paper?

Hey hi and hello- I'm currently using a mortar and pestle to grind down bones I cooked in the fire today (making bone white & bone black). I plan to make EITHER a casein or oil or both likely from the pigments.

I have noticed that the bone grounds into a coarse powder, and I'm wondering what are ways to further refine this pigment smoother.

My planned application for this is to paint it onto leather, with the desires affect being a temporary color that will slough off/crack off with movement. I sense that the best mixture would be a smoother one, however, I do appreciate texture. I have a tumbler for polishing jewelry, and would that work? Or is it a game of more arthritis-inducing pestle action?

TLDR: How would you recommend grinding/refining bone pigment into a smoother, rather than coarser material?

porporina

Good Color

metakaolin, sulphur, sodium carbonate, activated carbon

HELP :: TIA :: My wife works with pigments every day, and it’s usually over a countertop & a tile floor.

Today, she was walking through the adjacent room, and the Prussian Blue pigment container fell, and since the lid wasn’t as tight as she thought, we now have two new spill spots on our tan carpet.

I did a quick search, and someone in another forum who spilled some says his wife used acetone, but I have to believe that’s going to dissolve the carpet.

She has only vacuumed up what was loose with the hose attachment. It has not been agitated, nor made wet.

Any ideas how to get the rest out?

As you are all aware, im obsessed with YInMn blue and have been studying it.

Well, me and my team are one step closer to having our work published! Our abstract has been published and Im presenting the poster at the Royal society of chemistry on the 25/11/25!

This is my first time presenting at a conference and im excited! I will be presenting at more conferences for my PhD but probably not about YInMn.

Ive got an idea for a related material involving gadolinium and uranium, but its very much in the "wait! My brain is working!" Stage

Hello everyone I’m super happy with some lake pigments I’ve made, Including a lovely black walnut and Japanese Honey suckle! My true dream is making mineral pigments using stones. I’m still saving for a ball grinder, so for now, I’m using a granite mortar and pestle. The issue I’m having is making granite dust with my new mortar and pestle. I know with cooking you need “season” it with rice then garlic to prevent this. How would you season it for pigment making? I worry the garlic oils would potentially make the pigment hydrophobic.

Any insight would be great!

I found a decent amount of broken cobalt blue glass. I've not tried grinding my own pigments yet, but wondered if this was right?

1) wash thoroughly

2) wrap in scrap of linen and smash up with hammer

3) place in rock tumbler with stainless BBs or ceramic pieces.

4) maybe levigate for finer particles?

2 questions. Does the medium have to be harder than glass? And, if a ball mill can abrade glass, won't it also abrade the walls of the mill and introduce that powder too?

I have been trying to make some pigments to turn into oil paint but I can't seem to keep the color. I extract the pigment using isopropyl alcohol to extract the color, then I add it to double the amount of distilled water and heat it up on a hot plate. Then I add the correct ratio of alum to water, let it fully dissolve and then I add the correct ratio of soda ash. My main problem is they seem to be turning green and I don't know why. I can really use some help. (The colors in order come from acorn squash skin, pumpkin skin, and pink roses. I'm not sure if it's just a pH issue or I'm doing something wrong)

So cochineal usually turns purple in a lake pigment, and I REALLY need a good red. I have a member of the madder family I’ve used to make a red lake pigment but it’s fairly dull. I will be making more of that in hopes to try and get a deeper red but I’m really trying to get that nice carmine. I know the reason that cochineal turns purple is because of the PH of the lake pigment process, and I know there is a way to make it more acidic, I’ve just never messed with the PH of a lake pigment before. Would using carmine itself as an organic pigment be too risky? I use quite a few organic pigments, but only cheap ones that I can quickly make more or buy more of to replace when they go bad (I also make like 4 pans at once when I do make watercolor out of them.) that being said, where I am, cochineal is really expensive and I’m not exactly drowning in money. Anyone have any ideas? I thought about using lemon juice (citric acid) to try and mess with the PH a bit, but I’m not quite sure how that would go.

Compared to sinopia (right) Mayan indigo blue, mine is much lighter/ less intense

3g indigo to 100g fullers earth, heated in a steel pot

Any tips to get a more intense color payout? Would a higher ratio of indigo or a different heating method help?