I recently made charcoal from sticks and wanted to make a black paint.
In this video, I’ll step you through the process of grinding the charcoal using a mortar and pestle and then testing water as well as watercolour medium as additives to create a paint.
The equipment I use is:
- a mortar and pestle
- a modified microwave plate to use as a grinding surface
- a glass muller
- pallet knives and a brush
- a (over-powered) squirt bottle with tap water
- a squeeze bottle of home-made watercolour medium (gum arabic, glycerin, water & oil of thyme).
To swatch the paint after mulling, I also had a paintbrush and my sketchbook with watercolour paper (300gsm).
If you’re interested in making your own charcoal, I have a short video on this channel that you can watch. th-cam.com/users/shortstJtetSwqbus?si=z0ufvhWmGYxzmVmJ
Please send any comments or questions. I’d love to hear how your process goes.