How to Make Paint From Ash

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For many centuries, people have used paint to help enhance the beauty of their artwork, providing color and life to drawings and portraits. If you enjoy painting as a hobby, or for a living, you can make your own paint using a few simple materials. You can even make your own paint with the assistance of ash, the remaining compounds of a burned object.

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Step 1

Obtain the appropriate ash for the paint. For example, gray and black ash from paper or brown ash from burned coal act as a pigment for natural paint.

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Step 2

Add a binder to the pigments. For example, you can purchase gum arabic from a shop that specializes in art supplies. One drop should suffice for the paint.

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Step 3

Add some water to your paint mixture. Add only a little bit at a time to thin out your paint until it is the desired consistency.

Step 4

Add food coloring or another color pigment to change the color of the paint. Experimentation is your best friend at this point as many household powders can alter paint.

Tip

Other useful pigments include paprika, talcum powder, turmeric, chalk dust and powdered graphite.

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