Making RCW Primary Water Colors

I'M MAKING A PRIMARY W/C PALETTE STARTING WITH A TRANSPARENT PERMANENT WATER COLOR PIGMENT AND A MEDIUM BASE MADE OF GUM AND HONEY.

10-9-10, 7 parts gum Arabic Daniel Smith or W/N solution, 14 parts alcohol (to disperse the pigment, this counteracted the water in Spectra Colors wet pigment), 7 parts Spectra 122, 1 part honey. This filled one of seven wells in the porcelain palette. The porcelain palette holds about three times more paint as the plastic palettes. My cost, Plastic palette = $1.00 each. Porcelain palettes = $14.00 each. Gum Arabic Daniel Smith solution. 16 oz. = $25.00 delivered.

This formula was dry during the next day, the volume was down 60%. It re-wets and paints well. I have to make two fillings of magenta in the well. I didn't have their dry pigment on hand.

These three primary colors dry as fast as water, are transparent and not sticky to the touch. They re-wet and pick up full color load easily. The paint should dry matte on watercolor paper.

The binder is gum arabic, made from the solidified sap of thorny, shrubby acacia trees, species Acacia arabica or Acacia senegal. Sap from the cherry tree was used first and popular in Cinnini's time.
Gum arabic can be buffered with a carbohydrate plasticizer GLYCERIN $17.00= 16oz. This is the trihydroxy form of alcohol. This substance is necessary to retain water or act as a humectant for opaque colors. Other humidifiers are also carbohydrate moisteners, either a sugar syrup, corn syrup or honey. Honey is more effective than corn syrup at retaining water, glycerin has a drying problem.

To make a Gum Arabic Solution from crystals.
Place 1 part gum arabic powder or crystals. Heat 2 parts distilled water to a boil, remove from heat, and slowly pour over gum arabic, stirring to mix. Do not cook it. Cover it with cheesecloth and let it stand until tomorrow, stirring occasionally. Strain the solution through several layers of cheesecloth to remove impurities and sediment.

Dextrin (STARCH, wheat or corn starch) can be used as a cheap extender to add bulk to opaque colors. China clay and calcium carbonate are also opaque extenders.

I don't need a humectant for cyan. I use honey in yellow and magenta which I have to make from scratch.

Gum Arabic has high gloss, no stick, it is not a glue, pure it will not stick to a plastic well, shrinkage will break it's bond.

Soap is a dispersant, it reduces paper gloss but does not make it matte, semi-gloss, allows pigment settling, soap reduces the glue factor.

Honey is a humectant and is high gloss, almost never dries so it sticks and keeps some moisture, 2honey 2soap = matte, 1honey 1soap = matte (it takes 5gum to semigloss)

Sugar crystalizes and pits the cake's surface, A poor choice.

Ethylene Glycol is matte even at 1%, dries pigment cakes quickly in PY100, I use it in my plotters ink using same transparent primary pigments.

Ox gall, dispersant, cake is flat matte. Very powerful. Liquid soap works fine but I don't need either for the colors I'm making. Maybe just a touch to make them very compatible with each other. Buying the pigments wet saves adding a dispersant.

If paint remains sticky or gummy after it dries on the glass it contains too much honey, humectant.
Paint that shoots wildly wet in wet contains too much soap or sugar dispersant, honey is better all around and will do both.

Transparent Clear Yellow, 15 gum, 4 PY:100 Spectra Color Tartrazine, 4 honey
Transparent Clear Magenta, 7 gum, 7 Spectra 122 Magenta dissolved in alcohol, 1 honey.
Transparent Clear Cyan, 5 gum, 5 PB:15 Spectra Colors, 1 honey

ShinHan Opera in the tube cannot replace pure PR122, it won't make the darker values. Opera with PR122+RV10 will make even brighter reds and blues but it fades a little after 6 months in sunlight but not as much as alizarin crimson, which was the magenta before losing a major battle in the PAINT WARS to quinacridone. Now quinacridone has a new compound color. Holbine makes a cheaper slightly larger particle sized Opera pigment. Good though.