r/handmadewatercolors

Hi, it’s my first attempt on making watercolors, do you know why they’re drying like this? Is it normal or is there a problem with the binder I made? (Binder made with this: 2 portions of water : 1 of gum Arabic and some honey that I couldn’t measure exactly but around half of a teaspoon and some drops Clove essential oil)

Idk maybe I didn't put enough paint in the Godet? 'cause in other godets that I initially "overflow" aren't like that. (They're not fully healed right now)

I am working through restocking and repairing all tbe colors to prep for a big show in September. Slow and steady wins the race!

Goal is to have 50ish of each color, a few new weird colors (i am experimenting with some odd materials like flakes and metal), and 20ish different 6 color palettes.

The colors in the photo, top to bottom:

#89 - Black Opal (a black based rainbow glitter)

#27 - Eros (metallic hot pink)

#21 - Earth (metallic dark green)

#28 - Extraterrestrial (metallic neon green)

#22 - Ganymede (metallic gold)

#13 - Outer Space (metallic black)

Test 1 (metallic soft pink with glitter bits)

I live near the beach where i made white from shells and green from rocks. The brown pigment is made from clay found in a field nearby. The black is charcoal. Im also working on a nice rust color for hopefully some red-ish hues. I dont have a muller yet and there is some rough stuff mixed in still. When its all done i hopefully have a nice selection of colors to paint some local wildlife. Gum arabic seems to work great as a binder.

Any tips on making it a bit more fine and ideas for different colors are very welcome!