Formulas and Recipes
Formulas for paints, mediums, varnishes, grounds, sizes, and adhesives for acrylics, encaustic, fresco, gouache, oils, tempera, watercolors, and other painting techniques. Traditional and modern recipes from medieval and Renaissance until today have been tested by artists and evaluated by Natural Pigments.
Formulas for varnishes and mediums call for measurements that are often confusing for artists. For example, in his formula for a glazing medium, Ralph Mayer calls for a “5-pound cut” of dammar (or damar) varnish. How do you know what is a 5-pound cut?
Formulas for varnishes and mediums call for measurements that are often confusing for artists. For example, in his formula for a glazing medium, Ralph Mayer calls for a “5-pound cut” of dammar (or damar) varnish. This measurement refers to the amount of dry dammar resin with spirits of gum turpentine in a ratio called a “cut,” which refers to the amount of resin in pounds dissolved in a gallon of turpentine. This measurement is simple enough to use when preparing your own varnish, but what if you want to use a commercially-prepared dammar varnish, such as Rublev Colours Dammar Varnish or...
The term balsam has been used to designate the resinous exudate from trees of the order Coniferae, which have also been called resin or turpentine. Balsam is a soft, semi-liquid consisting of terpenes associated with bodies of resinous properties. The balsams most used in varnishes or as paint mediums are Larch balsam (a component of Venice turpentine), Strasbourg turpentine, Canada balsam, and copaiba balsam. Balsams flow easily on a surface and give a lustrous, pleasing quality when applied. However, unless a harder resin is mixed with them, they deteriorate quickly. Here are several formulas incorporating balsams...
