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Recipe: Watercolor Medium

Recommended use for Kremer Watercolor Medium (#79260). Gum Arabic is the most important component for painting with watercolors. Since many centuries the manufacturers of watercolors have been trying to improve the quality. For the processing of pigments as a watercolor it is very easy to get an excellent result with Kremer Watercolor Medium. Gum Arabic is mixed with honey and glycerin as a softener for a better durability.

Processing

Mix several drops of Kremer Watercolor Medium (#79260) with 1 - 3 teaspoons of dry pigment. Step 1#91: Mix several drops of Kremer Watercolor Medium (#79260) with 1 - 3 teaspoons of dry pigment.
Grind the mixture in a mortar or... Step 2#35: Grind the mixture in a mortar or...
... or with a muller until a homogeneous, smooth, lump-free paste is achieved. If the pigment is hard to moist, add a few drops of Ethyl Alcohol (#70805) or Ox Gall (#78087) as dispersant. Prior to application, the paint is thinned with water as required. Test the paint on a piece of paper: If it shows chalking, add more watercolor medium. If the paint feels tacky after drying, add more pigment. If the painted surface shows little granules that will smear when you rub it with your finger, you need to mix and grind the pigment more thoroughly. Step 3#548: ... or with a muller until a homogeneous, smooth, lump-free paste is achieved. If the pigment is hard to moist, add a few drops of Ethyl Alcohol (#70805) or Ox Gall (#78087) as dispersant. Prior to application, the paint is thinned with water as required. Test the paint on a piece of paper: If it shows chalking, add more watercolor medium. If the paint feels tacky after drying, add more pigment. If the painted surface shows little granules that will smear when you rub it with your finger, you need to mix and grind the pigment more thoroughly.
Fill the smooth watercolor paste into pans in thin layers. Wait until one layer is thoroughly dry (let it harden overnight) before adding the next layer, in order to prevent paint cracking. Step 4#189: Fill the smooth watercolor paste into pans in thin layers. Wait until one layer is thoroughly dry (let it harden overnight) before adding the next layer, in order to prevent paint cracking.

Ingredients

a few drops Kremer Watercolor Medium (#79260)
1-3 teaspoon Pigment
Water (#65000)
mortar and pestle, or medium size glass muller and glass palette
Syringes 10 ml (#964090)

Additional Information

Pigment suitability lists

Note

Most pigments work well with the Kremer Watercolor Medium. Pigments used for watercolor should be as fine as possible, because it is usually difficult to bind larger particles, such as coarse-grained earth pigments or sand. Reactive pigments, such as copper based pigments, manganese, phosphates or cobalt, are not recommended for watercolor. The easiest pigments to mix are cadmium -, cobalt -, and ultramarine pigments, iron oxides, and earth pigments. Synthetic-organic pigments are difficult to moisten, they dry slowly, need a lot of binding medium and have to be ground thoroughly to remove larger particles that will cause lumps in the paint. Pearlescent pigments, on the other hand, should not be ground too much. They consist of tiny flakes, which can slow down drying of the paint later.

We assume no liability for the processing instructions described above. In any case, we recommend the production and evaluation of sample surfaces.

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