The Natural Paint Book

Lynn Edwards and Julia Lawless

Reviewed by:

Charles Rogers

Based on a fairly recent post about this book, I searched and found a used copy in soft cover. Total damage was less than US$10, which included shipping. It's the best $10 I've spent since I don't know when. This edition is a Rodale reprint and is very well done. Over 200 color photos with recipes and application guides.

The chapter titles are:
1 The Story of Paint
2 A Matter of Choice
3 Natural Paint Recipes
4 Creative Decorative Techniques and Effects
5 The Home as a Personal Sanctuary
6 Design Suggestions for Every Room

Although short, there's a nice appendix, too, as well as a resource list. Since the book was originally published in Great Britain in 2002, many of the website URLs given still work.

Chapter 3 is 60 pages long. Not every page has a recipe, but there's a bunch of them. The chapter starts off with a basic introduction to some of the materials along with a few guidelines on preparing and working with them. The first recipe is for quark* (milk curd), and is the basis of casein (the protein found in milk) paint. There are recipes for quark colorwash, quark and oil glaze, quark and lime paint, quark and borax paint, casein powder and borax paint, soft size-base paint, cellulose glue paint, lime wash, lime paint, oil paint, egg and oil paint* (I'm gonna try this one), and transparent oil glaze. It also gives recipes for wood stains - with plant color (not light-fast), and with tea or vinegar. There're also recipes for floor and furniture wax, liming wax, beer glaze, glair paint, water-based paint, egg tempera, and gesso.

From the book:
* Quark: Stir the juice of one lemon into a bowl containing a quart or liter of skim milk. Leave it overnight in a warm place to curdle. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined colander to separate out the whey (liquid). The remaining curds are quark.
* Egg and Oil paint: In this recipe, egg is used not only as a binder but also as an emulsifier, meaning that the oil and water can be mixed and no solvent is needed. This paint is suitable for interior and exterior bare, unpainted wood. It is washable after several weeks. In a bowl, whisk together one egg and 1/3 cup (80 ml) boiled linseed oil until well mixed. Very gradually whisk in the water. Put 1 table- spoon of natural pigment of your choice in another bowl and mix a little of the binder into it to make a smooth, lump-free paste. Gradually add the rest of the binder. Brush onto the wood using a medium paintbrush. For a less opaque finish, wait a few minutes and then wipe off any excess paint with a lint-free cloth to reveal the wood grain. For a more opaque finish, apply two or more coats of paint, allowing each coat to dry (about 48 hours) before the next application. Clean up with warm, soapy water. This paint will take several days to dry thoroughly. The amounts given should cover approx. 16 to 22 sq ft (1.5 to 2 sq m).

I did quite a bit of searching and found that both the Real Milk Paint Company (www.realmilkpaint.com) and Sinopia Art Supplies (www.sinopia.com) offer powdered pigments. They aren't cheap, but it appears that you wouldn't use a lot of it. If all you want to do is make milk paint, then a recipe is available on the Real Milk Paint website. If you're interested in a wider range of natural paints, then this book is a very good resource.