How to Make Your Own Palette

Course Description:

This immersive, hands-on course welcomes artists, designers, calligraphers and anyone interested in reconnecting with the material origins of colour and developing a more intentional, tactile painting practice to learn how to create one’s own bespoke watercolour paints using natural earth pigments, ground gemstones and luminous mica. Participants will begin by making a traditional binder from gum arabic powder and crystal, introducing participants to the material science and heritage behind historical pigments and paints. Each participant will formulate, grind and bind their own colors, exploring the unique qualities of minerals, stones and metallic pigments, before arranging them into a personal, reusable palette to take home. The course also covers color theory, harmonious color combinations and practical painting techniques, allowing participants to paint using the very colors they have created.

Course Objectives: 

1- Understanding the origins and properties of natural, mineral and metallic pigments
2- Preparing arabic gum binder from raw materials
3- Creating stable watercolor paints using earth, gemstone and mica pigments
4- Applying foundational color theory to build balanced and expressive palettes
5- Using handmade paints confidently in practical painting exercises

Course Outcomes:
1- To produce a complete set of handmade watercolor and metallic paints
2- To assemble a unique, reusable personal palette
3- To demonstrate an understanding of pigment behaviour and color harmony
4- To apply self-made paints effectively in finished painted studies
5- To develop an informed, material-based approach to color and painting practice

Recommended for:

Artists, designers, calligraphers and anyone interested in reconnecting with the material origins of color and developing a more intentional, tactile painting practice