Natural pigment paint binders

Over the past 5 years I have spent a lot of time trying to mix up the "perfect" natural paint. But all paint binders have their pluses and minuses. And a binder that is great for watercolor paintings may not work well for mask-making, where flexibility and moisture-resistance are of great importance.

Another factor to consider is how easy the paint is to work with. For example, an oil based-paint that is slow to dry and difficult to clean up may not be ideal for a children's mask-making class.

This document shares some of the paint binders I have been using. There is no one "perfect" binder here, but I hope the information will help you narrow things down if you are ready to paint your mask (or other art project) with natural paints but have been wondering what to use.

Curly masquerade mask revisited

 I've been using biodegradable materials to recreate another one of my old synthetic-materials masks designs. This picture shows the results of mixing natural polymer starch with a recycled paper pulp material: 

Paper Mache Magpie Mask

This is a paper mache mask I built over a plaster face-form modified with oil clay. I used recycled grocery bag paper, reclaimed cellulose fiber, natural polymer starch, and it is painted with natural pigments. Below are fast-motion video clips, photos, and detailed descriptions of the steps I took in creating this mask.

Revisiting the Fox Mask

The fox mask was one of the most popular designs from my previous mask-making business (Goblin Art, 1999-2015), as well as being one of my personal favorites. And so it was one of the first mask designs I decided to revisit with my recycled coffee sack burlap and natural polymer starch (bioplastic) mask-making technique.