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The Complete Eco-friendly Oil Paint Kit was recently reviewed by Voiz, an online community of eco-conscious students!"Oil paint is most commonly sold in small non-recyclable tubes and is made up of extremely toxic materials. Oil painting normally has to be facilitated either outside or in very well-ventilated rooms due to the toxins it emits. I am a painter myself and know first hand the effects of working with paints and turpentine for exte...

Our two-part blog series, Toxin-Free Tuesday, covers the parallel stories of our social platform manager Kate and our founder Leah, whose disappointing experiences with conventional paint companies inspired their work with Natural Earth Paint. This week, we hear from Kate!Kate's Story"When I became a part of the Natural Earth Paint family, I didn't consider myself the sort of artist who needed to be careful about the art...

Through this year's Pigments Revealed Symposium, we had the wonderful opportunity to connect with earth artists around the world. Kristen Moffitt, Materials Analyst at Colonial Williamsburg, is an art conservator who studies the paints and pigments used for architectural coatings at Williamsburg.During her talk at the symposium, she shared her research on the natural ingredients used in Colonial Williamsburg. We're sharing some of her f...

Thanks so much, Lindsey, for taking the time to give us a glimpse into the world of your beautiful botanical art!Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself as an artist and nature-lover? How did you first fall in love with painting the natural world?Yes of course! Thank you for having me. I am a painter more than anything, with my preferred medium being natural watercolor. I love how watercolor is fluid and seems to have a mind of...

Our Earth & Mineral Pigments were featured in the Future Materials Bank!Future Materials Bank is a project initiated by the Nature Research department at the Jan van Eyck Academie, in collaboration with the MA Materials Futures at Central St. Martins in London that proposes non-toxic, biodegradable or otherwise sustainable alternative materials. Read the full article here.Interested in what others have to say about Natural...

One common misconception about natural fine arts supplies is that they cost more than toxic conventional paints. Fortunately for artists making an effort to clean up their creative practice, that's only a myth! If you're looking for quality, investing in Natural Earth Paint actually saves you money compared to using the conventional paints on the market today that have a comparable quality. Not convinced? Let's get technical:...

Gouache is a beautiful, water-based artist paint, similar to acrylic or an opaque watercolor. It's completely intermixable with watercolors. Learn how to make your own natural gouache paint below!Supplies: Earth & Mineral PigmentsGum Arabic PowderNatural Impasto Medium (limestone powder)Honey (for a vegan version, use glycerin)Optional: clove or thyme essential oil (mild preservatives)Instructions:Part 1: Creating&nb...

Thank you so much, Cherith, for taking the time to speak with us about your eco-friendly, health- conscious painting journey. Let’s get started, shall we?Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself as an artist? How did you first get into painting? Of course! I’m a Montana artist who is passionate about nature. I paint primarily local plants and mountains. Drawing and painting have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Wher...

In an effort to spread the word about the incredible organizations we've given back to and the work they are accomplishing, we're continuing our Giving Spotlight blog series. This month's spotlight is on the wonderful Buffalo Field Campaign."Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is the only group working both in the field and in the policy arenas to stop the harassment and slaughter of America’s last wild buffalo.Formalized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit i...

In an effort to spread the word about the incredible organizations we give back to and the work they're accomplishing, we're continuing our Giving Spotlight blog series. This month's spotlight is on Green America."Our MissionGreen America harnesses economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.Our VisionWe work for a world where all peopl...

It's the tutorial you've all been waiting for! Join us for our simple, easy, non-toxic fabric painting tutorial and enjoy a safer way to decorate all kinds of textiles with our Natural Acrylic Medium and our Earth & Mineral Pigments!Supplies:Earth & Mineral PigmentNatural Acrylic MediumAluminum Tubes or an airtight container for storagePalette KnifeFabric (natural fabrics such as cotton, rayon or linen work best)Step 1: Sco...

Thank you so much, Shirley, for taking the time to speak with us about your stunning illustration work!We'd love to start out by asking, how did you first learn to paint? I started early with small group art lessons. Students of various experience levels would work out of the teacher’s converted garage studio, and the teacher would rotate between students, creating the opportunity for everyone to learn from each other’s progress and setbacks. I f...

Supplies:Earth & Mineral PigmentsCorn starchWaterStep 1: Earth & Mineral PigmentScoop one tablespoon of Earth & Mineral Pigment into a small container.Step 2: Corn Starch & WaterAdd one tablespoon of cornstarch to container with the pigment. Then add six tablespoons of water to your mixture and stir well.Step 3: Paint away!Find a nice spot outside to paint. We used the children’s Natural Paint Brushes to paint with, but...

Thanks so much, Kristi, for taking the time to speak with us about your equestrian art!Could you please tell us a little bit about your personal history that led you to your love for painting horses? How did you first fall in love with painting as a medium and horses as a subject?I am a third generation equestrian and I couldn’t wait to turn 7 years old. That was the age that I was finally able to start riding horses. Growing up riding with my mo...

We've created a few easy-to-follow tutorials for our pottery lovers, both amateur and professional! Enjoy the vibrance of Natural Earth Paint's Earth & Mineral Pigments in your clay body with our "Colored Clay Crosshatch Bowl" tutorial or in your "Decorative Colored Slip"!Colored Clay Crosshatch BowlSupplies: Low-fire clayEarth & Mineral PigmentsStep 1: Make 3 quarter-pound balls of low fire clay.Step 2: "Wedge" one teaspo...

"I discovered Natural Earth Paints about a year ago and I couldn’t wait to try making my own paints and art materials with these amazing pigments. I am a watercolor and gouache artist and I wanted to add natural paints to my palette. I started by making watercolors and drying them in pans. But more recently, I started creating water-soluble pastels. They’re so easy to draw with and I love to wet them and use them as paint.I us...

Check out this wonderful math-craft tutorial for little learners using our Natural Earth Paint Kit, shared with us by The Barefoot Babies on Instagram!"I'll bet that growing up, you loved doing puzzles but hated doing math homework. But what if I told you that you could help your kids learn math simply by playing with puzzles?E loves doing puzzles! So I thought it would be cool to make him a set of animal puzzles using rocks. But of cou...

In celebration of Earth Day, #PleinAirpril Nucleus is hosting an open submission art showcase sponsored by Warrior Painters and Natural Earth Paint, open until May 9th, 2021.Artists broke out their brushes and captured the beauty of the world around them in their stunning submissions. We're featuring them on our blog today; hats off to you, Earth Artists!Tara Zalewsky(2021) - Natural Earth Paint on canvas with&n...

Supplies: Wooden Picture FrameNatural Earth Paint Kit or Natural Acrylic Medium and Earth & Mineral PigmentsRocksNatural Varnish (optional)GlueStep 1: Choose Your PaintChoose which type of paint you’d like to use. For this tutorial, we're using our Natural Earth Paint Kit, but our Natural Acrylic Paint Recipe also works great as a more permanent option.Step 2: Mix Your PaintIf you're using the Natural Earth Paint Kit...

Supplies: Paper or NewspaperBlenderMould & Deckle*Large BinEarth & Mineral PigmentFelt or Couch SheetsWooden Boards*If you do not have a mould and deckle you can either buy one or make one. They are easy to make with some wood and screen or you can use two of the same sized picture frames to create the frame for them.Step 1: Tear or Shred the PaperStart by tearing or shredding your paper. If the paper is in smaller pieces it will be easi...

Tasha Cathey, one of our lovely affiliates, shared with us her simple yet stunning natural oil paint tutorial featuring our versatile Earth & Mineral Pigments and Refined Walnut Oil; we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!Step 1: Gather supplies.Walnut or Linseed OilEarth & Mineral PigmentsGlass PalettePalette KnifeGlass MullerThe dropper is optional, it just makes it easier to apply the oil. A glass palette i...

Supplies:Earth & Mineral PigmentGum Arabic PowderWaterStep 1: Mix the Dry IngredientsIn a bowl, add pigment and gum arabic, 4:1. For example, add 4 TBSP of pigment with 1 TBSP of Gum Arabic and stir the two together.Step 2: Making a LiquidAdd 2 TBSP of water to the mixture and stir it together until it is smooth and well blended. Some pigments require more or less water, so add more water if necessary. We are using the Natural...

The Sisters Bloom animation studio created their first eco-friendly animation last year, featuring our watercolor recipe! They graciously shared their process with us; check it out!“We are so excited to share our first eco-friendly animation, created for Mt. Meru Medicines, a turmeric supplement company going back to their roots and producing pure, small-batch products for immunity and overall health. This turmeric is so high-quali...

Carolyn from The Barefoot Babies on Instagram recently shared with us her latest craft activity featuring our Natural Earth Paint Kit! Check out this awesome art-meets-science activity tutorial for little ones."Aside from the fact that it’s 100% non-toxic and derived from natural ingredients, the things that I love most about Natural Earth Paint is that it comes as a powder. There are just so many opportunities to think outside the...

In an effort to spread the word about the incredible organizations we give back to and the work they're accomplishing, we're introducing our Giving Spotlight blog series. This month's spotlight is on the incredible One Tree Planted; enjoy!"ONE TREE PLANTED IS A 501C3 NON-PROFIT WITH A FOCUS ON GLOBAL REFORESTATION.As an environmental charity, we are dedicated to making it easier for individuals and businesses to give back to the environ...

When an artist assumes the mantle of creating a new product that before her did not exist in the world, cool things can happen. Leah Fanning, an Oregon-based artist, decided she was tired of exposing herself to the toxins present in oil-based and acrylic paint. So, she embarked on a journey of discovery, unearthing how the old masters created their color palettes by using natural ingredients available to them in their region. Leah has c...

SuppliesEggs, Hard-BoiledHosieryTwineNon-Toxic PlantsNatural Egg Dye KitStep 1: Boil Eggs & Gather LeavesHard boil your eggs and let them cool . When collecting plants, consider small, delicate flowers, leaves and edible herbs (cilantro and rosemary are great) from your garden or your local supermarket.Step 2: Prepare Your EggsLay your flowers or herbs over your egg and wrap the egg in the hosiery. Make sure your plants are laying as fla...

Supplies: Natural Earth Paint Kit or Individual Natural Earth Paint PacketsSticks, Bark, Rocks*Optional: RocksNatural Acrylic MediumEarth & Mineral Pigment in Gold MicaStep 1: Mixing Your PaintMix your Natural Earth Paint. The Natural Earth Paint Kit will have the necessary materials to do this. Scoop a few spoonfuls of the pigment into a mixing cup. Add the same amount of water to the powder and stir. Note: If...

Hi Tanya! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us- we’re big fans of your creative process, and we can’t wait to hear more about it. First, could you please tell us a little bit about your personal story? How did you first become interested in natural pigments and inks?In my mind, I was always seeking some sort of creative balance and a deeper connection to nature through abstract painting that felt more meaningful and impactful. Disco...

Celebrate the snowy winter season with coffee filter snowflakes, decorated with Natural Earth Paint!Supplies Coffee filtersScissorsNatural Earth PaintCreating SnowflakesStep 1: Fold your coffee filter in half. Continue to fold it into a triangle form.Step 2: Cut your snowflake. Geometric shapes work best for cutting out a snowflake. I like to do half circles and triangles.Step 3: Unfold your coffee filter to see what magical snowf...

Egg Tempera painting predates oil painting as a professional painting medium. It's as old as the Egyptians, becoming most famous during the Renaissance and has now become very popular today. It has very unique characteristics: it produces a crisp, luminous, almost linear effect that’s quite different from oil. It's glossy, versatile, and long lasting.  Using egg yolk as the binder, this ancient technique makes a water-soluble paint tha...

Glair paints were popularized in the 5th century to create illuminated manuscripts and have been used for over fourteen centuries in Europe. Many of those manuscripts are still vibrant and well-preserved today. A simple blend of two ingredients, glair paint is a transparent, watercolor-like paint but with a slight gloss and sheen when dry. It works best on paper, and is perfect for small, detailed work, art journalin...

Every room in my home is painted with this natural clay paint that's easy to make, economical, and gives my home a beautiful, soft, adobe-like look. I get compliments from all my guests!Ingredients:  FlourBoraxEarth & Mineral PigmentsFine Sand (optional)Materials:  Drill with paint mixer attachmentBucketStep 1: Make flour paste: Mix 2 cups of cold water with 1 cup of flour, then add that mixture to 6 cups of boiling water. Stir u...

My 4 year old son loves home-made play dough, but as a busy mom, I never find myself with time to make new batches for him. So, when someone gave him a set of modeling clay that permanently stays moist, malleable, and infinitely re-usable, I was very excited! However, I quickly noticed that the store-bought clay had a toxic smell, sticking to and sometimes dying my little one's hands. I did a little research and found that most com...

There are several natural paint options for indoor murals. The Natural Earth Paint Kit contains wonderful pigments for indoor mural paint, especially if children want to be involved in the process. Another very durable option is Natural Acrylic Paint created with our Natural Acrylic Medium. The recipe below uses our Earth & Mineral Pigments and works great on drywall and natural building surfaces (cob walls, strawbale wal...

Making your own natural oil paint is not only super quick, easy and economical but it also makes the most archival, vibrant and pure paint on the planet. Unlike tubed conventional oil paints, these paints don't have fillers (bulking agent), toxic preservatives, heavy metal or petroleum-based pigments, solvents or chemical additives. These paints will last for thousands of years and be 100% lightfast, humidity resistant and won't off-gas into...

This recipe is based on the very ancient and little-known Japanese process called the Moku Hanga technique of making your own inks. This ancient technique has always used all non-toxic ingredients. The ink is for wood block prints but can also be used for linoleum cuts and mono prints.Ingredients: Earth & Mineral PigmentsAlcohol (preferably gin- makes ink more archival and durable)Nori (Rice Paste)Optional Ingredients: Magnesium CarbonateTo...

The ancient art of sand painting among Native American tribes in the Southwest was a form of religious expression. In its original form, sand paintings were created to exist only a few hours. Toward the end of the 20th century, many Native Americans began creating more permanent sand paintings by using glue under the colored sand.Ingredients: Fine craft sandEarth & Mineral PigmentsPrep Time: 3 min. per colorProcess: Place 1 cup of sand...

“Encaustic”, meaning "to burn in", is an ancient medium using molten beeswax combined with dry pigments and natural resin. There are still Greek encaustic portraits dating as far back as 23 B.C. The resilience and color has remained intact, uncracked and unfaded over centuries due to wax's imperviousness to moisture.Ingredients: 1 lb. of white refined natural beeswax1-2 oz. of ground dammar resinEarth & Mineral Pigments1. Com...

Making your own watercolors allows you to make an incredibly archival, high quality paint that has a more brilliant luminosity than tubed pro-quality watercolors and is free of fillers, preservatives, heavy metals, petroleum-based pigments and toxins.  And it couldn't be simpler! Ingredients Natural Watercolor Kit or Earth & Mineral Pigments Gum Arabic Powder Honey (if you want a vegan version, use glycerin) Optional...

Making your own pastels allows you to create them as soft or as hard as you like. Commercial pastels have to be made hard enough to withstand breakage during shipment. As long as you're not shipping these, you can make soft pastels that are more yielding and do not dig into the under-layers of the paper as much as harder pastels do. The paint quality will be richer, and the colors more intense.Ingredients: Earth & Mineral PigmentsWaterB...

Ingredients for 2 ½ pastels:6 tablespoons white beeswax (for a vegan version, you can use soy wax and carnauba wax)2 tablespoons Walnut Oil2 tablespoons Earth & Mineral Pigments (adjust as needed)Tools: a mold, tin can, sauce pan, pliersProcess: Create a double boiler using a tin can. Bend a pouring spout on the can with a pair of pliers.  2. Put beeswax and oil into the tin can.3. Pour water into a med...

Natural Cold Porcelain Clay is a perfect substitute for toxic polymer clay, and it allows for even finer detail and ease of sculpting. It's also incredibly inexpensive and super simple to make. The clay is air-dried so no need for baking, and it dries to a light weight, luminous, stone-like texture. It's perfect for kids and professional artists alike! The DIY cold porcelain recipes that we found online all called for conventional glue...

Derived from milk, casein paint dates all the way back to ancient Asian cave paintings. Casein paint is durable, fast-drying, and water-soluble. It was also as widely used in ancient Egypt as tempera paint, and popular among commercial illustrators and muralists in the twentieth century. Many oil painters also use it for underpainting. Learn how to make it for yourself below!Supplies:Casein powderBoraxDistilled waterEarth & Min...

There are several techniques to make natural wood stains. Staining with Eco-SolveMaterials: Eco-Solve, Natural Earth Pigment, Large soft brushMix pigment with Eco-Solve at about a 1:4 parts ratio. Add additional pigment for a more opaque stain, or additional Eco-Solve for a more transparent stain. Brush the stain onto the wood in the direction of the grain.Let dry.Recommended finish with Natural Varnish - We find that this sta...

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we've cooked up an extra-special eco-friendly clay tutorial featuring our Natural Earth Paint Kit! It's perfect for kids of all ages looking for a hands-on crafting activity for the holiday. Ingredients: 1 Cup of Baking Soda 1/2 Cup of Corn Starch 3/4 Cup of Water1 Non-Stick Skillet or Pot Natural Earth PaintStep 1: Measure your baking soda, corn starch and water and add these three ingr...

Today we're sharing our tutorial on mixing and storing your own Natural Acrylic Paint with our Natural Acrylic Medium! Why should you make your own acrylic paints? For years, we've been receiving requests for a natural acrylic paint alternative from customers who were tired of chemical sensitivities from fumes, skin irritation, and concerns about the environmental damage that conventional acrylics can cause...

Thanks so much, Elena, for taking the time to speak with us about your incredible painting practice and inspiration! Could you please tell us a little about your personal journey that led you to painting?Beginning oil painting as my medium of choice for portraits has been the result of a slow evolution of trial and error in my art process. Over the years, I have tried multiple different mediums for portraiture: for many years I drew in grayscale,...

As many of you know, we're introducing new home-compostable pouches for our pigments so you can enjoy a whole new way of storing Natural Earth Paint the eco-friendly way! But how did we get here?Since our humble beginnings, we've been committed to eco-friendly products and practices. We operate out of a fully solar-powered facility in Southern Oregon that also serves as a community drop-off site for bubble wrap and other packi...

Carolyn from The Barefoot Babies shared with us her "Trajectory Schema: Cars Edition" craft featuring Natural Earth Paints!"If you’ve been following me for a while, you will know that E is currently fascinated by the trajectory schema. This refers to play where kids just *need* to throw objects on repeat. Contrary to how it may feel - they’re not doing this to annoy you. They’re actually trying to understand how objects move through space an...