Friday, July 2, 2010

How to make gold paint



There are lots of imitations out there, and some come close, but nothing beats the look of real gold paint. It adds a level of richness to any painting. It shines beautifully. It can be burnished for more shine.

It is possible to buy ready made gold paint from art suppliers. I've never used it, but those who have used store-bought and home made gold paint say there is no comparison. It is not hard to make, either. Just tedious!

This little photo essay explains the basics of making gold paint. Sorry about the bad photography, it is not one of my talents. The how-to is a compressed .JPG file, I do have a larger file on my hard drive.

12 comments:

Mona Diane Conner said...

This is great to know about Kathy, thanks so much.
I'm thinking too that it probably comes out more gleamy than shell gold if that is the store-bought kind that you mentioned.

Metanoia said...

Cool article.
I've bought gold folkart paint. It is more expensive, but looks gold and sparkles instead of the "brown" gold you get from normal paints.

Bob said...

this is a fascinating idea, i would love to incorporate it into some of the work I do. I think I will have to experiment with it.

Unknown said...

Sister Kym, a Benedictine nun who studies and lectures on women in the middle ages told me once that scribes then would use a little ear wax to help make the gold paint of that time more fluid. I believe she has even tried this.

Unknown said...

Hey, I have been working with metal gold leaf for my works, because Im having a hard time finding reliable gold leaf. Can you recommend trustworthy places to get some?

denisejohn65 said...

I can't read how you did this because it is too small . Can you tell me what you used to do this gold paint ? My email is

denisejohn65@gmail.com

wunderbri said...

Can you paint on fabric with this paint? Would it stay if set with high heat?

thanks,
Brianna

Kathy Storm said...

No, this is not the type of paint that can be used on fabric. It is water soluble; with the gum arabic as binder it is closest in composition to goache or watercolor.

Pearl Ex powdered pigments have a mica base for reflectivity and some nice metallic colors. Mixed with Golden's mediums (and they have a medium specific to fabric paint that can be set with heat) would be a better choice although I have not tried this personally.

-Kathy

Alex said...

@Dina Dee, you can get gold leaf from The Goldleaf Factory (www.goldleaf.com.au) I hope this is of help.

Kyle said...

Hello Kathy, thank you very much for posting this. I am a painter that is new to creating genuine metal paint, whether Gold or Silver. Does Silver react in the same way? Can you do this process in a oil based medium and get the same results. I am doing an oil painting with silver and Gold guilding and want to use paint in some areas. Tried the process above with linseed oil and the silver doesn't seem to break down into tiny fragments. I only tried it for 15 to 20 min. Should it take much longer to grind it down? Thanks a bunch!

Kyle

destalles146@gmail.com said...

Saludos desde Ecuador Sudamerica lo he realizado pero no me ha quedado bien por favor me ayudas con algun video para ver exactamente los pasos.Mi correo es: detalles146@gmail.com
Gracias por tu gentil colaboración

Unknown said...

Can you use this paint to paint over primer? Is there a medium that this paints best over?

dont have the funds to experiment with it,
If anyone knows that would be awesome!

Thansk!