Video - Cherry gum as a binder for watercolour paint making - a local, eco-friendly and non-toxic approach to making art

During the academic years of 2022-2024 I've been exploring the expression of the concept of Paradise as it presents itself onto my local &amp; 'here-and-now' context. After reading in the book 'The materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting' by Daniel V. Thompson, that in Medieval times sometimes other tree saps, like from the prunus tree, were used and labeled as if they were gum acacia, and after seeing this in use at the 'Old Mill Palnackie' studio as a way of making paint with local materials, I decided to explore this option, as an expression of a local Paradisiacal way of working in art. The saving on packaging, as well as transportation, and the quality of the paint, make this binder a very viable alternative in paint making for a climate where trees from the Prunus family grow. This video shows a very quick overview from start to finish. The paint that took me 2 full days to make, rendered into 50 seconds.<br>At the end you see me using the cherry paint in a miniature that I've been working on for the past few months. Preparing and purifying the pigments and making all paints by hand takes a lot of time, but using local materials helps me connect to the theme of my art on a deeper level. The use of the cherry gum for a binder in watercolours, that also uses local honey and rose water, can only be described as heavenly, both in terms of fragrance, and in its translucency and the general feeling of 'painting that smells like freshly baked cookies'.<br>

2022至2024学年期间，我始终围绕“天堂”这一概念在本土场域与当下即时语境中的具象表达展开探索。在阅读丹尼尔·V·汤普森（Daniel V. Thompson）所著《中世纪绘画材料与技法》（The materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting）时，我了解到中世纪时期，人们有时会使用李属（prunus）树木的树液，并将其标注为阿拉伯胶（gum acacia）。此后我在“Old Mill Palnackie”工作室亲眼见证创作者以当地材料制作颜料时运用了这一方法，遂决定以此为方向，以此作为本土艺术创作契合天堂意象的创作路径的表达。

省去包装与运输成本，加之颜料本身的优良品质，使得这种粘合剂成为李属树木生长区域内制作颜料的极具可行性的替代方案。本视频快速呈现了完整制作流程：耗时整整两日完成的颜料制作过程被浓缩至50秒。

视频末尾展示了我使用这款樱桃颜料创作的微型画作——这是我过去数月一直在打磨的作品。手工制备、提纯颜料并手工制作所有颜料耗费大量时间，但使用本土材料让我能更深层次地呼应我的艺术主题。以樱桃树胶作为水彩粘合剂，搭配本地蜂蜜与玫瑰水，其呈现出的质感与体验堪称绝佳：不仅气味芬芳宜人，且透明度极佳，整体作画感受仿若“萦绕着新鲜曲奇香气的愉悦创作体验”。