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Organic vs. Inorganic Painting Proposal

Reasons for Project
The most inspirational part of out world is art. A canvas of seemingly scribbles
can change a persons life... or completely bore them. Art is so versatile; interpretation is
the hands of the viewer. Art is expression, inspiration, perspiration. I strive to better the
world through art, specically by exploring new mediums of doing such. Currently I am
experimenting with casein binders and food pigments to make paint. Sharing my
knowledge with others will quite possibly inspire a chain reaction of casein paintings.
Many paints are made from harsh chemicals, and are purely factory produced. I
want to make paint from natural substances that will look just a good as factory paint,
without all the harsh chemicals. I would be experimenting with different dairy products,
fruits, vegetables, and plants to create natural pigments and binders that would be a
feasible options for painters.
Introduction to Casein Painting
Research
There are many ways of extracting casein proteins from milk to use as a paint
binder. I have already explored curdling the milk with vinegar, to create quark, and
adding water to powdered milk. Many different companies such as Earth Pigments Co.
and the Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co., Inc. sell natural paint made from milk. Adding
distilled white vinegar to nonfat milk causes the milk to curdle by isolating the casein
protein, separating from the liquid whey in the milk. A cream of hydrated lime and water
will dissolve the curds, creating a smooth syrup-like solution that is known as quark.
Once the quark is made from natural, fresh ingredients without added preservatives, it
only keeps for ten days at the most. Other methods for making a milk casein binder
include adding borax to the curds instead of lime to induce hydrolysis to occur. An
alternative source of casein is dried nonfat milk. This nonfat milk powder is made from
depredating milk that has been removed of most of its fat content. Casein protein is the
most abundant protein in nonfat milk powder. Approximately 36% of the milk powder is
protein (the other 56% is lactose) (Lee, 2011). Casein is a slow protein; it is released
slowly during protein synthesis. When the milk powder is added to water, it can form a
paste or liquid.
Dyes can be made from fruit and vegetables by boiling water and placing fruit/
vegetables in water to extract the pigments. The fruit/vegetables release some of their
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pigment into the water. If crushed and added to the pigmented water, a sort of paste can
be formed (Reid, 2006), but seeds and innards of berries affect the color of the paste.
The amount of water and fruit/vegetables affects the hue, vibrance, deepness, and
thickness of the dye substance.
I found the vibrancy, deepness, texture, consistency, and different hues from
different amounts of water, and from the two different casein paint binders. The juice of
the substances was recorded as a control. I used 5 mL and 10 mL of water for my
pigment trials. I also tested both methods of making a casein binder to test which would
make the most vibrant color of each type of fruit/vegetable. I predicted that the less
water used would create a more vibrant color, a deeper shade, and a thicker dye
substance, and that the binder made from powdered milk would make the most vibrant
color in all paint mixtures. I predicted that powdered milk would be smooth and
moderately thick, and the quark would be chunky and very
What I Have Done
Methods Tried
Casein binders and fruit/vegetable pigments were produced in the kitchen of the
Pearson residence on November 2, 2013 from 2:00PM-10:00PM. .47 liters of skim milk
were left to sit out until they were room temperature, at which point they were mixed
with 59 milliliters of distilled white vinegar. This mixture was set aside for one hour and
then was strained through a cheese cloth and rinsed three times with water to create
quark. Five grams of borax were added to the quark. After fteen minutes, the mixture
had become translucent white and syrupy, ready to use. 118 grams of skim milk powder
was mixed with 118 milliliters of water to create a thick liquid.
Fruits/vegetables were boiled in a glass cup with 5 mL of water and then 10 mL
of water. The glass cup was placed inside a metal pan of boiling water that was on the
stove to maintain its boiling state. Fruits/vegetables released colors into the water, and
then were removed. The colored water was used as dye. The fruits/vegetables used
were red cabbage, raspberries, blueberries, and carrots.
The different colored liquids were added in equal parts to the the different binders
to create paint. This paint was then applied to a piece of paper in table format. The
colors were compared to the Pantone Color Chart and were assigned numbers based
on their hue and vibrancy.

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Discussion Results
The color values between the different substances are signicantly different. The
carrots and red cabbage color values are signicantly similar between their different
amounts of water; the raspberries and blueberries had a mix of signicantly similar and
signicantly different color values between their different amounts of water.
The Pantone Color Values represent the hue and vibrancy of colors. The three
paints (whether the juice, quark, or powdered milk) of each substance (blueberries,
carrots, raspberries, red cabbage), with the different amounts of water (5mL and 10mL),
had very similar hues for most of the types of substances, and the quark was generally
more vibrant than the juice, which was generally more vibrant than the powdered milk.
The juice was very thin and matte, the quark was syrupy and very shiny when dried,
and the powdered milk was very think when wet, but foamy, clumpy, and it cracked and
aked when dried. The deepness of the different substances, in order from most deep to
least deep, are as follows: raspberries, blueberries, red cabbage, carrots.
Though powdered milk was the thickest mixture when wet, its foaminess,
clumpiness, cracked and akey surface, and dull colors, indicated its imprudent use as
a paint binder. Whenever used, the powdered milk binder creates paint that will chip off.
The juice of the substances proved to have moderately vibrant colors and had little
texture, and would be useful in some types of painting (such as water color etc.). The
quark proved to be the most useful type of paint binder with its moderately thick
consistency when wet, vibrant colors, and slight sheen when dried. Most powdered milk
contains 36% casein (Lee, 2011) , where the quark was mostly casein, diluted by only 5
grams of borax (Johnson, 2011). It can be concluded that purer casein makes for a
better paint binder.
Many artists use quark as a binder for their painting medium. Adding equal parts
quark and pigment will produce the results of this experiment. Other experiments have
been performed to nd that less binder and more pigment will produce a more opaque
paint, while more binder and less pigment will create a more transparent, glaze-like
paint. The less opaque (and therefore more quark binder) a casein paint is, the more
water resistant it will be (Fraley, 2011).
The idea of using quark as a paint binder has been around for centuries.
Theopilius (1300s) and Cennini (1600s) both recording this casein recipe, along with
added heat, would make an excellent glue (di Lorenzo, 2011). Both artists, they
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discovered the use of casein as a wood glue after nishing with their paintings. Today
casein is most often used to make plastics (di Lorenzo, 2011).
What I Will Do
Research
I intend to further my research on the subject of casein painting and create better
quality paint. I will research the chemical formulas of casein and food pigments used,
and companies that make organic paint. I will experiment with my homemade pigments
compared to pigments bought from organic companies. I will also do multiple trials of
each type of pigment and casein binder in search of the perfect consistency.
I will use the best casein binder recipe to make a painting, and then use acrylic
paint to make a similar painting for comparison.
Audience
I will compile a presentation board with all the research I have done over the
course of the project, and present it to a diverse audience. I will display my paintings
and talk to parents, students, and administrators, explaining my project and receiving
ideas and feedback.
Milestones
February 11th-17th: Sketch painting design
February 18th-24th: Do research on which pigments to use for natural paint
February 24th-28th: Make paint-by-numbers key and a color palette for both
paintings
March 3rd-14th: Start painting acrylic painting, have all base colors completed,
and make notes about vibrancy, consistency, workability, transparency, and
texture (CWTTV)
March 14th-21st: Do all shading on acrylic painting, notes on CWTTV
March 24th-April 11th: Experiment with the different consistencies of casein
paint
April 12th-14th: Start painting casein painting, have all base colors completed,
notes on CWTTV
April 14th-22nd- Do all shading on casein painting, notes on CWTTV
April 23rd-28th: Finish up casein research
April 28th-May 2nd: Work on Showcase products
May 2nd-21st: Work on Showcase board and products
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Bibliography
di Lorenzo, Antonia. 2011. Casein Glue. Medieval Life. http://
mymedievallife.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/casein-glue/ (30 Oct. 2013)
Fraley, M. (2011). Recipe for the Casein Binder. Casein Painting.
Huntington, H. (2011). Natural Plant Dyes. Taylor and Francis Group.
Lee, Matthew. 2011. Skim Milk Powder Vs. Whey Protein Powder. Live Strong.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/387006-skim-milk-powder-vs-whey/ (30 Oct.
2013).
Johnson, B. (2011). Milk Paint. Earth Pigments Co.
Reid, Carter. 2006. Extracting Dye from Fruit. Demand Media, Inc. http://
www.ehow.com/how_8841_extract-dye-fruit.html (30 Oct. 2013).