Art forms have coincided with human activities for a long time. Art began as a tool for documenting human lifestyles and histories. All these were done with eco-friendly materials, such as twigs, wooden sticks, and other sharp tools such as brushes; and using charcoal, colourful fruits, and flowers as paints.

The two major components of a paint are pigment, which gives paint its colour, and a binder, which holds the pigments together and helps the paint stick on the canvas.

Based on the cave paintings that were done in the early periods, it is believed that people originally used two main colours: black from charcoal and ochre from abalone shells. Later, people started exploring coloured pigments from dried flowers, roots, berry juices, and even coloured rocks. Based on the binding elements, the paint medium differed accordingly. Some of the most used binders were water, saliva, urine, and animal fats. To get thicker consistency, they also used egg yolk, linseed oils, and flour.

Let’s check how effortlessly we can make paints from materials that are easily available at home. The best thing about making our own paints is that we can customize the shade and consistency however we need them. The raw eco-friendly materials can be sourced from our own garden or from around the neighbourhood.

Making paints from dried flowers

The choice of colours depends on the flowers that are easily available to us. There are a number of ways to make paints from natural materials. Let’s explore a few tested methods that involve using raw materials in two different ways.

Process 1:

1. Collect flowers of your desired colours and separate the petals individually.

2. To strain the colour from the flowers, add a small amount of boiling water to the petals.

3. Let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes, until you can see the colour strained out dark.

4. Finally, strain the flowers completely from the liquid mixture.

5. And the paints from the flowers are ready to use!

Though this method is simple, the colour obtained from it can be very light and is suitable for use on papers. To make them last longer and be thicker in consistency, other materials can be added.

Process 2:

1. After collecting the flowers, grind them to a coarse paste with a mortar and pestle.

2. Add a small quantity of water (10-15ml) to the paste and mix it well.

3. Take a cloth strainer and drain out the flower paste completely from the water.

4. Finally, add a teaspoon of honey to thicken the liquid paint.

Process 3:

1. Collect the flowers and dry them until the dampness and moisture withers out.

2. Once they’re completely dried out, grind it to a fine powder.

3. To the powder paints, add a binder such as egg yolk or flour in the ratio 1:1.

4. Based on the consistency needed, add warm water to the mixture and mix it well.

5. Paints with thicker consistency are ready to use.

Making paints from fruits/vegetables

The process used for the flowers can also be applied to fruits and vegetables. Sourcing out the rich coloured raw materials is the most important part of the process. To achieve different shades, raw materials can be cooked or boiled to extract their juice. The accuracy of each colour is never cut-and-dry, as it is a natural process and requires trial and error.

1. Cut the vegetables/fruits into small pieces and boil them until they become soggy.

2. Mash them to a thick paste.

3. Extract the juice from the raw materials using a strainer.

4. Add a sufficient quantity of sugar to thicken the consistency of the juice.

5. Give the mixture a nice blend, and it is ready to use.

The whole process of making paints from eco-friendly materials can be a fun experiment. The only important thing is preserving the paintings made from these natural paints. Since they can easily attract ants and insects, they should be safely framed.

1. Virtual art exhibitions

From eminent fashion shows to film festivals, the convergence of technological infrastructures and traditional art forms has attained equitable, yet cost-effective accessibility of resources within cultural sectors. Esteemed art organizations have lucratively designed a virtual interactive art platform for connoisseurs to immerse within the contemporary ethos of experimentalism. Vast non spatial networks have formidably emulated geographic characteristics by cultivating prolific discourses on innumerable mediums, enrapturing enthusiasts with eye-arresting digital performances.

To illustrate, the internationally acclaimed Luminato Festival is a charitable foundation devoted to delivering superlative avant-garde visual arts and media presentations. Its organizational cornerstone earmarks creative productions that exceed conventional boundaries, yet conveys an optimistic portrayal of the Canadian image. In fact, Luminato’s notable 2022 project subsidizes esteemed Canadian photographer, Edward Burtynsky's Wake of Progress, melds cinematic and photographic movements to originate a sleight-of-hand cri de coeur piece, depicting dire perils of climate change and supplants consumerist ads across the digital billboards of Yonge Dundas Square, an educational immersive experience to enlighten pedestrian viewers.

2. African Art

Prodigious African artists employ experimental forms of portraiture, local textile, melded techniques between figuration and abstract movements, to gracefully capture the continent’s enriched socio historical landscape. Ubiquitous digital tools have rendered black artists to retain global approbation for their pre-eminent oeuvres, as poignant visual commentaries to decolonize the region's cultural narrative eroded by Western paradigms. Notably, an acclaimed Congolese painter, Cheri Samba's "J'aime La Couleur'', a vibrantly humorous piece enraptured viewers with spiraled strips of his head against a blue horizon as a paint brush held between his teeth drips kaleidoscopic hues, an expressionist self-portrait that imparts his reverence for lively colors.

Additionally, esteemed interdisciplinary Nigerian artist and poet, Peju Alatis’ sculpture “High Horses'', portrays three abandoned women seated on top of orange-dusted obsidian pedestals. Their enigmatic appearance cloaked underneath veils of vivid textile embroideries, yet shattered to reveal a dark void of oblivion is a profound creation impregnated with womanhood and empowerment. Alatis projects an emotionally-stirring cri de coeur to chronicle generational protests against patriarchal hegemony and societal discourses which have implicated historical institutional tyranny to subjugate women. Additionally, up-and-coming contemporary African artists employ unique assorted creative mediums to cultivate and perpetuate progressive intellectual philosophies through an aesthetic lens to eloquently depict Africa’s vibrant milieu.

3. The Memphis Revival

Interior design brands are resurrecting excessive use of exuberant hues, geometric forms, bold patterns, abstraction, and a contrast interplay of colors, exemplifying the 1980s Memphis movement, an ornamentation attributed to venerable Italian architect Ettore Sottsass in 1981. As a dissident response against perpetual societal traditions, an avant-garde cultural counteract of the mid century’s vapid modern approach, along with the 1970s neutral minimalist trend signified order and methodology. Consequently, Sotass espoused a conflation of Art Deco’s experimental geometrics and Pop Art’s Color scheme to his bohemian medium. After it was entombed by incessant mainstream rejections, yet the post-modern eminent style was resurrected as a widely distinguished medium among multidisciplinary designers and influential fashion names, from Christian Dior to Missoni. The popular eclectic trend arose within contemporary interior design and cinematic production, nonetheless an illustratious attempt by graduate of Brighton University and London-based French designer Camille Walala, integrates Memphis characteristics into her stylized cushions, such as saturated primary colors, soft teals and pinks, with harsh monochrome contrasts.

4. Street Art

The contemporary graffiti subculture has produced eye-arresting visuals of global socio economic plights as shrewd remarks to evoke collective awareness, perceptible to the public eye within common local districts. Renowned street artists such as Banksy, Eduardo Kobra and Alec Monopoly are timeless epitomes who stood intrepid to state corruption, shedding light on hegemonic oppression, the cultural strain imposed by inequitable institutional policies, by capturing emotionally-stirring visuals to restore society's moral equilibrium. In fact, pseudonymous graffiti artist Banksy's creative activist oeuvres, valued in auction for millions of dollars, is centered on his signature political cynicism which condemns the Israeli-Palestenian conflict. He innovated a formidable painting titled "Game Changer" illustrates a young boy choosing to play with his nurse toy over marvel heroes Batman and Spiderman left secluded in a basket, became a symbolic tribute to courageous health workers workers, thus, sparked reverence among his enthusiasts.