Just add water, and you’re ready to paint: Quincy artist creates handmade watercolors

QUINCY — What began with an idea to make sketchbooks for watercolor painters has led Quincy artist Peggy Burchard-Ballard to the intersection of art and chemistry … making watercolor paints by hand.

Burchard-Ballard, who has a studio overlooking Washington Park, is marketing the paint under the name “Studio 433.” They are being sold at the Alliance Art Gallery in Hannibal, Mo.

The process involves several time-consuming steps. First, a binder for the paint is mixed using Gum Arabic, honey, glycerin, clove oil and ox gall. This binder is then mixed with ground powder pigments on a glass plate with a “muller” (glass mallet). The mixing process varies from pigment to pigment, taking anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours.

Once the paint is adequately mixed, it is transferred to a watercolor pan and allowed to dry which can take can take several weeks. Burchard-Ballard then tests each paint and packages them to sell. Each step in the process is documented for consistency and efficiency.

This small batch production of handmade watercolors has captivated the artist and her watercolorist friends who find the the color of the paints to be rich and vibrant.