The Organic Artist: Make Your Own Paint, Paper, Pigments, Prints and More from Nature

This is a super book. I live on a very tight budget and needed some art supplies and here is this book telling us how to make our own paints etc. with such common ingredients as coffee and beetroot water! I actually had a friend who did similar things once and the level of specification you can get when you make your own is excellent, you can even choose whether to have large pigments or small pigments with many things, it just depends how finely you grind them. This book also tells you how to make paper, prints and presses too. It will keep you supplied with paints etc. for the rest of your life. Its surprising how many things you have around you can be used. The author suggests empty bones can be used to store paints and I have many that have had the marrow chewed out of them by our dogs and these would do perfectly. But if you want to supplement the books ideas with, for example, gum arabic or different pigments Cornelissen in London have everything. This book would be good for people who re-anactors and people who do living history and want to use authentic ink, paper etc. the details of how to make it are all here.

Really informative book.

Very helpful book - lots of great ideas to make natural art products, which, in itself, is a creative thing. The book looks as if it were produced by a big publishing house, but I suspect this is down to good design on the part of the author, who has also illustrated it throughout. A worthwhile read, very heartening

It is a beautiful book, but having looked at the natural Ingredients that you need to source to make the inks and various other items, I knew it wouldn’t work for me. I can’t easily source Antlers, Hooves, Rawhide or Tallow to name just a few, living in Cornwall, England. Sadly I have returned it as I rapidly concluded that unless you live in the Outback, you probably wouldn’t be able to make use of it.

Absolutely brilliant book, it's a real treasure

I hadn't considered the idea of making my own supplies before I came across this. For the average person, I'd say some of the projects are very do-able (paper making, charcoal beeswax crayons - yes!) others not so much (fire pit in back yard of rented property - no!).

I am an environmental artist that also teaches 16-19 year olds, and this book lives in my classroom as an invaluable resource in engaging students with the material of art-making, with a strongly eco-friendly slant. Students have throughly enjoyed making their own paints and crayons using Neddo's instructions, and this book has been highly useful in guiding them in independant investigation and experimentation, environmental thinking and material heritage. A very worthwhile addition to my library!

A enjoyable read. Very clear written instructions with expert photography not drawings, leaves the reader/student in no doubt what is being explained. An excellent reference book.

I was expecting this book to be a nice read, but it's so much more than that. It has real substance and is nothing like other books on the market. Filled with great art projects for making your own art supplies from nature - everything from brushes to paint to paper.

Muy práctico para los que quieran iniciarse en la elaboración de tintas, pigmentos y utensilios de origen natural. Muy bién ilustrado. Realmente se aprecia que el que lo ha escrito sabe de lo que habla.

Très bel ouvrage. Belles photos et bien détaillé. Complet . Intéressera les amoureux du Diy en lien avec la nature et l’artistique . Livre En anglais .

The Organic Artist, by Nick Neddo, is a very attractively made book with beautiful photographs of each project. I like the easy to read, easy to follow written and photographed instructions and especially appreciate the uncomplicated tools and materials needed to make basic artist’s materials. These projects are labours of love and curiosity so patience and practice are needed and expected to crush, grind, chew, gnaw, whittle, carve etc... Now I love my acrylic paints and crayons and markers as much as anyone else and appreciate the centuries of research and refinement that go into making readymade art supplies, but Neddo’s book inspires me to gather the colour that is around me wherever I go. I already feel happier just knowing that berries can be ink instead of jam and that stones are just a few steps away from being paint or a crayon. This is a very inspiring book and good for anywhere you live and forage.

Artists who love nature, using their hands and experimenting will love this book. Instructions are fairly simple, but I wish it had included a lot of projects to make, since a lot of the ingredients required are not available in a lot of countries. There could have been a little more information on alternatives. Otherwise it's a great book to have when you feel inspired to make art supplies naturally.