Don’t get me wrong, I’m not vegan or even vegetarian, but as a business owner, I consider it my ethical responsibility to be as respectful to our planet as possible. That being said, did you know I ONLY use Watercolor Paints that are Vegan? Seriously, all the paints in your DIY Watercolor Kit are produced without animals or animal by-products!

How is that possible? Watercolor Paint is beautiful in its simplicity, and I don’t just mean that elegant, transparent, aesthetic! This type of paint is made of just a few ingredients!

1. Pigment.
2. Binder.
3. Water.
4. Additives.

Pigments are colors that come from the Earth. For example, a green leaf might be crushed into a powdered form and then, using the other ingredients, be turned into the color “Viridian Green.” Most colors can be found from the Earth, but these days, a lot of colors are synthetic.

The Binder is almost always Gum Arabic- a type of sap from trees that acts as a “glue.” Without gum arabic, the color would just flake off the paper once it’s dry!

Water… because duh, watercolor. It dilutes the color, so it is actually paint.

And lastly, ADDITIVES. This is where things get tricky. Some companies use honey (not vegan) or glycerin. Unfortunately, the most common additive is Ox Gall, which is a dark fluid that’s in the livers of animals. Companies typically get Ox Gall from the cattle industry. DEFINITELY NOT VEGAN. With all this said, there are some companies, like QOR that use synthetic ox gall. Or even, Holbein, which doesn’t use ox gall at all except in the color Ivory Black.

If you’re curious, check out this website for a complete list of Vegan Watercolor Paints!

Also in All Things Watercolor