painting on paper with plants

there's been a bit of chatter amongst the interpixies lately
on the subject of plant dyes and paper
and such things as the need for 'fixing'

not something you hear watercolourists musing about...
the beauty of putting colour on paper is that it doesn't need to be washfast
and unlike immersing a precious length of silk in a dyepot
paper is [often] cheaper and far less scary

the ice flower technique [outlined in Eco Colour]
can also be used to create coloured solutions for staining/painting paper
whether for making colourful journals
or painting with your children [avoiding poisonous plants of course]

freeze a handful of flowers overnight
drop into a small amount [half a cup] of water
muddle about a bit to release the colour

for stronger colour, increase ratio of flowers to water
paper can be dipped
or painted
or you can thicken the brew and print with it
[visit Lotta for ideas]

you can also grind up petals or leaves with a mortar and pestle
adding a little water to make a paintable mixture

depending on how much kaolin is in your paper
[they put it on the surface to make it smoother to write on]
you might see pH sensitive colour changes
while you paint...