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Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

The Magical Orange Lake pigment

22nd May 2023

As a child, I was enraptured by my late grandparents and parents’ tales of the vibrant festivities they experienced during Holi, the festival of colors. They spoke fondly of the natural hues derived from Butea monosperma flowers, also known as Tesu or Palash, in my mother tongue. Cultural significance of Butea monosperma Butea monosperma, holds significant cultural, ecological, and medicinal value in India. It is associated with festivals like Holi and symbolises energy and the arrival of spring. The tree’s…

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Natural Dye Garden Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

Discover the Vibrant World of Natural Dyes: Journey of Color Exploration!

9th May 2023

After three long years, I finally had the opportunity to embark on a journey back to my motherland, Bombay, over the easter break this year. This trip held immense significance for me, not only for reconnecting with my roots but also for the chance to explore the fascinating flora that Bombay had to offer. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as I was also running a course on how to grow an organic natural dye garden, “From Petals to…

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Handmade Natural Dye Garden Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

A Beginner’s Guide to Eco-Printing: Learn How to Create Art with Natural Materials!

25th January 2023

In 2019, I discovered the art of eco-printing while on a week-long camping trip to the coast of Algarve in Portugal. Despite writing an article about my experience at the time, I never got around to publishing it until now, four years later! During our trip, we came across a small village called Alté. It was so charming that we decided to make a stop and explore the village. As we were strolling through the narrow lanes of this charming…

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Natural Dye Garden Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

What’s happening in my Dye Garden?-Part VII

10th November 2022

This is the final post in my natural dye garden series, as the gardening season has come to an end with the arrival of autumn. My natural dye garden served as both a teaching space and a very tranquil and reinvigorating environment for me. It is time to reflect on the previous season’s accomplishments, put the garden to bed, and prepare it for the next season. I learned several things while tending to my first natural dye garden, including how…

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Natural Dye Garden Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

What’s happening in my Dye Garden?!-VI

7th August 2022

Before departing on a three-week summer vacation, I visited my natural dye garden to tend to my plants, gather the blooms, and take care of the damage caused by the severe thundershowers two days before. When I arrived, the garden was in full bloom, and the pollinators were busily performing their jobs, but the thunderstorms had seriously damaged quite a few coreopsis plants. I began by collecting the bright and zingy orange cosmos flowers, then plucked the coreopsis blooms from…

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Natural Dye Garden Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

What’s happening in my Dye garden?!-Part V

25th June 2022

Gardening is a contemplative, humble activity that allows you to communicate with nature. It is a practice where you can’t force anything but patiently wait. I was delighted to see the flowers blooming after months of hard labour in my dye garden. It is gratifying to see your efforts bear fruit. In this blog post, I don’t have much to report but share the beauties of my dye garden. At the moment, the flowers are blooming both on my balcony…

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Handmade Natural pigments, watercolor paints, plant dyes & inks

How to Make Watercolor Binder

17th May 2022

A step-by-step guide to making gum Arabic based watercolor binder for handmade watercolors The use of Gum Arabic as a binder dates back to ancient times. The presence of Gum Arabic increases watercolor brilliancy, gloss, and transparency, giving greater depth to each color. It slows down the drying time of paint, and can also be used for controlling spread when painting wet-on-wet. Watercolor paint is made by dispersing pigments of any colour in different proportions with acacia gum binder. The…

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Hello,
I’m Jyotsna, a scientist and a watercolor artist dedicated to sustainability, currently living in the charming city of Graz, Austria. I want to extend a heartfelt welcome to Lost in Colours, where my creative pursuits are deeply rooted in an ongoing exploration to learn, gain understanding, and form a bond with the natural world that surrounds us.

If you’re looking for a way to infuse your artistic pursuits with inspiration and joy, you’ve come to the right place. Get lost in the world of colours with me and discover new ways to make a positive impact through your art!

Outstanding Course

I took Jyotsna's course on making Botanical pigments, and she is the best!

Erin Parsons

Artist

Eco-Pigment Passion

I've always loved earth pigments. ... for anyone who wants to be as green and careful as possible ... that is something that Jyotsna is passionate about

Jane Blundell

Artist

Pigment Adventures

I have done ALL of Jyotsna's courses and they are brilliant. The presentation is really nice and the content has set me off on a kind of obsessive exploration of hunting for colours in nature, making pigments and the excitment of seeing what colours will come (often unexpectedly) from a plant. If you are interested in pigment making then do those courses and then the paint making one as you will then have your own 'materials' ready. Go for it!

Alfi Spencer

Artist

Colorful Inspiration

My first introduction to the world of making my own watercolours was when I stumbled upon Jyotsna's website . And therein I was sucked into her beautiful , natural , organic and colourful world . Needless to say , I spend a lot of time going through her site and gaining from her knowledge . So when she announced an online resource I immediately signed on. It is now very helpful to have lifelong access to her online lessons in basic watercolour making from pigments . Her scientific background adds to making this resource very organised . I find her energy and happiness in doing what she does both contagious and inspiring , and this comes through in her videos. I am sure I will keep returning to her online platforms and also her course material on a very regular basis , as I continue to find and make my own way towards creating my own sustainable watercolours

Mansi Shouche

Sustainable, Comprehensive & Affordable

The courses are absolutely amazing, and I plan to sign up for all of them! The content is very comprehensive and easy to understand. Jyotsna has a PhD in chemistry and not many other people in the world would have her intimate knowledge of the dye and ink-making processes. Her passion for sustainable art making and organic farming is second to none. The price of the courses are also very affordable, and I would highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in sustainable art practice.

Damian Talbot

Landscape Artist & Medical doctor

Transformative Journey

I just completed Jyotsna’s “Making Lake Botanicals” course and could not be happier with the content. Jyotsna’s instruction is understandable and easy to follow. I feel more confident in moving forward to making my own watercolor paints than ever before. I had a small concern about working through procedures that required using chemicals that could potentially go wrong. Her recipes are well thought out, and she goes step by step, making it easy to take notes and completely grasp the procedure, and that helped to eliminate my concern.

I was not surprised at how much I would like this course, as all of the courses and videos have been so appreciated. Of all the instruction, and instructors, I have followed, Jyotsna is, hands down, my favorite!

Sandra Wicinski