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You’ve probably seen “gum arabic” listed as an ingredient in everything from watercolor paints to calligraphy inks—and even in some foods. But if you’ve never used it on its own, it might feel like one of those mystery ingredients that exist in the background.
In reality, gum arabic (affiliate link) is a simple but powerful binder that will make a big difference in your creative work. It can revive splayed brushes, fix feathering calligraphy, and transform a variety of pigments into ink. Today, I’ll show you three easy ways to use it to improve your art and calligraphy. (Pick your favorite way to learn! I’ve got both video demonstrations and written instructions.)
Admittedly, misshapen paintbrushes were less of a problem before I had young children. My kids love to paint along with me, and sometimes I don’t notice when they’re using (and abusing) the nice brushes! But even if your brushes aren’t at the mercy of a toddler, they can still lose their shape over time. Gum arabic is an easy fix.
Basically, gum arabic acts like a setting gel for bristles, holding them in place as they dry. Once the gum arabic hardens, it helps the bristles retain their shape, preventing fraying and splaying. Rinse it out, and the bristles will retain their new shape! In the instructions below, I’ll walk you through how to do it:
Begin by finding all of your brushes that could use some TLC. (If you’re restoring one, you might as well restore them all!) Then, source a gentle, sulfate-free shampoo. Grab your gum arabic and a small bowl or cup.
Add a dime-sized drop of shampoo to the bowl and use a paintbrush to gently mix it with about ½ cup of water. Then, swish each brush in the mixture to clean it. For extra-grimy brushes, apply a little shampoo directly to the bristles and lather them as you would your hair.
Next, either swish the brush off in a bowl of clean water or run it under the tap to remove all the shampoo. As you rinse off your brushes, lay them on a paper towel or a towel to absorb excess moisture.
After cleaning your brushes, dip one into your jar of gum arabic, ensuring the bristles are fully coated. If some gets on the metal ferrule, don’t worry—it will wash off easily later.
Lift the brush out of the gum arabic and gently shape the bristles with your fingers. Think of it like styling hair—you’re using the gum arabic as a setting gel to keep everything in place.
As you shape your paintbrushes, place them in a cup to completely dry.
Now, gently swish each brush in clean water (1). Then, use your fingertips to gently encourage the gum arabic off (2). Dry the bristles in a paper towel or an absorbent cloth (3), and enjoy the fruit of your efforts (4)!
A lot of calligraphers discover gum arabic when trying to solve ink feathering issues. Sometimes, the paper is too absorbent for a particular ink, or the ink is too watery for the paper—it’s a bit of a chicken-or-egg situation. If switching to a different paper isn’t an option, adding gum arabic to your ink can help thicken it and slow absorption, giving you cleaner, crisper strokes.
In the image below, I’m demonstrating a new batch of Yasutomo vermillion sumi ink (“new”). Compared to a batch from 2018-ish (“original”), the new stuff is abysmal! A simple fix with gum arabic turned things around, and I’ll walk you through the process.
Begin by grabbing your too-watery ink. Then, get a chopstick or a stir stick, a pointed pen, gum arabic, a small (~1/4 tsp) spoon, and a sample of the piece of paper you plan to write on.
Now, use your spoon to add a little bit of gum arabic to the ink. (Depending on the quantity of ink that I’m working with, I generally start with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.)
Then, use your chopstick or stir stick to incorporate the gum arabic into the ink.
After you’ve added gum arabic and stirred, test the ink’s viscosity. Keep adding gum arabic, stirring it in, and testing until the ink behaves how you want it to!
And that’s it. The process is “add, stir, test, add, stir, test”. Easy-peasy! There are just a couple of caveats to remember before you decide to use gum arabic as a fix for feathering ink:
You might have one big question: “What if I add too much gum arabic?” If your ink becomes too thick, sticky, or sluggish, just stir in a few drops of water at a time to loosen the consistency. Give it a good mix and test it with your nib. If it still feels too thick, add a little more water and continue adjusting until you find the right balance.
A good rule of thumb is to aim for an ink that flows smoothly but with control—not so watery that it bleeds, but not so thick that it drags or clogs your nib. If you’ve really gone overboard with gum arabic and the ink feels like syrup, you can also dilute it with a separate batch of the original ink to bring back the right viscosity.
You can combine gum arabic with just about any dry pigment and water to make your own custom inks. I especially love to concoct unique inks using mica powder (affiliate link).
Making your own ink is surprisingly easy, and it’s an excellent solution if you want to mix up custom colors. When it comes to homemade mica powder ink, in particular, I’ve noticed sharper, more opaque upstrokes (compared to Finetec watercolors and liquid inks like Dr. Ph. Martin’s Iridescent). In the written demonstration below, I’ll walk you through how to make mica ink.
To make your own shimmering ink, you’ll need gum arabic, mica powder, a small jar (try for 0.75 oz [affiliate link]), a piece of scrap paper, a small spoon, your pointed pen, water (preferably distilled), and a blunt art syringe.
Start by transferring around 1/2 tsp of mica powder into your small container.
Then, add 1/2 tsp gum arabic and 1-1/2 tsp water. Use a chopstick or stir stick to mix it all up.
Write some test calligraphy once you’ve mixed everything up. Then, add more of any ingredient as needed. Here’s a guide on how to tweak the ink:
When you’re happy with how everything looks, your ink is finished!
Note that it’s best to store your custom ink in a screw-top container. It’s a good idea to stir the ink at the beginning of every creation session in order to re-incorporate all of its elements. Don’t forget, too, that just like with any other ink, water will evaporate out over time. Add it back in as needed!
While I used powdered mica pigment for this particular demonstration, you can combine gum arabic with a variety of pigments and water in order to make ink. Those pigments include:
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that writing this article made me appreciate gum arabic even more. How could I not? I’ve got freshly restored brushes, a perfectly flowing ink, and a brand-new shimmering custom color. I hope you’ll give these techniques a try, too! And if you have any questions (or discover a new way to use gum arabic), I’d love to hear about it. Thanks so much for reading, and enjoy experimenting with this fabulous medium!
Warmly,
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