page_title: Gum arabic
section_title: Painting and art
hierarchical_section_title: Gum arabic / Usage / Painting and art
caption_attribution_description: Gouache, a type of water-based paint composed of pigment particles thickly suspended in a binder of aqueous gum arabic, along with chalk to increase the bulk and opacity. Pictured are the paints which come in tubes similar to high-end watercolors, a mixing plate showing the colors already mixed with water (they come out of the tube as a thick gel), a color swatch, brushes, and a water dish for cleaning the brushes and controlling water content.
context_page_description: Gum arabic, also known as gum sudani, acacia gum, Arabic gum, gum acacia, acacia, Senegal gum, Indian gum, and by other names, is a natural gum consisting of the hardened sap of two species of the acacia tree, Acacia senegal and Vachellia seyal. The term "gum arabic" does not indicate a particular botanical source. In a few cases, the so-called "gum arabic" may not even have been collected from acacia species, but may originate from Combretum, Albizia, or some other genus. The gum is harvested commercially from wild trees, mostly in Sudan and throughout the Sahel, from Senegal to Somalia. The name "gum Arabic" was used in the Middle East at least as early as the 9th century. Gum arabic first found its way to Europe via Arabic ports, so retained its name. Gum arabic is a complex mixture of glycoproteins and polysaccharides predominantly consisting of arabinose and galactose. It is soluble in water, edible, and used primarily in the food industry and soft-drink industry as a stabilizer, with E number E414.
context_section_description: Gum arabic is used as a binder for watercolor painting because it dissolves easily in water. Pigment of any color is suspended within the acacia gum in varying amounts, resulting in watercolor paint. Water acts as a vehicle or a diluent to thin the watercolor paint and helps to transfer the paint to a surface such as paper. When all moisture evaporates, the acacia gum typically does not bind the pigment to the paper surface, but is totally absorbed by deeper layers.
  If little water is used, after evaporation, the acacia gum functions as a true binder in a paint film, increasing luminosity and helping prevent the colors from lightening. Gum arabic allows more subtle control over washes, because it facilitates the dispersion of the pigment particles. In addition, acacia gum slows evaporation of water, giving slightly longer working time.
  The addition of a little gum arabic to watercolor pigment and water allows for easier lifting of pigment from paper, thus can be a useful tool when lifting out color when painting in watercolor.
caption: A selection of gouaches, some containing gum arabic
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