Help! Native American bow paint suggestions???

[bookworm]

I could use a little help. I'm making a NA bow for a friend. He wants a version of the Mohawk bow on page sixty three of volume one of Native American Bows, Arrows, and Quivers by Allely and Hamm. I've never made a bow that needed paint as a decoration so any suggestions would be great. It doesn't have to be 100% authentic but I'd rather it not look like a tourist trap gift shop gimmick either. The original was red and dark green. Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks!

[bradsmith2010]

I would just get the cheap acrylic paint from wal mart,,in the craft section,,
buy a red and dark green,, if the color is too bright,,
put a bit of green in the red,,,,,, and a bit or red in the green to tone it down,,,
when dry take sandpaper and slightly distress it to make it look a bit old,,,

leave unfinished,, or put your finish of choice on it,, acrylic will pretty much take any finish,, even natural oil or fat,,

[bookworm]

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

[Pat B]

Craft paints like Brad suggested are a good option and they can be blended. Also, unsweetened kool aid or Rit dye mixed with alcohol is another option.

[aaron]

Authentic paints are easy to make. The color comes from powdered rock and  this is mixed with water and hide glue. I have some powdered pigment if you have something to trade. Otherwise go online and search for red ochre or vagone green. If you ise craft paints, its hard to get authentic looking colors

[aaron]

See also verona green or green earth pigment.

[ntvbowyer1969]

This is a painted bow that I did. It is a modern rendition of a native bow though. the paintings on the back are designs are inspired from my tribes I belong to. The Mikmaq and Maliseet tribes of Maine and NB Canada. The bow however is a osage bow (wood not available in that part of the country) and is a design that I made not from the style of old. I love the history of our people but when I make bows I use my own designs and try to make better designs for hunting purposes. Don't get me wrong the old designs were proven designs . Enough of bow designs and back to the paint job. LOL . The star represents the sun and the 8pts also stands for the 8 bands of the Mikmaq. The other designs are fiddle head patterns seen on clothing and baskets made from the tribe.[img][/img]

[bookworm]

Pat B - Kool Aid??? That I have to try!

Aaron - Thank you for the info on authentic colors. I will experiment with that in the future.

Ntvbowyer69 - That is a beautiful bow with an amazing story! Thank you for sharing and reminding me, again, that native culture and art is very much in the present every bit as much as in the past. I take your point that the individual chooses the design. However, I have been asked to create a replica of a historic bow so my design input is limited. Also, you have the cultural background to inspire and inform your designs while I don't. However, I'm very grateful for your reply as you have given me something to think about.

[Pat B]

Unsweetened Kool Aid. 

[RatherBinTheWoods]

You'll be surprised how vibrant and even garish some natural pigments can be so by authentic most people mean aged, weathered or distressed.

I have used acrylic straight out of the tube and it works great.  They are available in so many colours that you will probably find one that suits straight out the tube but as Brad said you can always mute them with browns or other colours to get the desired effect. I have also used natural pigments mixed into titebond 3 and that does the job too if you don't want to go through the hassle of heating up hide glue. Gives a nice durable matt finish too but it dries quite quickly so you have to do small amounts at a time. Thinning slightly makes the backing show through more which helps with the aging effect.

Good luck and look forward to seeing the finished bow.

[bookworm]

RBITW - I hadn't heard of using Titebond 3 as a binder for earth pigments before. Thanks. I'll will have to give that a try at some point. Right now I have a stave and will be roughing the bow ( or two) out in a day or two. in the next few days.

Thank you all, again, for the advice. I'll feel like I'm moving in the right direction.

[Hawkdancer]

Laubin suggests tempura, or casein tempura in his book, "The Indian Tipi"; also has a lot of designs.
That should available at an art supply store.
Hawkdancer

[Hrothgar]

Since you are shooting a primitive and authentic look you might want to go with as flat a finish as you can find, both in acrylic paint and polyurethane or whatever the finish.

[bradsmith2010]

yes make it as complicated as you like,,
I suggested a process that would yield a high success rate with easily available medium,,
also something durable for a bow he stated was not a replica,,
do what ever suites your needs,,