Yvonne grows plants to make paint pigment: ‘I have a small laboratory at home’

Yvonne da Silva’s allotment garden, on the edge of the Buyten Park, is full of flowering plants. She makes paint pigments from the leaves, roots and stems to make her own paint. She sells the paint and uses it for her own paintings. “It’s chemistry.”

Boil petals, sieve, mix with alum and natural soda, filter, let dry and grind into powder. That is, in short, how Yvonne extracts pigments from plants and flowers. In practice, she needs the patience of a saint.

All you can eat for rabbits

Yvonne first had a vegetable garden in the backyard in Leidschenveen where her rabbits also ran free. “They were gnawing on all my plants: it was a species all you can eat became a restaurant. Together with my father-in-law we went looking for a piece of land to start an allotment garden. We had to wait a long time until after the corona period, when we could rent a piece of land from Volkstuinvereniging Noord-West. Unfortunately, my father-in-law suffered from osteoarthritis and I had to do it alone. I feel very sorry for him.”

Mannequin with hat and ski goggles

Yvonne’s allotment garden is a striking appearance among the dozens of other gardens. First of all because of the colorful flowers, but also because of the mannequin. “I wanted something different, so I bought this mannequin from a market woman. I dressed the doll in my clothes and pinned an old name tag of mine on it. In the summer she wears a hat and in the winter I put on ski goggles. From a distance it seems as if I am standing in the garden. At first the neighbor thought I was there all day.”

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Hoeing every other day

Yvonne first had to pull a lot of weeds and rearrange her plot of land. “I hoe the earth every other day to prevent new weeds from growing.” All the grass was removed and partly replaced by wood chips. Yvonne also sowed various flower and plant species that are lightfast and therefore suitable for making pigments. “Scattered throughout my garden are sea buckthorn, hollyhocks, walnut trees, chamomile and ox tongue.”

Just like Van Gogh

Yvonne studied at the Art Academy and as a graduation assignment she wanted to use her self-made pigments for a painting. “A lot of paint contains plastic and usually lacks an ingredient list. There is a dark world behind paint. That’s why I make it myself, and there are also artists who specifically request it. Van Gogh also used organic pigments in the past.”

Laboratory at home

In total, Yvonne worked for two seasons on enough pigments to create her graduation painting. “I take the petals, stems and roots home and process them in my studio at home. For example, I get 150 grams of pigment from 1,500 grams of chamomile flower buds. With this you can make not only paint but also crayons and oil paint. You can see all the pigment colors in my painting.”

The cornflower as an ode to Yvonne’s mother

Yvonne’s mother died three years ago. “I took her outside and she was impressed by a cornflower we saw along the way. After her death I tried to get the sky blue color out of the flower to obtain pigment. I boiled the leaves and instead of blue the color green emerged.”

Making pigment from the cornflower was a kind of grieving process for Yvonne. “When I cook, I feel that I am honoring my mother. I make a new form from a living thing, but at the same time it represents the transience of life. I give the flowers new life this way, but eventually they disappear. Just like how she is out of my life. It took me a while to accept her death.”

On YouTube shows Yvonne how she makes pigments. Watch a video here: