Live Tree Leaves and Soil [sycamore, magnolia, white oak and American beech]. The base of this painting is a layer of red clay soil that came from my yard. I adapted a recipe from wildozark.com to make a watercolor binder from xantham gum, honey, tea tree oil and water, then mixed the resulting gooey paste with red soil to make a red “soil paint.” I applied the “soil paint” as a background wash on watercolor paper, to give it a rough texture that mimics the unevenness of a forest floor. Then I brushed regular watercolor paint onto the backs of leaves gathered from the forest, to make a montage of leaf prints.