Ingredients sourced from home kitchens and gardens have inspired an intriguing collection of paintings being exhibited at Adelaide College of the Arts during the SA Living Artists (SALA) Festival.

Plaint! features artworks which have been painted using handmade pigments derived from plants, including fruits, vegetables, leaves and spices.

The exhibition is presented by a group of emerging artists – Cheyenne Blackwell, Natalya Boujenko, Piper Cunningham, Charlotte Meekins, Bella Gazard, Alessandra de Pasquale, Erin Menz, Kate Waterhouse and Abbey Wood.

Natalya says the artworks, which have been created especially for the exhibition, explore the limitations and possibilities of making and using natural pigments.

The artists, all students of the Bachelor of Creative Arts – Visual Arts delivered by TAFE SA and Flinders University, were motivated to explore the use of natural pigments more widely after learning about them in class.

“This exhibition is an opportunity for us to share our process and learnings with a wider audience,” Natalya says.

Natalya’s artworks, Four Elements #1 and Four Elements #2 incorporate beetroot, pomegranate and shamrock. In another work, she has added tea, turmeric and charcoal.

Other artists have used flowers such as hibiscus and camellia, red wine, herbs, grasses and berries.

In a process of trial and error, different plants were sourced and hand processed, and colours tested before any painting could begin.

The artists used various techniques including mortar and pestle, brewing and burning to extract the dyes from their raw materials.

“It takes time to make the dyes and the quantity is limited, so there are challenges,” Natalya says.

Fellow artist Kate Waterhouse agrees, adding that it’s also difficult to achieve contrast in the artworks.

“You can’t get a full range of colours, nothing vibrant or very dark,” says Kate, who used charcoal, coffee, avocado pip extract, turmeric and kale to complete one of her paintings, entitled Iced Coffee and Lotus.

Despite the challenges, all artists have created beautiful paintings with recurring themes of nature and the environment.

Plaint! is in the foyer at the Adelaide College of the Arts, 39 Light Square, Adelaide until August 31.