Fluids used to dissolve or dilute oil paints and their mediums. Turpentine, a distillate of pine resin, is good for thinning paints but should not be used for cleaning brushes. Unlike turpentine, paint thinner leaves no gummy residue, will not deteriorate with age, and does not cause as many allergic reactions. Paint thinner is also less expensive than turpentine. From the Latin word temperare, meaning to mix or regulate.
Tempera is a type of painting medium used to bind pigments.
The term may describe any combination of pigment and medium. Specifically, egg tempera describes a paint made using egg yolk as the binding medium. Egg has probably been used as a binder for pigments since antiquity. It has been identified as the paint medium for some Roman portraits as well as for the icons of the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches. The technique of using egg tempera is particularly well known with Italian panel paintings from the 13th to 15th centuries.