Making Paint Making Paint Making paint does generate some extra work, but it gives you a certain purity to work with. Factory paints look more 'perfect' than home-made paints, but sometimes that's exactly what you don't want. Making paint gives you a feeling of edibility, of natural materials, of authenticity. It also helps you to feel your way into your materials, and to help you understanding the material process of painting. And last but not least: you have control over the degree of toxicity you're working with. You can make your own non-toxic paint. Paints you can make yourself: Encaustic (bee's wax) paint Grinding pigments in water For egg-tempera and caseine, you need pigments that are ground in water. Some pigments are toxic, click here for info on non-toxic pigments . If you have dry pigments, grind them in water with a glass muller on a plate of marble (or glass). Wear a dust-mask while you stir water into the pigments. Even when the pigments are non-toxic, it's not good to get them into your lungs.

You should get a paste as thick as toothpaste - if you dab it with a palette knife, sharp tips should be standing up. Egg tempera for canvas-underpainting Egg tempera is made of eggyolk, and pigment-paste (pigments in water). You only use the inside fluid of the eggyolk. Roll the eggyolk over from one hand to the other, wiping the free hand dry on a cloth. If it's dry, hold the yolk, pinch it, let the content flow in a glass and try to hold on to the skin of the yolk. After that, dilute the yellow stuff you have with half an eggshell of water. This mixture goes 1 on 1 with the pigment paste. It's a very thin, fluid paint - which is good because it prevents too thick paint layers. Use the paint before the egg starts to rot (you can imagine the smell). And, a real pity: it's no use freezing little cubicles of egg or caseine for making paint later. It ruines their inner structure. Egg-tempera can be made with a painting medium (oil and varnish) as well.

Here you'll find an oil painting guide , which contains lots of recipes for making egg-tempera paint, and also egg-caseine tempera, acrylic-caseine and oil paint. Free recipe sheets In these recipe sheets you'll find how to make egg tempera paint, along with a few other recipes for canvas primers and underpainting - both the modern and the traditional way. There's a product list as well. The products were selected to be least expensive, while delivering quality. Like in the supermarket: it's not about shiny packages, but about knowing what ingredients are worth, no matter if it's cheap or expensive. If you want to read more, check out my e-book (76 pages) on oil painting materials. The recipe sheets are a free download, when you subscribe to this website. subscribe and download your free recipe-sheets Egg tempera for wall painting For wall painting, you can use whole eggs, instead of adding water. Each egg should be complemented with half an eggshel of pigment paste (dry pigments, ground in water untill becoming like 'toothpaste') Drying times Both caseine paint and egg-tempera paint dry very quickly.

But, after these two minutes they're still soft (like cheese). They need a few days to harden out. Be careful not to touch the walls for a few days. In time, the egg-tempera is very durable. Slowly, it gets harder and harder, and in 30 years it turns to stone. Caseine paint hardens out a bit faster, but also needs care in the beginning. If you put egg-tempera on canvas, you can varnish the underpainting with dammar varnish after a day's drying, to make it more solid. In case you want to do some brushing and rubbing, while you paint it with oils. Caseine tempera for walls and canvas-underpainting Caseine is a very strong glue, it's only good for the underlayers. It's good to either thin the binder with water, or to do with 1 volume of caseine paste to 3 volumes of pigment paste. Caseine paste can be bought ready made in the online art store (brand: Shiva). Caseine paint is a very good material for doing thin, transparant, watery washes of color.

Click here for color washing Applying egg and caseine as wallpaint Caseine paint on the wall is best applied in thin washes, caseine is one of the strongest glues, it can be worked very thinly diluted. Egg-tempera paint is best applied in more or less hiding coats. Click here for interior painting tips on the effects of underlying paint colors. Painting over wallpaper or latex Egg- and caseine tempera can be painted on paper wallpaper materials, and on matte latex layers. On vinyl wallpaper, egg-tempera won't hold well. Caseine has a better chance then. You might have to take off the wallpaper. Click here for more on the esthetic part of painting over wallpaper Egg tempera and caseine paint look very matte and natural, and they give beautiful velvety colors. They have an utter natural appearance, which is also great for getting an antique or historic feeling. When you want to do a big wall of tempera paint, use whole eggs for making paint, and beat them. For every egg, you add half an eggshell of pigment paste. Egg-tempera should be used right away after making it. You can keep it fresh for a day in the fridge.

Milk paint Caseine paint is also known as 'milk paint': one of the oldest and most durable paints used in America. It's non-toxic and suitable for wood (kids' furniture and toys!). Click here to find a website where you can order this paint. It comes in powder that you have to add water to (and then the paint has to be used within a day or so). It's like an instant-mix for making paint. Egg tempera as underpainting for oils A layer of oil paint dries very slowly, and a tempera underpainting can be worked on repeatedly in one day. It gives you a quick start. Egg-yolk is an emulsion (fat and water mixed). If you combine it with oil painting medium, you can use it in wet layers of oil paint and speed upt the drying process, without jeopardizing the durability of your work. This is the way the old Dutch masters worked, in the gilden age. It was their way to gain some material subsance and working speed. For underpainting, use a watery egg tempera (just egg and water), and for working into oils, mix the eggyolk with painting medium.

In this oil painting book , you'll find recipes for both kinds of tempera (along with info on how to use it). Making shellac paint Shellac paint was used for colored wood polishing ('french polishing'). Shellac only dissolves in alcohol, and then you add dry pigments. At Paint mill De Kat, they have a recipe (look for 'french polish') . Recipes for making paint I've put together an oil painting book , in which you'll find over ten recipes for paint making: from acrylic gesso primers, to making lean and fat egg tempera, to egg-caseine tempera and shellac, to making oil paint. Check it out here . Related Pages: Pigments through the Ages - Egg tempera Egg tempera 8 Egg tempera is known for its linear qualities and capacity to produce jewel-like paintings. While it was once a popular medium that reached its peak during the Renaissance, egg tempera fell out of favor with the rise of the more versatile oil paints. However, a few modern painters have embraced the medium, adopting the labor-intensive practice of creating both the paints and the panels. Some have even taken more experimental approaches. Egg tempera is a classic painting technique, tracing back to antiquity.

Egg tempera is composed of ground pigment, water, and egg yolk. In some ways, egg tempera shares more commonalities with pastels or colored pencils than with acrylics, oils, or watercolor paints. Because it does not lend itself well to blending or color mixing, egg tempera relies on cross-hatching and overlays of glazing to achieve dimensionality. What is Egg Tempera? Egg tempera is composed of egg yolk, powdered pigment, and distilled water. The egg yolk serves as the binder that holds the pigment together. The addition of water turns the paint into a usable paste-like form. Manufactured egg tempera also includes gums that act as dispersants. Although egg tempera can be purchased commercially, most egg tempera artists prefer the purity of creating their own paints, which is a relatively easy process. However, homemade egg tempera can only be used for a single painting session. As the tempered pigment sits, the yolk begins to cure, so it becomes thicker and more difficult to paint with. The water also evaporates, changing the chemical composition. Adding water doesn’t help, as the yolk becomes too dry to mix properly. Therefore, egg tempera cannot be stored for future use.

Steps to create your own egg tempera paints: A) Roll the separated egg yolk on a paper towel to absorb excess white. B) Break the yolk sac with a pin. C) Mix the contents of the yolk sac with ½ -1 tsp. of water and stir. Do not include the yolk sac. D) Add water to the dry pigment to create a creamy paste. If necessary, add a drop of denatured alcohol to disperse the pigment. Mix with a palette knife. E) The pigment is now a paste. F) Add an equal amount of egg yolk to the pigment paste. Thin the tempered medium with more water as needed. When making egg tempera paints, it is important to use only the egg yolk, minus the sac and egg white. Albumen, the protein found in egg white, prevents the paint from adhering well to the panel surface.

To ensure that only pure yolk is mixed with the pigment, the egg must be gently broken, the yolk separated from white (by holding the yolk and letting the white fall through your fingers, or shifting the yolk from broken shell to broken shell, allowing the white to seep out), and the yolk carefully rolled onto a paper towel to absorb any egg white. Then the yolk is gently picked up and pierced with a needle, allowing the yolk to drain into a clean container. Approximately ½ - 1 teaspoon of distilled water is added to the container and stirred so that the egg yolk is thinned out uniformly. The goal when mixing egg tempera is to add just the right amount of egg yolk. When the right amount is used, the paint will dry to a slightly glossy finish. Too much egg yolk will make the paint appear greasy, and too little will make the paint appear chalky. To make sure the egg yolk is properly binding the pigment, the paint can be dried on a plate. If the paint curls when scraped with a razor blade, then the mixing process was successful.

Common egg tempera materials include: A) Paper towels; B) Dry pigments; C) Drafting tape; D) Measuring spoons; E) Soft-hair brushes; F) Water; G) Mixing cups; H) Gessoed panels; I) Egg; J) Palette knife; and K) Sponge. Egg Tempera Supplies The basic supplies needed to paint with egg tempera consist of dry pigments of various colors, an egg for each new painting session, distilled water, and a painting surface. Other supplies include synthetic and sable brushes in a range of sizes, a palette, palette knife, fine sandpaper, India ink, a gesso mixture, drafting tape, mixing cups, a sponge, a pencil for drawing the initial sketch on the panel, and a couple of clean jars for water. Ivory soap and a roll of paper towels are necessary for cleanup. Common colors used by egg tempera painters are titanium white, ivory black, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow medium, cadmium red dark, cadmium red light, alizarin crimson, brunt sienna, burnt umber, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, oxide of chromium, and viridian.

Unlike oil paint, egg tempera is inflexible when dry, so it is best applied to a rigid, dry wood support. Preparing the Support Before painting, a wooden support is prepared, such as poplar, birch plywood, or untempered masonite. The support must be absorbent so that the egg tempera can properly adhere to the surface. To achieve this, the artist first creates a rabbit skin glue, which preserves and protects the support. Rabbit skin or hide gelatin is mixed with water, allowed to sit overnight, then slowly heated with a double boiler. Once it reaches a broth-like consistency, the heated glue is then applied thinly to the front, back and sides of the panel and allowed to dry for 24 hours. The next step is to apply a heated gesso mixture. To make the gesso mixture, precipitated chalk, whiting, and titanium white are mixed together with the rabbit skin glue water, which serves as an aqueous binder.

(Alternatively, an artist can take a shortcut by using a product such as “Fredrix Dry Gesso Mix,” in which the ingredients are already pre-mixed, and the artist only needs to add water.) The mixture is gently heated with a double boiler until the gesso has a cream-like texture. The artist then applies the warm gesso to the front, back and sides of the panel, waiting until each coat has a slight sheen before applying the next coat. Generally, four to six coats are applied and then the panel is allowed to dry for another 24 hours. Once dry, the panel can be sanded until it has an ivory finish. The first step is to draw a light sketch. Transferring the Image Many artists draw directly on their panels, while others transfer their images onto panels using graphite paper or tracing paper. To ensure proportional accuracy, tracing paper was used to create the under-drawing for this painting. Adding the darkest color values. Place darker color values over the darkest ink underdrawing areas. This is accomplished in the shadow of the yellow vase using violet mixed with black. The first color layer is applied thinly and the ink underdrawing shows through.

Using a graphite pencil, the image is traced onto the tracing paper, which lies on top of the original image. Once completed, the tracing paper is flipped over and the outlines are once again traced in graphite on the reverse side of the paper. The tracing paper is placed on top of the support and traced for a final time, transferring the graphite on the back of the paper to the painting surface. This process ensures an exact pencil rendering of the image to be painted. Adding Values To add values to the pencil outlines and shading, graded tones of India ink and water are applied to the underdrawing. Five different values from light to dark are created by adding one drop of India ink into a mixing cup, adding two drops in another cup, and so forth, each time adding more drops into a new receptacle until five drops are added. Into each cup, ½ teaspoon of water is added. The ink and water mixture is stirred with a synthetic brush. Using a synthetic brush, the artist paints over the pencil drawing with the lightest value of India ink. The darkest ink mixtures are reserved for the darkest values in the underlying pencil drawing. This is the classic means of laying out the values in an egg tempera painting.

Once the ink drawing is finished, the painting begins. Example of detail from the tablecloth. Progressive degrees of cobalt blue alter the value. When the blue is placed over the darkest area of the ink underdrawing, there is an opalescent effect. Note how the values of the cobalt blue match with the values of the underlying ink. Applying the Paint The first applications of paint on the inked surface are applied thinly and loosely. The ink value can be seen through the surface of the first coat of color applied in middle value. It is generally a good idea to work background to foreground. Egg tempera dries very quickly, so the painting must be worked section by section. To create the underpainting, the darker areas are first blocked in. For example, in the beginning stages of the sunflower, the petals are blocked in with thin layers of violet mixed with black, as well as straight violet pigment. Once this underpainting is dry, different values of yellow, yellow ochre and vermillion are mixed and added. The lighter the color, the more opaque it will appear. Note where the lighter areas of yellow are placed; these areas have been mixed with white.

Blending with egg tempera is not achieved in the same manner as oil or acrylic painting. The paint values must be “blended” by overlays of linear strokes. Opalescence is achieved by the application of a light blue value over a darker one and the ink underdrawing in the tablecloth. To create a sense of depth, warm colors can be glazed over cool colors and cool colors can be glazed over warm colors. This can be seen in the vase, where layers of purple, green, and yellow are alternated. Steps for painting petals: A) Draw with a 8H pencil on gesso. B) Ink over the drawing in corresponding values. C) Apply thin glazes of ultramarine blue and vermillion, plus black in dark areas. D) Apply a thin layer of cadmium yellow and yellow ochre to the petals for a base coat of color; light green for leaf. E) Continue with a linear approach, applying different gradations of cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, and white. F) Add darker lines of violet and vermillion to form curve of the petal, and white to highlight the base and sides of the petal.

Painting with Egg Tempera With egg tempera painting, small strokes of thinned color are applied almost in the manner that one handles a colored pencil. These small strokes of color are woven onto the picture plane through cross-hatching, glazing, and with tiny touches of more opaque paint. When thinning the tempered paint with more water, it is important to wipe the excess pigment on the brush onto a paper towel or cloth. Areas of dark and middle values are applied to the ink underdrawing of the petals. The tempera should be applied as dryly as possible to avoid the creation of “dots” of pigment. Dry brush applications of tempera are especially needed in the mid-stages of painting. Egg tempera is never applied heavily, as that would cause the paint to crack and flake off. Glazing & Opacity “Glazing” is one of the techniques used when painting with egg tempera. To create a glaze, thin, broad strokes of color are placed on top of another color (light red and blue placed over yellow ochre). The resulting effect is similar to that of watercolors and creates a jewel-like appearance. Through various techniques, egg tempera can achieve opacity, translucency, and opalescence.

When the same value and hue of a color are cross-hatched with thin lines of the same color on top of itself, the result is opacity (cobalt blue strokes placed upon a lower layer of cobalt blue). To create translucency, a dark glaze is applied over a lighter color or value (a layer of cobalt blue placed over yellow ochre). Opalescence is produced by placing a lighter color over a darker one (white strokes of paint placed over ultramarine blue). This creates a pearl-like effect in which thin strokes of light color help to emphasize light. Masking the foreground to paint the background in with thin layers of color and broad strokes. Masking In this painting, a tracing paper mask was used to protect the foreground flower arrangement in the vase, as well as the tablecloth. Acid-free drafting tape was rolled sticky side up to adhere the back of the mask to the panel. The darker colors in the background were laid in thinly and broadly with a hake brush. Later, smaller strokes of white with yellow ochre were applied to bring up the lighter color and value. In this detail of a petal, a linear approach is utilized. Strong lines help to form the structure of the receptacle.

The lightest values and colors (yellow and white) were applied last, as accents. Lights and Darks Egg tempera dries quickly, making it difficult to blend edges. Instead of blending the paint softly with a brush  as with oil painting  the different values of color must be mixed and applied near or on top of one another to create transitions in hue or value. The edges of different values can be “blended” by glazing or using linear strokes of color over an edge. For example, for the middle value of green in the leaves or the receptacle (the green area holding the petals), linear strokes of lighter green and yellow were used to bring up the lighter tones. It is akin to working with colored pencil, in that strokes of color are applied. Fine details can be added with a liner brush or brush sizes (0 -1). The fine lines can help delineate an object and also create areas of light values. Overall, tempera has a cooler color range than oils. With egg tempera, it is not possible to achieve the deeper, warmer blacks of oil paint. Finishing an Egg Tempera Painting Egg tempera paintings take approximately six months to one year to dry completely.

Unlike oil paintings and acrylic paintings, egg tempera paintings are usually not varnished. Varnish would drastically alter the appearance of the tempera painting, so most tempera painters avoid it. Some tempera painters frame their paintings by placing them under glass. Thank you to Diane Savino, who contributed this page and based the information upon her work, and David Haas for most of the photographs. Media Wood Ceramics The materials and techniques selected define the forms of visual expression the artist or designer can develop in their work. The various media offer both distinctive limitations and opportunities for the artist/designer. For this reason we need to look at the media traditionally used in order to understand the context in which visual language evolves. We will do this before we begin to examine the actual styles that have developed historically. Painting and Related Techniques Painting involves applying color to a surface. The colors were traditionally earth pigments which were ground into a fine powder and then mixed with a medium, usually a liquid, so they can be applied to a surface. Today there are also some artificial compounds used as pigments.

The choice of the medium and the method by which the color is applied have important effects on the characteristics of the finished work, since each medium has its own limitations and potentials. We will discuss many different painting related media: Encaustic Acrylic paints Collage The oldest examples of painting date to more than 20,000 B.C, and can be found in the caves in southern France . The best known of these caves is at Lascaux, although there are many others. These portraits of animals and hunters were probably done with a mixture of minerals such as ochre, with animal fat used as the medium. Rock paintings in this technique can be seen in many parts of the world. Encaustic In the technique known as encaustic , the medium for the powdered color is hot wax which is painted onto a wood surface with a brush. It is then smoothed with a metal instrument resembling a spoon, and then blended and set over a flame to soften and set the colors into the wood. This method produces durable colors and permits sculptural modeling of the paint surface. Because of the wax medium, the colors are semi-translucent and look fresh and lively.

This technique is rare today, but it was practiced in late Roman times; for example, we have burial portraits from Faiyum, Egypt, 2nd century, A.D. Fresco Secco In the dry plaster or "fresco secco" technique, pigments are usually mixed with water, although other substances might also be used. The paint is then applied to a dry plaster wall which has been wetted down with water. Since the plaster is relatively dry, it is non-absorbent, and the pigment adheres to the surface of the plaster. This technique differs from true fresco (described below) in several ways. The colors tend to flake off the surface of the plaster. The colors have a harder and more brilliant appearance and tend to be lighter in value than those in true fresco. Advantages of the technique are that the painting can be done more slowly and carefully, and changes can be made simply by over-painting, since colors are opaque. Examples: Egyptian murals , 2500-1000 B.C. Fresco Fresco, also known as Buon Fresco or True Fresco, entails painting on freshly spread, moist plaster. First, layers of plaster are applied to the surface.

While the final layer is still wet, the artist applies the colors, which are earth pigments mixed with water. The colors penetrate the wet plaster and combine chemically with it, producing a painted surface which does not peel when exposed to moisture. As the paint must be painted on wet plaster, the amount of plaster which may be put down at one time is limited to what can be painted at one sitting. Often lines can be seen in frescos around an area which was one day's work. The painting must be done rapidly and without mistakes. It produces a mat surface with fairly desaturated colors. This technique was perfected in Renaissance Italy. Examples include Roman wall paintings at Pompeii, 1st century A.D ; Giotto's Arena Chapel at Padua , 14th C.; Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling , 16th C. Egg Tempera In this method, the pigment is mixed with egg yolk or both the yolk and white of an egg. It is thinned with water and applied to a gesso ground (plaster mixed with a binding) on a panel.

It was also used on parchment or paper to illustrate or embellish books in the era before the 15th century development of the printing press. This type of painting dries very quickly and produces an opaque, matte surface. The colors tend to dry to a lighter value than they appear when wet. The colors produced are bright and saturated. Modeling is achieved by hatching. Egg tempera was used for panel painting until the 15th century. Examples of artists that worked in egg tempera include Cimabue (14th C.); Duccio (14th C.); Andrew Wyeth (20th C.) Islamic and Medieval miniature paintings in books and manuscripts are another important class of egg tempera paintings; the celtic Book of Kells is a well-known early example, as is the Book of Hours commissioned by the Duc du Berry in the 14th century. Mosaic The design is created by small pieces of colored glass, stone, or ceramic (called Tesserae), embedded in wet mortar which has been spread over the surface to be decorated. Their slightly irregular placement on a surface creates a very lively, reflective surface when viewed at a distance.

This was often used to decorate walls, floors, and ceilings. This link takes you to an gallery of Byzantine mosaics . This web site Copyright © 1995 by Charlotte Jirousek Questions or comments? Let us know at dng22@cornell.edu. Brief History of Watercolor Painting Excerpted from the Encyclopedia Britannica Online The History of Watercolor America's contribution to the international watercolor tradition is second to none. Although the British dominated that tradition in the past, American artists have produced a substantial and varied body of work in watercolor that is unmatched elsewhere in the world since the late eighteenth century. An unpredictable medium, the character of watercolor is uniquely challenging. The accomplished watercolorist learns to take advantage of the unexpected results of the medium. As practiced by most of its greatest masters, spontaneity is everything. The artist learns to improvise, which can be done effectively only with experience. The intimacy of the medium springs from the way it encourages improvisation and seems to record the artist's fleeting thought on paper. Watercolor, also known in French as aquarelle, is generally described as painting with water-soluble pigments on paper.

Most commonly the pigments are suspended in a vehicle or binder of gum arabic. The classic painting technique was perfected in England during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The pigment was applied in a series of transparent washes that allowed light to be reflected from the surface of the paper through layers of color. This technique gives watercolor its unique glow. Washes are layered to increase density and transform color already laid down. With this method, the colors are mixed by the viewer's eye and create a unique visual characteristic. On the other hand, gouache, or body color, is another form of watercolor. The pigments are mixed with zinc white and are opaque when applied to a surface. Alternatively, tempera involves combining the color with casein , a milk derivative, or with egg yolk as its binder. Another form of water-soluble pigment is the synthetic-polymer paint, widely known as acrylic. Even though acrylic can typically be used like oil paint, many artists have used it in a manner that echoes the watercolor tradition. Watercolor is a tradition that spans the chronicles of history. Primitive man used pigments mixed with water to create cave paintings by applying the paint with fingers, sticks and bones.

Ancient Egyptians used water-based paints to decorate the walls of temples and tombs and created some of the first works on paper, made of papyrus. But it was in the Far and Middle East that the first watercolor schools or predominant styles emerged in the modern sense. Chinese and Japanese masters painted on silk as well as exquisite handmade paper. Their art was filled with literary allusion and calligraphy, but the primary image was typically a contemplative landscape. This characteristic anticipated what was to be a central aspect of Western watercolor traditions in later centuries. In India and Persia, the opaque gouache paintings created by the Moslems depicted religious incidents derived from Byzantine art. During the Middle Ages, monks of Europe used tempera to create illuminated manuscripts. These books were considered a major form of art, equivalent to easel painting in later years. Taking many years of service to complete, the monks copied the scriptures by hand onto sheets of parchment made from sheepskin, or vellum made from calfskin. Sometimes, entire pages were decorated with elaborate scrollwork and symbolic images. The most famous illuminated book was by the Limbourg brothers, Paul, Herman, and Jean (Flemish, c.1385-c.1416).

This calendar, "Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" or sometimes called "The Book of Hours," was created about 1415. Medieval artists also worked in fresco which continued throughout the Renaissance. Fresco is a method by which pigments are mixed with water and applied to wet plaster. This method was used primarily to create large wall paintings and murals by such artists as Michelangelo (Italian, 1475-1564) and Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519). The most famous fresco is Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel of the Vatican painted from 1508 to 1512. Paper has also played an important role in the development of watercolor. China has been manufacturing paper since ancient times. The Arabs learned their secrets during the eighth century. Paper was imported to Europe until the first papermaking mills were finally established in Italy in 1276. A few other mills developed later in other parts of Europe, while England developed its first mills by 1495. However, high-quality paper was not produced in Britain until much later during the eighteenth century.

Since paper was considered a luxury item in these early ages, traditional Western watercolor painting was slow in evolving. The increased availability of paper by the fourteenth century finally allowed for the possibility of drawing as an artistic activity. So artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo began to develop drawings as a tool for practice and for recording information. Albrecht Durer (German, 1471-1528) is traditionally considered the first master of watercolor because his works were full renderings used as preliminary studies for other works. Over the next 250, years many other artists like Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640), Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599-1641) and Jean Honore Fragonard (French, 1732-1806) continued to use watercolor as a means of drawing and developing compositions. With the production of higher quality papers in the late eighteenth century, the first national school of watercolorists emerged in Britain. This watercolor tradition began with topographical drawings that proliferated in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries as Britain began to grow as a world power.

These map-like renderings encompassed visual identity of ports of sea, as well as the surrounding landscape. In 1768, influential topographers founded the Royal Academy which encouraged watercolorists to carry the medium beyond their own technical achievements. The most talented watercolorist from this period was Joseph M.W. Turner (English, 1775-1851) who went on to become one of the greatest painters of the nineteenth century. His contemplative landscapes were tremendously influential on dozens of artists during later decades. The technology of watercolor developments corresponded with the evolution and advancement of the British school of watercolorists. In the 1780's, a British company began producing paper made especially for watercolorists which was treated with sizing, or glazing, to prevent washes from sinking into the fibers of the paper. Early watercolorists ground their own pigments, but by the late eighteenth century the Englishman, William Reeves, was selling them in portable cakes. In 1846, Winsor & Newton introduced colors packaged in metal tubes. This growing technology encouraged many European artists to experiment with watercolors until eventually the tradition spread to America.

The earliest watercolor drawings produced in America were created for factual documentation of the "new world." As early as the 1560's, European explorers carried this visual information back to the "old world". The first of these important artists was Mark Catesby (English, 1679-1749). He came to Virginia in 1712 and documented hundreds of species of American birds and plant life with hand-colored engravings. Catesby's prints foreshadow the ever-popular romantic and analytical depictions of American wildlife by John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851). Audubon did his first study in 1805. He eventually devoted himself to recording this aspect of the North American continent in a manner seldom equaled in any other medium. American artists worked in the shadow of European masters until the late nineteenth century. Gradually, skilled and talented artists like Thomas Eakins (1844-1916), Winslow Homer (1836-1910) and James A. M. Whistler (1834-1903) began to develop artworks which challenged European artists.

The rise of American watercolor coincides with international rise and recognition of American painting. American artists embraced watercolor as a primary medium equal to oil painting. This was not common in nineteenth century Europe except in England. Both American and English artists utilized watercolor for important paintings. By 1866, the interest in the medium was so pronounced that the American Society of Painters in Water Color was founded and for the first time watercolors were shown in galleries among oil paintings. Although Americans inherited a technique developed by the British, they were more interested in experimenting with watercolor in their own way. American artists, therefore, created works which were uniquely individual in comparison. They were free of rigid English traditions and the slow evolution of the British school. In this way the American school was able to explode with an abundance of important figures between the 1870's and the revolutionary Armory Show in New York in 1913 which included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), John Marin (1870-1953) and Maurice Prendergast (1859-1924). Each artist represented an individual and unique approach to the medium.

Since there was no particular American school or style of watercolor, the entire group represented "individualism" as a key factor in American art. During the 1940's, artistic experimentation became a major focus in the New York art scene resulting in the development of Abstract Expressionism. Watercolor began to lose a certain amount of its popularity. It was not a medium which played a role in the evolution of the new movement in abstraction. Watercolors were small and intimate in scale and were subordinate to the huge canvases of the Abstract Expressionists. However, one such artist, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) utilized large areas of transparent washes and color staining on his canvases to create large scale works which were atmospheric, contemplative and reminiscent of the watercolor tradition. Later, a second generation of Abstract Expressionist including Sam Francis (1923-1994) and Paul Jenkins (b. 1923) also employed similar wash methods to produce transparent color fields on large canvases. By incorporating watercolor techniques into canvas painting, American artists not only re-popularized the medium but continued a long tradition of innovative experimentation.

Excerpted from: Springfield Art Museum DANIEL SMITH - Making Egg Tempera Making Egg Tempera Learn the Basic Steps for Making Your Own Egg Tempera Making egg tempera consists of two steps, preparing the pigment and mixing it with an egg yolk emulsion. Choosing Pigments Most pigments can be used to make egg tempera paints. Pigments containing lead react with the egg yolk and should not be used. Modem synthetic organic pigments such as the pthalo, hansa and quinacridone colors are very light and fluffy and consequently hard to grind with water. The following is a list of pigments which are often used for egg tempera, along with distinctive characteristics some of them have. Cadmium Red Strong, dries quickly in air and has a swamp-like odor. Quinacridone Red Difficult to wet, like most synthetic organic pigments. Alizarin Crimson Also difficult to wet. Indian Red Gritty. Mars Violet Wets easily and grinds well; gets sticky quickly. Cadmium Orange Cadmium Yellow Strong; does not mix easily with water and has tendency to mold. Yellow Ochre Gritty and fairly weak, stays moist.

Raw Sienna Grinds well. Burnt Umber Gritty, but mixes well. Cobalt Blue Dries quickly on the palette. Ultramarine Blue Hardens quickly; mix small amounts in jars or directly on palette. Viridian Gritty. Titanium White Wets easily, but loses opacity if made in advance. Preparing the Pigment Mixtures Traditionally, the pigment is ground with distilled water on a sheet of glass, using a glass muller. The grinding surfaces should be abrasive; use a ground or frosted glass sheet and a muller with a ground glass base. The glass sheet and the muller can be reconditioned as needed by rubbing them with a mixture of carborundum and water. Grind the pigment with a small amount of water, using a smooth continuous circular motion, until a creamy consistency is achieved. How long this will take and how much water you will need to add will vary with each pigment. The pigment will move to the outside of the circle as you grind. Periodically, pick it up with a spatula or palette knife and move it back under the muller.

Once the paste is creamy, transfer the pigment mixture to a small screw-top jar and top it with a small amount of distilled water. This will keep the pigment mixture from drying out. A less traditional, but reasonably effective way to mix pigments is to place a couple of spoons full of pigment in a small jar such as a baby food jar, add a small amount of distilled water, put the lid on tightly and shake vigorously until it forms a paste. The amount of water needed to make a paste will again vary according to the absorption of the particular pigment Kept tightly lidded, most colors will last for quite a while prepared this way. Note: Ultramarine Blue becomes hard and Titanium White loses opacity if stored, so these should be prepared on the palette. Whichever method you choose, you will want to mix enough pigment (and enough colors) at one time for several painting sessions. Egg tempera paint goes a long way and an ounce or two (30-60m1) of prepared pigment should suffice for several small to medium-sized paintings. Preparing the Egg Yolk Medium Before starting a painting session, prepare the egg yolk medium, which consists of egg yolks mixed with distilled water.

Fresh eggs are easiest to handle, since the sacs surrounding the yolks are stronger. To separate the yolk from the egg white, transfer it several times from one half of the cracked eggshell to the other, or use an egg separator (available at kitchen stores). Carefully place the yolk on a paper towel and roll it around to remove any remaining white. Then pinch the yolk between your forefinger and thumb, hold it over a small jar or bowl, and puncture the sac with a pin or knife. The yolk will run into the jar. Discard the empty sac. You may want to strain the yolk through cheesecloth into a second jar to remove any remaining impurities. Egg yolks vary considerably in color and texture. The color of the yolk is unimportant. Since a good deal of water is used in the painting process, its impact on the colors of the paint will be very slight, and the yellow bleaches out on exposure to light. Some yolks may have a thin enough consistency to use straight, but usually you will need to add distilled water until the consistency is just a little thinner than heavy cream. Two or three large or jumbo egg yolks will usually be enough for a painting session.

Leftover egg yolk- water medium will keep in a tightly capped jar for a day or two in the refrigerator. Making the Paints To mix your palette of egg tempera paints, use a palette knife to take dabs of the pigment-water mixtures out of the jars and put them on a palette (paper palettes which are not slick-surfaced work well). Wipe the knife on a tissue or Kimwipe alter placing each color, to avoid contaminating them. To conserve pigment, mix a color with egg yolk medium only when you want to use it. If you need a fairly large amount transfer about an equal amount of yolk to the pigment paste and mix it with a palette knife. For small amounts, dip your brush into the yolk-water medium and then into the pigment paste and mix well on the palette. Getting the right ratio of pigment paste to egg-water medium is not scientific; again, each pigment requires a different amount of medium. The correct proportion of yolk medium can be determined with a few trial strokes of your paint mixture. Egg tempera has a characteristic slight sheen which can be seen by looking at dry strokes from an angle. A chalky or dull look means more medium is needed.

If the paint strokes take more than a few seconds to dry, or look greasy, there's too much medium in the mixture. An easy way to experiment with egg tempera is to use tube watercolors in place of the pigment pastes. Squeeze dabs of watercolor onto your palette and mix with egg yolk-water medium as described above. Because of the gum arabic in the watercolors, the paint will be more slippery than traditional egg tempera and harden somewhat differently, but it will give you a feel for how egg temperahandles. Specifically, it allows building up transparent glazes that don't lift the underlying layers. Painting with Egg Tempera Egg tempera paints demand a more delicate application than most other paints. Usually, sable, red sable or soft nylon brushes are used, with good points and long bristles. Once loaded with paint, the brush is wiped on a rag or tissue, or between thumb and forefinger, to remove excess paint which could create blobs at the end of each stroke or slow the drying time of the stroke. Each stroke is laid down quickly and precisely and should dry to the touch in four or five seconds. The action is more like using a pen or pencil than typical brushwork.

Each stroke remains separate and must be allowed to dry before applying another one on top of it. Use water freely to rinse brushes and thin color, but wipe the brush before applying strokes so that the brush and stroke are fairly dry. The paint should appear translucent rather than opaque; that translucency plus the gradual build-up of thin layers of paint gives egg tempera its characteristic clarity and luminosity. Optical color blending, where colors are layered rater than mixed, is usually employed in egg tempera, as in colored pencil. Cross-hatching is used both for color blending and to define forms. Directional strokes also help describe form. Egg tempera should be used on smooth, non-flexible surfaces. Gessoed wood or untempered Masonite panels are traditionally used, and some good prepared panels are now available. Materials List

Question: The egg-based painting medium is known as what?
Answer: Tempera