Medium Definition - Glossary of Art Terms Updated July 26, 2016. Definition The term medium has several different meanings in art. For starters, it is used to describe the substance that binds the pigment in paint. It is also called a binder, vehicle, or base. In acrylic paints , this is a synthetic substance. In oil paints , it is a natural oil such as poppy or linseed oil. In tempera paint, it is egg yolks. The plural is mediums. A medium can also be something mixed with paint to change the body of the paint in some way. For example, a gel medium is used to thicken paint for impasto . The plural is mediums. To add to the confusion, the term medium is also used to describe the materials an artist uses, or simply the type of paint, such as oil, acrylics, or watercolors, as well the type of support, or surface used for painting. The plural is media. For example, the description "oil on canvas" indicates an oil painting done on a canvas surface; both oil and canvas are the media used.

A "mixed-media" piece is one consisting of multiple media - for example, acrylic paint, graphite, and oil stick on a single surface or on a support consisting of canvas and newspaper. continue reading below our video What Is Acrylic Paint? Painting Mediums Oil and acrylic paints can both be used straight from the tube and are very stable that way, but there are many different mediums that can be added to them to alter the drying time, finish, consistency and flow of the paint. Mediums for oil painting include diluents and thinners such as turpentine and mineral spirits, as well as oils such as linseed oil, poppy oil, safflower oil, glaze medium, beeswax medium, and alkyd, which is a translucent synthetic resin that speeds up the drying time and increases paint flexibility. You should use as little medium as possible to get the effect you want with oil paints since they can cause some slight yellowing of your painting over time. Acrylics are water-soluble and can be mixed solely with water for painting, or with a variety of acrylic mediums.

There are many acrylic mediums available for different effects, from thinning and glazing to thickening and impasto effects; for a range of finishes from matte to glossy; for a textured finish; for retarding drying time; and for varnishing. Acrylic mediums appear white, but become transparent when dry. Acrylic mediums (versus additives such as retarder) are made from the same acrylic polymer that acrylic paints are made from, so you can add as much as you want to the paint without affecting the chemical composition. With additives, you need to follow the directions on the tube or bottle. Three Rules of Oil Painting Being familiar with mediums will help you follow the three cardinal rules in oil painting that will help prevent your paintings from cracking: In oil painting it is always important to follow the adage "fat-over-lean." This means use less oil in the initial layers of a painting than in the later layers in order to make sure that each successive layer is more flexible than the preceding layer. Winsor & Newton's Liquin Original Medium (Buy from Amazon) improves flow and speeds drying time, keeping paint flexible so you don't have to continue adding oil to top layers. Also paint thick-over-thin to avoid cracking.

This is because the thin layers dry faster and you don't want the surface layer drying faster than layers beneath it. Keep your initial layers thin by mixing them with turpentine. Keep your thick impasto layers until the end. The same is true for paint that dries faster. Faster-drying colors should be used as initial layers of a painting rather than on top of a slow drying color. If you want to use a slower-drying color in a top layer you can add a drying medium to it to such as liquin (most popular with artists) or try Alkyd Gel Quick Drying Medium (Buy from Amazon) to speed up the drying process and extend colors. Further Reading Tempera | Define Tempera at Dictionary.com tempera noun 1. a technique of painting in which an emulsion consisting of water and pure egg yolk or a mixture of egg and oil is used as a binder or medium, characterized by its lean film-forming properties and rapid drying rate. 2. a painting executed in this technique. 3. a water paint used in this technique in which the egg-water or egg-oil emulsion is used as a binder. Compare distemper 2 (defs 1, 2).

Origin of tempera Expand 1825-1835 1825-35; < Italian, short for (pingere a) tempera (painting in) distemper, derivative of temperare to mingle, temper; see temper Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for tempera Expand Historical Examples In tempera painting the colours were mixed with egg, gum, and other vehicles dissolved in water, and laid upon a dry ground. When not painting fresco he is constant to the use of tempera. Pintoricchio Evelyn March Phillipps The objection to tempera, so far at any rate as northern countries were concerned, was that it suffered from the damp. William Blake Irene Langridge In fresco-painting he used the methods of tempera, and the decay of his works has been severe in proportion. Holman Hunt Mary E. Coleridge He displayed an old-fashioned preference for painting in tempera. British Dictionary definitions for tempera Expand a painting medium for powdered pigments, consisting usually of egg yolk and water 2. any emulsion used as a painting medium, with casein, glue, wax, etc, as a base the paint made from mixing this with pigment 3.

the technique of painting with tempera Word Origin C19: from Italian phrase pingere a tempera painting in tempera, from temperare to mingle; see temper Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for tempera Expand n. 1832, from Italian tempera (in phrase pingere a tempera), from temperare "to mix colors, temper," from Latin temperare "to mix" (see temper (v.)). Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper tempera painting | Britannica.com Tempera painting divisionism Tempera painting, painting executed with pigment ground in a water-miscible medium. The word tempera originally came from the verb temper, “to bring to a desired consistency.” Dry pigments are made usable by “tempering” them with a binding and adhesive vehicle.

Such painting was distinguished from fresco painting , the colours for which contained no binder. Eventually, after the rise of oil painting , the word gained its present meaning. The Crucifixion, tempera and gold leaf on wood panel by the Master of the Codex of Saint … Photograph by KaDeWeGirl. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, The Cloisters Collection, 1961 (61.200.1) Tempera is an ancient medium, having been in constant use in most of the world’s cultures until it was gradually superseded by oil paints in Europe, during the Renaissance . Tempera was the original mural medium in the ancient dynasties of Egypt , Babylonia , Mycenaean Greece , and China and was used to decorate the early Christian catacombs . It was employed on a variety of supports, from the stone stelae (or commemorative pillars), mummy cases, and papyrus rolls of ancient Egypt to the wood panels of Byzantine icons and altarpieces and the vellum leaves of medieval illuminated manuscripts .

painting: Tempera True tempera is made by mixture with the yolk of fresh eggs, although manuscript illuminators often used egg white and some easel painters added the whole egg. Other emulsions—such as casein glue with linseed oil, egg yolk with gum and linseed oil, and egg white with linseed or poppy oil—have also been used. Individual painters have experimented with other recipes, but few of those have proved successful; all but William Blake ’s later tempera paintings on copper sheets, for instance, have darkened and decayed, and it is thought that he mixed his pigment with carpenter’s glue. Distemper is a crude form of tempera made by mixing dry pigment into a paste with water, which is thinned with heated glue in working or by adding pigment to whiting (a mixture of fine-ground chalk and size). It is used for stage scenery and full-size preparatory cartoons for murals and tapestries. When dry, its colours have the pale, matte, powdery quality of pastels , with a similar tendency to smudge. Indeed, damaged cartoons have been retouched with pastel chalks.

Similar Topics illuminated manuscript Egg tempera is the most-durable form of the medium, being generally unaffected by humidity and temperature. It dries quickly to form a tough film that acts as a protective skin to the support. In handling, in its diversity of transparent and opaque effects, and in the satin sheen of its finish, it resembles the modern acrylic resin emulsion paints. Traditional tempera painting is a lengthy process. Its supports are smooth surfaces, such as planed wood, fine set plaster, stone, paper, vellum, canvas , and modern composition boards of compressed wood or paper. Linen is generally glued to the surface of panel supports, additional strips masking the seams between braced wood planks. Gesso , a mixture of plaster of paris (or gypsum ) with size, is the traditional ground. The first layer is of gesso grosso, a mixture of coarse unslaked plaster and size. That provides a rough absorbent surface for 10 or more thin coats of gesso sottile, a smooth mixture of size and fine plaster previously slaked in water to retard drying. This laborious preparation results in an opaque, brilliant white, light-reflecting surface similar in texture to hard flat icing sugar.

The design for a large tempera painting was traditionally executed in distemper on a thick paper cartoon . The outlines were pricked with a perforating wheel so that when the cartoon was laid on the surface of the support, the linear pattern was transferred by dabbing, or “pouncing,” the perforations with a muslin bag of powdered charcoal . The dotted contours traced through were then fixed in paint . Medieval tempera painters of panels and manuscripts made lavish use of gold leaf on backgrounds and for symbolic features, such as haloes and beams of heavenly light. Areas of the pounced design intended for gilding were first built up into low relief with gesso duro, the harder, less-absorbent gesso compound also used for elaborate frame moldings. Background fields were often textured by impressing the gesso duro, before it set, with small, carved, intaglio wood blocks to create raised, pimpled, and quilted repeat patterns that glittered when gilded. Leaves of finely beaten gold were pressed onto a tacky mordant (adhesive compound) or over wet bole (reddish brown earth pigment) that gave greater warmth and depth when the gilded areas were burnished.

Britannica Stories Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent Colours were applied with sable brushes in successive broad sweeps or washes of semitransparent tempera. Those dried quickly, preventing the subtle tonal gradations possible with watercolour washes or oil paint; effects of shaded modelling therefore had to be obtained by a crosshatching technique of fine brush strokes. According to the Italian painter Cennino Cennini , the early Renaissance tempera painters laid the colour washes across a fully modelled monochrome underpainting in terre vert (olive-green pigment), a method later developed into the mixed mediums technique of tempera underpainting followed by transparent oil glazes. Art & Architecture: Fact or Fiction? The luminous gesso base of a tempera painting, combined with the cumulative effect of overlaid colour washes, produces a unique depth and intensity of colour. Tempera paints dry lighter in value, but their original tonality can be restored by subsequent waxing or varnishing.

Other characteristic qualities of a tempera painting, resulting from its fast-drying property and disciplined technique, are its steely lines and crisp edges, its meticulous detail and rich linear textures, and its overall emphasis upon a decorative flat pattern of bold colour masses. The great Byzantine tradition of tempera painting was developed in Italy in the 13th and 14th centuries by Duccio di Buoninsegna and Giotto . Their flattened picture space, generously enriched by fields and textures of gold leaf, was extended by the Renaissance depth perspectives in the paintings of Giovanni Bellini , Piero della Francesca , Carlo Crivelli , Sandro Botticelli , and Vittore Carpaccio . By that time, oil painting was already challenging the primacy of tempera, Botticelli and some of his contemporaries apparently adding oil to the tempera emulsion or overglazing it in oil colour. Connect with Britannica Egg tempera - definition of Egg tempera by The Free Dictionary Egg tempera - definition of Egg tempera by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . tem·per·a (tĕm′pər-ə) n. 1.

A painting medium in which pigment is mixed with water-soluble glutinous materials such as size or egg yolk. Also called poster color, poster paint. 2. Painting done in this medium. [Italian, from temperare, to mingle, from Latin temperāre; see temper.] tempera (ˈtɛmpərə) n 1. (Art Terms) a painting medium for powdered pigments, consisting usually of egg yolk and water 2. (Art Terms) a. any emulsion used as a painting medium, with casein, glue, wax, etc, as a base b. the paint made from mixing this with pigment 3. (Art Terms) the technique of painting with tempera [C19: from Italian phrase pingere a tempera painting in tempera, from temperare to mingle; see temper] tem•per•a (ˈtɛm pər ə) n., pl. -per•as. 1. a technique of painting in which an emulsion consisting of water and pure egg yolk or a mixture of egg and oil is used as a binder or medium, characterized by its lean film-forming properties and rapid drying rate. 2. a painting executed in this technique. 3.

a water paint used in this technique in which the egg-based emulsion is used as a binder. Compare distemper 2 (defs. 1, 2). [1825–35; < Italian, short for (pingere a) tempera (painting in) distemper, derivative of temperare to mingle; see temper ] tempera A paint medium made by mixing color pigments with substances such as egg white, egg yolk, glue, gelatine, or casein. True tempera is when the colors are ground with egg yolk only. The medium was largely supplanted in the fifteenth century by oil paint. ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: 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. Tempera | Article about tempera by The Free Dictionary Tempera | Article about tempera by The Free Dictionary Related to tempera: Tempra , Egg tempera tempera (tĕm`pərə), painting method in which finely ground pigment is mixed with a solidifying base such as albumen, fig sap, or thin glue. When used in mural painting it is also known as fresco secco (dry fresco fresco [Ital.,=fresh], in its pure form the art of painting upon damp, fresh, lime plaster. In Renaissance Italy it was called buon fresco to distinguish it from fresco secco, which was executed upon dry plaster with pigments having a glue or casein base. ..... Click the link for more information.

) to distinguish it from the buon fresco (true fresco) applied to damp walls. The name distemper is given to the method when a glue base is involved. When used on wood panels, as it most frequently was for altarpieces and other easel pictures, it was applied on a gesso underpainting that was smooth, very white and brilliant. Tempera's particular advantage is that clear, pure colors are produced, which are not so subject to oxidation as are oils. However, tempera does not lend itself to the expression of nuances of color and atmosphere. Well known from antiquity, tempera was the exclusive panel medium in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, and in Italy it was not supplanted by oil until c.1500. In the north oil superseded tempera about a century earlier. Tempera was also much used in combination with oils. In modern times there has been a revival of tempera painting. Böcklin and Hodler in the 19th cent. experimented with it, and some 20th-century American artists, notably Ben Shahn and Andrew Wyeth, have renewed an interest in the old medium.

Pigment mixed with egg yolk applied to a sized panel is the common preparation. In industrial art, notably for posters, a simplified distemper is often used. An excellent account of the early Renaissance use of tempera is found in Cennino Cennini's Treatise on Painting (c.1437, tr. 1933). Bibliography Tempera paint | Article about Tempera paint by The Free Dictionary Tempera paint | Article about Tempera paint by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia . tempera (tĕm`pərə), painting method in which finely ground pigment is mixed with a solidifying base such as albumen, fig sap, or thin glue. When used in mural painting it is also known as fresco secco (dry fresco fresco [Ital.,=fresh], in its pure form the art of painting upon damp, fresh, lime plaster. In Renaissance Italy it was called buon fresco to distinguish it from fresco secco, which was executed upon dry plaster with pigments having a glue or casein base. ..... Click the link for more information.

) to distinguish it from the buon fresco (true fresco) applied to damp walls. The name distemper is given to the method when a glue base is involved. When used on wood panels, as it most frequently was for altarpieces and other easel pictures, it was applied on a gesso underpainting that was smooth, very white and brilliant. Tempera's particular advantage is that clear, pure colors are produced, which are not so subject to oxidation as are oils. However, tempera does not lend itself to the expression of nuances of color and atmosphere. Well known from antiquity, tempera was the exclusive panel medium in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, and in Italy it was not supplanted by oil until c.1500. In the north oil superseded tempera about a century earlier. Tempera was also much used in combination with oils. In modern times there has been a revival of tempera painting. Böcklin and Hodler in the 19th cent. experimented with it, and some 20th-century American artists, notably Ben Shahn and Andrew Wyeth, have renewed an interest in the old medium.

Pigment mixed with egg yolk applied to a sized panel is the common preparation. In industrial art, notably for posters, a simplified distemper is often used. An excellent account of the early Renaissance use of tempera is found in Cennino Cennini's Treatise on Painting (c.1437, tr. 1933). Bibliography Egg Tempera - WatercolorPainting.com Egg Tempera Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+ Christina's World - Wyeth, Andrew 36" x 29" Andrew Wyeth’s reputation has centered around watercolors and egg tempera paintings such as “Christina’s World”. Painted in 1948 and later purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, this is one of the most recognized paintings in American art. Egg Tempera Techniques – by Michael Bergt Egg tempera is a fast drying medium that is fluid by nature and must be applied thinly in semi-opaque and transparent layers. The binding qualities of the egg does not allow for impasto painting. Because of tempera’s fluid, fast drying property, it is best suited for a more linear style rather than the thick, brushy and painterly technique of oil painting.

Egg tempera has a clean, matte finish and a higher color key than oil. The subtle color variations so characteristic of egg tempera painting are unlike the deep saturated colors typical in oil paints. Therefore, the palette used in tempera only includes the colors which work best in tempera. The yellow of the egg has very little effect on a tempered color. Any initial discoloring will actually bleach out to a clear tone in time as opposed to oil’s tendency to yellow with time. Underpainting is important. Egg tempera paint is applied thinly and each subsequent layer is affected by the former. While all colors may be thinned to a glaze-like consistency, certain colors, by nature, are more transparent. One proven method of painting is to alternate layers of warm and cool colors along with opaque and transparent layers. The layers may be applied quickly and safely over one another because egg tempera sets up fast enough to allow almost immediate overpainting. Egg tempera does not blend easily like oil because it dries so quickly. This can advantageous because tempera does not become ‘muddy’ when lighter colors are applied over darker ones. One can easily renew a color by working light over dark.

In fact, a tempera painting becomes richer when more layers are applied, unlike oil’s tendency to grow darker with each layer. Graduated tones are achieved by applying a progressively lighter, more opaque color to the base color, thereby gradually reducing the transparent nature of the paint while lightening the color with the introduction of white. Whites and highlights may be added at any time, followed by glazes to create rich and resonant tones. The richest colors are generally added towards the end of the painting process over the body color or an established underpainting. Pure color may be used for details or rich glazes. Glazing is an appropriate tool to modify colors and unify areas. Customarily, paint is applied through linear hatching, loose washes/floating with transparent glazes or solid color in-fills. To in-fill a large area with solid color, make a half paste color mixture. (A paint mixed with enough white to make the color semi-opaque) A semi-opaque color will help overcome some of tempera’s tendencies to show brush strokes and to blend unevenly. Once a solid color has been laid down, several previously mentioned techniques may be applied to modify the color.

Tempera painters use cross hatching brush strokes to enhance the feeling of volume by following the contours of the forms, instead of applying strokes as if the form were flat. While tempera may be varnished, historically, varnishes do not dry evenly. They tend to crack and modify the color harmony of the painting. Instead of varnishing, the surface may be polished to an even sheen with a piece of soft cloth after the painting has dried a few days. This does not have the same effect as the protective qualities of varnish. Although tempera dries to the touch in a few seconds, the paint does not fully cure for up to nearly a year. To protect the fragile surface from scratching or water damage, frame the piece under glass for the first year. Ensure that the glass does not come into contact the painting. Supports The support one chooses for a tempera painting is the first critical element in the painting process. Tempera paint requires a slightly absorbent ground because of the relatively weak binding strength of the egg. Traditionally, a true chalk gesso ground is used and as this substance is relatively inflexible it requires a rigid support like wood.

Historically, slowly cured straight grained soft wood like poplar or basswood was used a a support. Grounds The ground is the prepared painting surface and for egg tempera this should be a traditional gesso. This gesso is a mixture of some form of whiting (chalk, gypsum, marble dust or titanium oxide), rabbit skin glue and water. Acrylic gesso is not so absorbent and is certainly not chemically compatible with egg tempera. The support must first be sized with a layer of rabbit skin glue which acts as an isolating coat and helps to bind the gesso to the support. This layer of glue sizing is made up of the same rabbit skin glue mixture that is used in making the gesso. (In a ratio of 1 ounce glue to 16 fluid ounces of water.) Egg Tempera resources courtesy of: Society of Tempera Painters – The Society of Tempera Painters is dedicated to the improvement in the art of Tempera Painting by the interchange of the knowledge and experience of the members.

Related Posts 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 painting medium "tempera" has what as a base?
Answer: Egg yolk