Egg tempera is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pure ground powdered pigment mixed with egg yoke and thinned with water as necessary for painting or glazing. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist. Egg tempera was a primary method of painting until after 1500 when it was superseded by the invention of oil paint. Even after oil was devised, artists continued to use egg tempera as an underpainting medium.
Tempera must be painted in thin layers (translucent glazes) on a rigid support, rather than on flexible canvas supports. I use materials such as gessoed masonite or 100% cotton content watercolor board for my paintings. Egg tempera paintings are typically not glassed (although they can be once they have cured), as the paint cannot be washed off the panel once it has cured.
I chose egg tempera as it allows the level of detail that I enjoy imparting in my paintings, and the glazing allows a luminosity not found in more opaque mediums. Egg tempera paintings are best displayed under warm, direct lighting conditions.
Tempera must be painted in thin layers (translucent glazes) on a rigid support, rather than on flexible canvas supports. I use materials such as gessoed masonite or 100% cotton content watercolor board for my paintings. Egg tempera paintings are typically not glassed (although they can be once they have cured), as the paint cannot be washed off the panel once it has cured.
I chose egg tempera as it allows the level of detail that I enjoy imparting in my paintings, and the glazing allows a luminosity not found in more opaque mediums. Egg tempera paintings are best displayed under warm, direct lighting conditions.
