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P
igments
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ums
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esins
Section 1
How to make tempera paints
You will need: A glass muller, a sheet of glass or marble, air tight jars, a palette knife,
jars for egg and water, vinegar, distilled water, pigments and fresh hen’s eggs.
1. Put some pigment onto a glass sheet, make a well in it and
drop in some distilled water.
2. Grind the pigment with a muller in a figure of eight
motion, adding more distilled water when necessary.
It is best to stand with your weight over the muller.
This is done to make a fine pigment paste.
3. Store the ground pigment in an air tight
jar. Add a few drops of distilled water from
time to time when the paste starts to dry out.
4. Break the egg carefully, and sepa-
rate the yolk from the white. Rinse
the yolk under a cold tap. Always
use free range eggs.
5. Hold the yolk and slash
the sack letting the liquid run
into a glass jar. Never put a
fresh egg into a receptable
that has old egg adhering to
it. A requirement of tempera
is that all utensils, brushes
and palettes be kept
scrupulously clean.
6. Add a few drops of clear vinegar to preserve the egg.
Egg should not be kept for more than a few days, even in a
refridgerator, as it will loose its binding strength.
7. Put a little pigment paste onto your palette and mix with
equal parts of egg and distilled water. Some pigments require
more egg than others.
Oil sable brushes are suitable for tempera. They must
be rinsed in water continually during use, as egg yolk
dries very quickly and brushes could be ruined.
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