To be clear, since I usually get this question when trying a new medium, this is not ever going to replace watercolor or take my channel in a new direction. Egg tempera simply has too many limitations for that. I hope it might enhance a few paintings though, maybe like a cabinet maker fooling around with inlays. 😊
I did an egg tempera copy of Fra Filippo Lippi's Virgin and Child with St. John, making the gessoed board and cooking the rabbitskin glue etc. You have to sand between each layer of water gesso (and acrylic gesso doesn't work). I think mine had 14 layers of gesso. Turned out beautifully, but it was a LOT of work.
I’m glad you took the time to explain this new medium to me. It is definitely a lot simpler medium to work with & make than I thought it would be. Having watched you painting a nuthatch before it does seem like this one is turning out to be a slightly darker & glossier looking bird. As always I am just enthralled by watching how you go about with your drawing and painting. This is definitely a wonderful surprise and inspirational video like you’ve always done. I am just starting to learn how to use gum Arabic with my watercolors, so I might give this a try too.
Beautiful bird, would be interesting to see how this medium would look like with translucent subjects like water and plants. Your film clip inserts crack me up😆thank you for including them, I love that clip from Sabrina
Very interesting, Steve. I saw some absolutely breathtaking egg tempera paintings at the National Gallery (London, England) some years ago and have also watched a couple of genuine icon painters at work. Thank you very much for this video.
That was so interesting and the painting was amazing. I love the work of Andrew Wyeth and was curious about the medium of egg tempera. Thank you for this!
that bird was extraordinarily good, it really shows just how much you know your subject matter and have drawn them many times. That medium however, did bring a vibrancy to the colour which was surprising. The finished piece, brilliant, something for me to aspire to.
Oh, Steve. I love the nuthatch. I have never tried egg tempera. But you did a great job, it seemed to me. Plus, I just love the way you paint birds, and I could watch you paint birds and trees all day long. Thank you so much. I have been ill, and my computer, also, but we are better now, and hoping to get back to painting. You always inspire me. Thank you so much, favorite teacher!
Great to see this in modern painting. I once saw an exhibition with woks by Renaissance masters Giovanni Bellini and Andrea Mantegna, painted between 1440 and 1500 😲, and many of them were painted with egg tempera. And they were all still super bright and detailed! I could not imagine that egg tempera could be so permanent. Kremer Pigmente has a ready made 🥚 egg tempera binder, which I have used. It was similar to watercolour, and nice to experiment with, without the egg mess 🤭. Thanks for sharing your experiments with us. Always happy to see you try new things
Thanks. Someone else mentioned the Kremer binder. Might look into that. Honestly though, I don't find extracting the yolk much of a problem at all. No worse for me that fixing eggs for breakfast which I do all the time. 😊
I did a lot of egg tempera paintings as part of my MFA thesis work. It is a demanding and rewarding medium. I did the whole thing from making the gesso with whiting and rabbit glue to grinding the paint. Very challenging and often tedious, but the results are so unique. I don’t do it now - hard on my hands, but I have been playing around with using it with watercolor instead of gouache or other more modern mixed media. You did great breaking it down to the basics. I found adding a couple drops of clove oil to the yolk before adding water acted as a good preservative - I could get a few days from one yolk mixture. Thanks for the links!
Thank you for showing us this medium. I’m intrigued, also a Pavlova makers so have a few yokes spare. Your picture looks stunning, I’m waiting for the bird to take fright and fly. Beautiful.
tank you for that new very old technique I will try it! the first time I saw it was with a man who did enluminure on old book like bible and he use egg yook and dry pigment of water color. The color where fabulus
I've been intrigued with tempera for many years, due to my love of Wyeth's paintings. It seemed too daunting. You've been able to simplify it to something I could experiment with.
I doubt I'll ever use this medium, but I always love watching other people play around. Lovely work, and a video well worth my time, as per usual - we can always count on you for quality content!
I don't care what you painted with. School tempera paints, crayola watercolor or coffee - that bird is awesome. Your drawing, that branch everything is simply gorgeous.
This is the one medium I dream of trying one day. Just haven't had a chnace to get the materials, the pigments to make the paints with the yolk, or the already prepared egg temepra tubes. I definitely look forward to seeing your explorations with this medium.
Stunning. I definitely would not have the patience for that type of detail. Kudos for trying something new and doing it well. I would love for you to do a series on this medium.
Koo Schadler book on Egg Tempera is available on Kindle for 14.99. Definitely worth it if you have Kindle on an iPad or computer as you’ll get full benefit of pictures. Vickrey book only available in hardcover for $30.
I enjoyed this, but I have a request. If you ever do another one, would you consider doing the same painting in regular watercolor so that we can see how they differ? Thanks so much for being generous with your time and knowledge.
Dunno if someone already mentioned this or you may know yourself, Steve, but Sennelier makes a powdered egg yolk product in a jar that mixes with any gouache or watercolor to make tempera and saves egg prep time if you so desire. It works pretty well. warm regards, h
Thanks Hajra. I wasn't aware of a powdered egg yolk, but I tried Sennelier's liquid medium that you mix with pigment. Really hated it. I then read that its made using egg whites because yolks can't be preserved well enough in a jar or tube. Plus its tempera grassa (linseed oil added). Dunno, still learning all of this stuff. I found extracting the yolk easy enough though, and that seems to work great. Thanks for stopping by.
Interesting medium to try at some point when I feel like I have mastered the basics of watercolor to a point where I am comfortable. I have to confess I might try extracting the egg yolk and experiment with it in cooking also!!!!!
I'm much more a cook than painter (but I love playing with watercolors). I have painted Christmas cookies w/egg yolk colored w/food coloring. Beautiful deep colors and glossy. This was before gel food colors were easily accessible and plain old food coloring made deep colors. Please don't eat cookies colored w/ gouache or pigment! You don't need a guillotine! any old surface, including the table top, is fine for cracking the egg, but use your fingers to separate. Fingers are gentler than shells... and faster if you are cooking for a crowd. No professional would use the shell to separate eggs.
Good for you for trying this.. I paint with encaustic which is beeswax based.. different system of heating the paint..so many choices! Thanks for another great video!
Hahahaha, "When we crack it, we must not torment it but be merciful and execute it ... like with a guillotine." Where on earth did you find that? Too good, another coffee spitter. This is a very interesting video. I never once thought, "Steve will paint with egg today." I have nothing against eggs but I'm not going to attempt egg tempera however, it definitely is an interesting topic and I wondered how egg tempera was made ... and why. I've seen it mostly used in religious iconography. "The Last Supper" was painted on a wall by Leonardo Da Vinci but it peeled after 20 years. I think he applied it wrong, however; some say he worked too slowly and he added oils, plus there was heat from a kitchen on the other side that affected it. So I guess peeling isn't normally an issue. Anyway, I thank you for a different kind of painting episode.
🤣 Yeah, I figured this as mostly a curiosity for entertainment. Had to try it and figured my viewers would like to watch! 😁 Yes, Leonardo used an experimental technique. It was supposed to be applied to wet plaster like a fresco but he painted over dry plaster. That and the high humidity caused a failure of the pigments to adhere.
Beautiful white-breasted nuthatch! Strangely, there's one outside my sliding door eating at my feeder as I watch you paint this. I fell way behind on your channel after the world ended. It was a pretty big mistake because when times are good you should paint... and when times are bad you should paint more. The Scripture at the end of your videos is always uplifting too. I scrolled back to where I left off. Huge mood booster and a broken dam of inspiration from your videos as always. I came to watercolor from oils and have always struggled with the differences in techniques. Though my paintings still look overworked with less of the "mind" of watercolor, they're loads better than when I first started.
I just bought the Vickery book for $3.36 + $3.00 shipping. If I may share I have been taking care of my husband for several years who just passed way 1/31/22. I find it so comforting to return to painting listening to your always educational soothing toned instruction. Jeanne retired RN
Always found egg tempera a very interesting medium, not in the least tje crafty diy part of it, also the history. Maybe I should get a couple of chickens again... What a lovely bird you painted btw.
I have recently fallen for this medium as my favorite. For working with dry pigments; check how Antonis in the channel "Painting the Light" does it. He makes it work in a surprisingly straightforward manner (but you need to buy some pigments of course). Overall my favorite egg tempera painter is probably Robert Vickrey.
This is exciting, Steve. I paint miniatures and love the idea of something that's transparent but doesn't rewet. I've looked into egg tempera, but it sounded too complicated. This sounds achievable.
Thank you! I'm playing catch up on videos. I.love Stan Miller and I love egg tempera. But for me it also goes back to the Wyeth family. Long ago in college (Looong ago) I was at party, sitting on a couch when a guy comes over, sits down and says, " I've been watching you and you've just been staring at that wa for over 20 minutes.What are you looking at?" I never took my eyes off the opposite wall and said, "I think it's a Wyeth." He got up, walked across the room to lookat the signature on the painting, came back and said, "It is a Wyeth. How did you know?" To me, even having never seen this painting before,it was clear. "Well, because it's a Wteth.,"
Egg Tempera dries fast. After drying through it is water resistant (water color is NOT), doesn´t bleach if exposed to the sun, is resistant to abrasion and has a nice lively expression.
Great to see the steps. I have always wondered if a person is highly allergic to egg if you can get it on your skin or breathe round it etc. Guess I haven’t been brave enough to try. Beautiful painting would love to look at it in person.
Ive done iconography in the past. Egg tempera is meant to be used from dark to light ideally. why didn't you use dry pigment? Gouache alreadt has a binder
Convenience mostly. I am going to try dry pigment but didn't have enough when the video was made. Watercolor or gouache are acceptable and good ways to learn egg tempera without spending lots of money on dry pigment. It can be very expensive. The binders are quite different. Egg is not ast rewettable (or liftable) in the short term and absolutely waterproof once its cured for a few weeks. The film (and pigment) sits more on top of the paper so its more vibrant and luminous.
A deep jewel like luminosity is a wonderful thing to aim for and ten layers...it is hugely painstaking and that brush so tiny. But perhaps more complex layering of color would be interesting and worthwhile. Love the demo. Thank you from an experienced watercolorist. Since I love Wyeth this is a great window. I really agree re asking why about rules. So if you did ten glazes in transparent washes in watercolor would that look very different? Perhaps, yes, since the egg tempera creates a real paint layer, and watercolor does not really.
Watercolor soaks in more and pigment is dispersed into the paper fibers So yes, egg tempera, like oil can create a true paint layer suspending pigment that tends to sit on top as more layers are added.
I loved this demo and am fascinated with tempera. I just watched a few more videos on this subject and had a few questions: those small individual strokes/hatchmarks reminded me of Van Gogh--does any know if he used/studied tempera? Another mixture uses linseed oil, making it like mayonnaise -- has anyone ever painted with mayo? Have you heard of egg glair which is make with egg white which is supposedly re-wettable? Thanks.
Thanks for exploring this media I have wondered about egg tempura. I wonder about how long egg tempura paintings last? What prevents the egg yolk from breaking down over a long period of time? The vinegar?
The vinegar helps preserve the wet egg mixture for a few days. Once fully dry it's permanent and totally archival. Paintings from artists like Botticelli, surviving over 500 years, yet maintaining their full brilliance will attest to this.
Classicly the egg white was saved to seal and provide a glossy finish to the completed painting, I would love to see this in practice. Also, egg tempra was commonly mixed with myrrh because it would get rather... oderous, especially in enclosed spaces with large tempra paintings, like churches.
New to your channel. I am interested in egg tempera. I have a small flock of chickens, and am curious about the using watercolor and egg tempera together. I have Koo’s book, the other one I was not aware of. I bought the Sennelier set of egg tempera paints I found on sale. Haven’t done much with it.
I've never heard of egg tempura. I love that you are sharing new mediums as you try them out. But whenever I think of food items used for painting, I think of it going bad at some point. How long do these paintings last?
Absolutely beautiful Steve. I don't think on my little phone I can see much of a difference on this finished painting, meaning different from how it would look in water color. How did it differ when using it? Did it feel different? How about how it dries? How long was the little pile of blue you mixed, usable? As always, I love the painting, and enjoy hearing your take on the process, medium, etc.!
Thanks! It's a medium that is not very spontaneous. Takes a lot of control similar to oil but faster drying and less blendable. It doesn't show well on video but there was a slightly deeper, richer and more luminous result than with watercolor. It can't come close to watercolor's wonderful wet in wet and loose spontaneity though.
@@mindofwatercolor I had the same question and had thought about using it with watercolor on some detailed areas. I have only experimented with it about 27 years ago and hadn’t tried the watercolor perspective. Stanley Miller is so fascinating to watch and your video sparked or rekindled some interest here too. Thank you Steve.
Good topic. I looked into egg tempera years ago because of the same artist, the Maryland landscape is similar to that of PA. after researching all the prep time with the panels and grinding the dry pigments (which sounded kinda cool) I decided I'd focus on watercolor (and try to ignore the call of the linseed): Liked the nuthatch...
Thanks. Understandable. I've avoided it for years for similar reasons until I saw Stan's video. Watercolor and watercolor paper? Eh, why not? Seems simple enough.
@@mindofwatercolor yeah, when I saw you using wc paper I thought about it again, but it seems very similar to gouache to me, and I wonder about the archival integrity...but you're right, worth a shot
Yes. It's a bit different than traditional egg tempera. It uses egg whites because they're easier to preserve in a tube and some Linseed oil. This is known as tempera grassa, an oil, egg mixture. I tried their binding medium and didn't like it much.
Very interesting. I’m no expert but it seems the benefit is to be able to paint on clay board or aqua board. When I’ve tried clay and/or aqua board with traditional watercolor it’s a mess.
What brand of fine tipped brush were you using on the bird. I have a hard time finding one that retains a sharp tip for detail work. I love the Tempera idea, well done.
Wow! Absolutely beautiful! I have a question, does smell like eggs when you’re painting? What about when is dry? Smells? Thank you ,I’ve had learn so much with all your tips! Blessings!
Steve excellent painting. Just beautiful. You are a modern master. I refer everyone to check out Pietro Annigoni works for egg tempera. Masterpieces. There is even a video out there of him mixing his paint in a blender. Very interesting and beautiful art.
I'm about your age. We touched on egg tempera in High School. What I want to try is a Fresco method. It won't be exactly as the old masters did it... Instead, I want to try dry wall mud on Styrofoam. I already have dry pigment and it is recommended to mull the pigment with distilled water. We'll see.
I have a question and you like to try different types of mediums, with that experience I ask you this: A while back I bought some Inktense blocks. In doing this I know that you could shave the blocks or grate the blocks to make liquid ink, so to speak. It does paint well, representing light layers and can be overlayed many times. The thing is that it separates. The mixture is only the grated powder and water. My question is what do I have to mix in the Inktense and water solution in order to make it not separate. Would Gum Arabic work? or Honey? or even Egg yolk like you did here? It was a pretty good experiment but I just wish it didn't separate.
Noticed your using a Silver Brush Ultra Mini Designer Round 6 brush. Would really appreciate your thoughts/opinion on it. Looks like it was working quite well for you. Thank you!
Yes, it worked well. Well designed point. I really like it for acrylic and gouache. Not bad for watercolor but not a heavy water handler. For dryer detail painting its fine. Perfect for this egg tempera medium also. To be honest, its really just a Golden Taklon brush. Probably the most common brush fiber out there. Lots of really good choices for that. Silver Brush does it right though. My other favorite Golden Taklon brush is the Grumbacher Golden Edge line.
@@mindofwatercolor Thanks so much for your reply, Steve. That was great info. Oh, and, I apologize for not mentioning how beautiful your bird was that you did with the egg tempera. Thank you, too, for the additional brush recommendation! Take care!!
Very interesting 👍 Did you start with guache for all colors in this paint? Have you already tried starting with powdered pigments? I wonder if egg binder can be kept in the fridge for a while? May be 2 or 3 days should be ok🤔 Thank you for your sharing 😊 if you could answer just the first question of mines… For the others I found the answers in comments😉🤗
3-4 days refrigerated and up to a week some say. The vinegar works as a preservative. Yes, all of these colors were with gouache. I've played with the dry pigments some in separate tests. Works about the same but dries even faster. And the gouache/watercolor is less waterproof in the short term.
Pulling a Spock "fascinating". I don't know whether it was the egg tempera or simply your skill, but I found the detail to be quite sharp, yet feeling soft. Just beautiful. Loved the Sabrina clip. Thank you so much fir the detailed explanation. Would be interesting to see how it mixes with mineral pigments. It took me quite a few hits and misses to get a pause on the brush. I hadn't seen you use the Silver Ultra Mini that I recall, or are you the reason I have some? Thanks for this educational and beautiful tutorial. Out of curiosity, in kindergarten we used tempera paint, same or just a hold over on the name?
Thanks. Details and edges do tend to be crisper than watercolor. The mini is a brush I keep around for acrylic and sometimes gouache. They are good. Just common Golden Taklon though. Nothing special. The point is good. Kindergarten paint is actually water based poster paint, not egg tempera. It's more like gouache.
@@mindofwatercolor Sorry to bother but now I need to ask, do you use your watercolor brushes for gouache? I was worried about wear and tear on a good brush.
Very very interesting video. I've often wondered what egg tempura is. Now that I know, I'll continue to eat my eggs, never paint with them. But how does egg tempura not get moldy or smelly? Perhaps the vinegar prevents that. Also, some eggs are contaminated with Salmonella, so please be careful.
Stunning painting, I've done the same starting out with acrylic gouache and just used one colour 🙂🙂 Can I ask do you enjoy those brushes, I've thought of investing in the silver brush mini series
How long can you keep the egg mixture before it goes bad? Can you refrigerate it or does that change it too much? I’m a frugal person and don’t want to have to throw out the mixture every time.
It's usually wise to throw it out after 4-5 days. Must stay refrigerated during that time. The vinegar helps as a preservative. Might even be ok for a week. You're not going to eat it.
Hey Steve thank you for your video. I have a couple questions, first how is lightfast quality of the paint? Secondly, I can we prevent bugs and rodents from messing with the painting made from tempera? Lastly how does this tempera compared to tempera paint that we buy from craft stores?
Lightfastness is dependent on the pigments not the binder. Egg yolk would have no effect. Egg yolk as a binder, properly applied fresh eventually dries hard, clear and waterproof and is considered one of the most archival and permanent binders around. I don't think pests mess with it unless it has gone bad. Once it dries its fine. Tempera from a craft store is different. Thats just an opaque water based poster paint or a gouache when bought as an artist's quality prouduct.
Fascinating! Check out Jim Brune. He is an Indiana Artisan and paints birds on reclaimed wood in gouache. I think that you would appreciate his talent! I first saw him on FB.
My spontaneous idea is to avoid the toxic pigments and use plant "pigments" instead with would come off the ground without binder. Or perhaps if you are painting outside, take a little bit of the ground as a pigment like a cave painter. Great possibilities! Thank you for the inspiration!
Some of us would rather paint simething nice. No offence to cave artists. If ur so worried about toxins just go digital, smearing dirt is still unsave with pesticides all around.
Then - it might be time to get rid of all the pesticides. So that we can play with "dirt" again. In nature Journaling some dirty but original "pigments of the ground" are wellcome to give the sketch a touch of the specific place.
@@mindofwatercolor Fun to experiment eitherway. I have a bad watersoluble problem. You dont want to look in my craftcloset. There needs to be an AA for that,Artist Anonymous,lol. It is weird to to asume lightfast with eggtempera, i know sennelier has some stuff on it. I will look that up :P. Probably for my next stupid question:P
i don't really get the point of mixing already good gouache with egg (i understand it being used as a medium way back when there were less choices for mediums, and you didn't have easily ready pre-packaged in your hands opaque gouache or transparent watercolor haha). And not gonna lie...it's pretty gross but that just may be me haha. Plus it seems like a waste of food...not gonna lie...i think this is a case of rose tinted glasses for some people, which is fine! people can appreciate the process of making this medium from scratch, they shouldn't let anyone stop them haha, but i don't think there is a practical reason for it nowadays. Of course, it's your work, so it came out looking nice regardless, but it's noticeable more stiff and desaturated than some of your regular watercolor work.
