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What about Color?
Medium:
Pigments ground up in an appropriate binding medium create paint. The medium defines the
paint. Oil paints are pigments ground and suspended in
linseed oil. Watercolors are pigments suspended in gum
arabic. Egg
tempera is pigment suspended in fresh egg yolk. While
fresco is pigment in water painted on fresh plaster (the setting
of the plaster binds the pigment).
The modern artist generally does not need to grind
his or her own colors for these mediums. However, the
artist working in fresco or egg tempera does. Knowing
which pigments to use for which medium is critical for
successful painting. Manuals like 'Artist's Handbook of
Materials and Techniques' by Ralph Meyer or 'Methods and Materials of
the Great Schools and Masters' by Sir Charles Locke Eastlake are
time honoured resources. Cennio Cennini's 'The Craftsman's
Handbook' can also provide useful insights into procedures
of the past. What is important is to realize that each
medium defines its pallette. Fresco offers perhaps the
most limited choice, while egg tempera, watercolors
and oil offer the
widest.
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Medium:
Did you know that the medium dictates the pallette?
Color
Theory
Additive and subtractive color basics...
Oil
Pallette
How to choose?
Egg
Tempera Pallette
Best practices...
Fresco
Pallette
the gentle chemistry of the earth
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