Make tempera with what you have

When I paint with egg tempera, I prefer to use powdered pigment. But this hasn't always been the case. When I was first learning about the medium—and just trying to figure out if it was a material I wanted to pursue—I would make tempera from egg binder and ready-made paint. Doing so saved my time and money until I was ready to invest in pigments or tempera paint tubes.* This post aims to demonstrate how you can use materials you already have at home to begin painting with egg tempera.

*I still haven't tried pre-mixed tempera tubes, so I can't speak to them. I do know that most tempera tubes use egg yolk plus other preservatives and additives. In my work, the nature of mixing paint from its most pure materials is just as important to me as the final product itself. I'm still exploring what this means for me and my work, but I prefer to use dry pigments for the time being.

Why start with paint?

There are a few reasons you may want to use pre-mixed paint to make egg tempera. You may not have access to powdered pigments, or you may be curious about the medium. Using a paint you likely already have in your classroom is a great way to introduce students to the medium if you are a teacher.

Aside from the benefits of accessibility and cost, using a mixture of paint and egg binder also results in a tempera that closely mimics pure egg tempera paint. The paint will dry very quickly to a satin finish. Therefore, you will need to use a dry brush technique with many layers of paint.

Final swatches of tempera from four paints. From left to right, Winsor and Newton Artists’ Watercolor, Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor, Maimeri Gouache, and Utrecht Studio Series Acrylic. © Katie Toepp 2020

Test swatched with different paint

In this post, I walk through the steps of making egg tempera from some water-based paints you may have handy: watercolor, gouache, and acrylic. Ultramarine blue is a color that is usually available in beginner sets, and I had it available to me in each of the paints I used for this demonstration:

• Winsor and Newton Artists’ Watercolor

• Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor

• Maimeri Gouache

• Utrecht Studio Series Acrylic*

* this tube about ten years old from my time as an art student, so it didn't mix as well as I would have liked

For these swatches, I used Ultramarine from four paints I had on-hand in my studio. From left to right, Winsor and Newton Artists’ Watercolor, Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor, Maimeri Gouache, and Utrecht Studio Series Acrylic. © Katie Toepp 2020

Prepare the binder

First, I prepared my binder. Click here to see my basic tempera recipe. The resulting mixture should be the consistency of cream, but you may need to adjust the amount of water you add depending on the type of paint you intend to use.

I prepared my binder to be the consistency of cream. © Katie Toepp 2020

Technical Note

Paint is a mixture of pigment (dry) suspended in a binder. In egg tempera, the binder is our egg yolk mixture. In watercolor and gouache, the binder is gum arabic with some other additives. The binder of acrylic paint is an acrylic polymer. Both of these binders are water-based and dissolve very easily in our egg binder.

If your color has a high flow, for example, my liquid Hydrus watercolor, you may need less water to prepare your binder.

Plan your swatches

Next, I planned my swatches on bright white bristol paper. I have one swatch for each mixture, and each swatch is divided into two sections. The left side of each swatch will have one layer of paint, while the right side will have two layers of paint. The purpose of this comparison is to demonstrate how the transparent egg tempera will layer.

Prepare your colors

I then prepared my colors by incorporating an egg binder into each paint. In contrast to the process I used to create my test swatches, I didn't measure the ratio of color to binder by volume. Instead, I approximated the consistency to be creamy and somewhat transparent. Note: I recommend you mix your colors with an old but clean brush that has lost its shape or a palette knife; this way, you won't ruin your finer brushes.

Using a pipette to drop egg tempera binder onto a metal palette. © Katie Toepp 2020

With a clean brush, each color is mixed with a binder to produce transparent paint. © Katie Toepp 2020

Paint your swatches

As I worked through the different tempera mixtures, I noticed some dried quicker than others. The gouache and acrylic paint mixtures dried much faster than either of the watercolor combinations. This drying rate reflects the properties of the colors without the egg binder additive. Remember: Apply the paint from your mostly-dry brush in light strokes.

My dry brush application at 3x speed. © Katie Toepp 2020

When dry, each of the tempera mixtures has a waxy, satin finish identical to “pure” egg tempera paint. © Katie Toepp 2020

Although I could have taken more care with my dry brush technique, I am satisfied with the result. I have used four different water-based paints to create egg tempera mixtures that resemble pure egg tempera. The application of each of the mixtures, although slightly variable, mimicked the application of pure egg tempera. What is more, the final product's satin finish is nearly identical to the finish of egg tempera.

Final swatches of tempera in ultramarine from four paints. From left to right, Winsor and Newton Artists’ Watercolor, Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor, Maimeri Gouache, and Utrecht Studio Series Acrylic. © Katie Toepp 2020