View the attached video for a short egg tempera painting presentation.
Pete prepares a panel with traditional gesso.
Egg tempera paints demand a more delicate application than most other paints. Usually, sable, red sable or soft nylon brushes are used, with good points and long bristles. Once loaded with paint, the brush is wiped on a rag or tissue, or between thumb and forefinger, to remove excess paint which could create blobs at the end of each stroke or slow the drying time of the stroke. Each stroke is laid down quickly and precisely and should dry to the touch in four or five seconds.
The action is more like using a pen or pencil than typical brushwork. Each stroke remains separate and must be allowed to dry before applying another one on top of it. Use water freely to rinse brushes and thin color, but wipe the brush before applying strokes so that the brush and stroke are fairly dry. The paint should appear translucent rather than opaque; that translucency plus the gradual build-up of thin layers of paint gives egg tempera its characteristic clarity and luminosity.
An optical color blending technique, where colors are layered rater than mixed, is usually employed in egg tempera. Cross-hatching is used both for color blending and to define forms. Directional strokes also help describe form. Egg tempera is used on smooth, non-flexible surfaces. Although the medium dries to a very hard surface that is very resistant to wear and color fading, it does become brittle, somewhat like a very thin rock.The surface must remain rigid to prevent cracking. Gessoed wood or untempered Masonite panels are traditionally used, and although some good prepared panels are now available, Peter prefers to prepare his own panels.
Peter Muzyka's preferred pigments for egg tempera painting include: alizarin crimson, cadmium red medium, cadmium yellow medium, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, cadmium green. Black is usually made by adding ultramarine blue with burnt umber.
In future weeks, Peter Muzyka's site will display work in progress, outlining his personal technique with egg tempera painting.
All Artwork and Text Copyright 1974-2007 Peter Muzyka and Vanishing Rural Georgia Art
Peter Muzyka's art explores the relationship that we have with our environment. His work includes egg tempera paintings, oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, and photography.
