any suggestions?

[joelie]

My Daniel Smith order arrived today. It contains:
alizarin crimson, lemon yellow, ivory black, ultramarine blue, titanium white, emerald green, burnt umber, egg tempera medium.
also 4x4 uncradled clayboard, my cautious nature told me to go small.
I plan to get some of the books mentioned but i really want to break out the paints and work. Where do i begin? Is it important to let each layer dry as in watercolor? what the heck do i do w/the medium? Help!
joelie

[Alessandra Kelley]

Well, the really quick answer is yes, you let each layer dry like watercolor. But you can't paint it like watercolor, not as wet, I mean. You use the paint thinly, and it dries faster than watercolor. Washes are possible, but tricky. You could do some practice on a sheet of paper first, as a sort of dry run. I do that when I'm trying something new.

(Quick edit add:) No idea about the medium. If I need to thin my paint, I use water and a drop of egg, although I think the egg is not strictly necessary.

[Salamander]

Did you buy watercolours or did you get Sennelier ( or some other brand) tubed egg temperas? If you bought the tubed egg temperas I pretty much think the medium is a waste of time and money. I always just thinned my tubed temperas with either water or yolk and water as Alessandra mentioned. If you bought watercolours and some et medium then I would suggest mixing the watercolour 1/2 and 1/2 with an amount of medium and thin with water as needed.
-Eric in Oceanside

[joelie]

i bought senallier. i do have regular water colors.
so, do i just beat an egg and add a little of it to the watercolor or tube et? what is the ratio? just yolk or white too? joelie

[Salamander]

You should probably read some of the ET Papers on this site. Separate the yolk from the sack and dilute by 1/2 with water. Add this to your watercolour by 1/2 as well. Experiment. Read. This site has a ton of information. http://www.eggtempera.com/
-Eric in Oceanside

[RobM]

As you have the tubed tempera all you need to do is dilute with water. I was a little concerned that you purchased clayboard. There have been a number of topics relating to this. Some find it OK others have had bad experiences. I had an e-mail from the manufacturers a while ago stating that their boards were not compatable with ET.
As you are using the tubed variety you may be OK as they contain an amount of linseed oil.
You'll find it much better for the bank balance at a later stage going for mixing your own.
Rob

[Alessandra Kelley]

I had an e-mail from the manufacturers a while ago stating that their boards were not compatable with ET.

Not compatible? Awk. Does their packaging still say they are for use with egg tempera? I've tried Claybord, and I'd hate to think that those works won't last (I quickly reverted to gessoed panels -- they had a better working feel -- but there are one or two what I would consider important works on Claybord).

[RobM]

I can only re-iterate what the manufacturers stated. They were listed within the suppliers section of the web site, they e-mailed me and asked to be removed as they could not guarantee the product being compatible with ET.
It was not my personal experience, I have never used the product.
Rob

[dbclemons]

From what I've read by second-hand sources, Ampersand uses acrylic emulsions on all their hardboards prior to adding a ground; although, I'm not certain of that. That may be why they don't want to go on record as being compatible.

[joelie]

i am overpainting an old watercolor on #300 paper. my techinque is horrible, but practice, practice, practice-right? i went and looked at the demo it was helpful but raised more questions. Tried to find 'The Luminous Brush' but it is unavailable through amazon, alibris and barnes and noble.
i like the way i can overpaint w/o it getting muddy-that is a plus. probobly i need someone to stand next to me and actually show me everything, but that is not likely. hope i am not being a pest w/all my questions. it is a learning experience just to look at everyones work and read the back discussions. thanks. joelie

[Salamander]

Have you checked out these sites as well?
http://www.eggtempera.org/links/
or
http://eggtempera.free.fr/
or
http://www.thedailypaintedegg.blogspot.com/

[RobM]

Keep asking the questions Joelie, that's what this forum is for.
It looks as if Amazon UK have 4 of Altoon's book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Luminous-Brush-Painting-Egg-Tempera/dp/0823028887/sr=11-1/qid=1162718931/ref=sr_11_1/026-3316633-0498858

[Bert Congdon]

I guess to some I might sound like a broken record, but I recommend the CD, Breaking Eggs Making Paint from Brandywine River Museum.

[Alexandra van Cruyningen]

:-( Ampersand claybord not compatable with ET?

Can anyone tell me more about this? Among other gesso panels I am using claybord and I found it works well with egg tempera, but this sounds rather alarming. Still have some claybords in my cupboard, better use them for my oils then?
I really liked the realgesso panels from realgesso.com but they stopped sending to the Netherlands and getting good material is already a problem here. I have to shop around the world.
Alexandra van Cruyningen

[JanMoore]

Jolie -- South Dakota is not an unreasonable distance from Denver. If you could get here, Mark Thompson teaches egg tempera at the Art Students League of Denver. You can see his work on this site in the gallery. Check the ASLD catalog at www.ASLD.org. Sometimes he has one day workshops.

[RobM]

I really liked the realgesso panels from realgesso.com but they stopped sending to the Netherlands and getting good material is already a problem here. I have to shop around the world.
Alexandra van Cruyningen

Alexandra
Waarom uw niet zelf maken :grin:
Cornelissen & Son in London will supply you with the materials.
http://www.cornelissen.com/index.asp
Rob

[joelie]

Thank you, he has really nice work. Denver is a long way from here, i am in NE SD so it is about 500 miles to the western border. You never know, i might just there. Is there anyone in the mpls./st paul mn area you know of? joelie

[Bert Congdon]

Yes, Joelie, it is cheap and easy to make your own, and as suggested, there is a ton of information at this site. if you think you might need more help or explanation, just come back here and ask.

[Alexandra van Cruyningen]

:grin:

Rob, your Dutch is really good!! Have to admit I have a busy household. Three kids, two dogs, lots of work, commisions and I still paint in the kitchen (beautiful northern light) as all my children still live at home and my own studio will have to wait. But you are probably right I should learn to make my own panels. Why are the Ampersand claybords no good? Can you tell me more about it?
This by the way was my first post, and I am gathering courage to post an ET painting on the critique section, once I have figured out how. I discovered I could paint rather late in life, now two and a half years ago. After a visit to the national gallery in Feb. 2004 something strange happened and afterwards I felt the sudden urge to hold a brush... midlife crisis I thought but to my astonishment my hand knew what to do. I have no formal training what so ever and learn by reading and visiting galleries, standing as close as they allow me to, and reading the forum.
I am going to London 24 November and I will pay Cornelissen and sons a visit.

[joelie]

alexandra; only one of my six kids is still home, but i usually paint in my kitchen too. i make the noon meal for my husband and sometimes my brother-in-law and our hired men. so i paint after the meal is cleared away.
i just ordered koo schadler's book and i read the archives here a lot and paint paint paint. joelie

[Alexandra van Cruyningen]

Hello Joelie, you know all about the hassle of clearing the table for meals, then breaking an egg, temper the pigments and start painting again. Quite busy, that 's the reason I still haven't made my own panels, and as I have a lot of portrait commissions I simply couldn't find the time to learn how to make them. Lately I have also been busy learming to photograph artwork (not a simple thing at all) and together with a friend of mine making my new website. Learning photoshop etc...no one warned me being an artist involved more than just painting...and I am not the most technical person in the world, still haven't figured out all the little knobs on my Nikon D50.
Let me know what you think of Koo Schadler's book, perhaps I can order one too?
Alex.

[sabine]

hi Joelie and Alexandra :-)

I think that in those conditions, it's just impossible to make your own panels! Except if you could use a place from time to time to make your panels? It only takes a day or 2 to prepare them... (back and front)

I do admire your courage to paint without a real workplace!

Sabine

[RobM]

Let me know what you think of Koo Schadler's book, perhaps I can order one too?

You can get a preview at http://www.kooschadler.com/thebook.htm and also how to order.
Rob