Lifting colours

[Camilla]

I have a bit of a problem. Unless I am very careful, there is a tendency for underlying paint to come off when I apply the next layer(s). This happens even if the paint has been allowed to dry for a day.
Could this have something to do with my egg mixture? Or is it a part of the ET charm?
I use one part egg yolk, one part red wine and two parts water.

Sincerely, Camilla

[Salamander]

When I use just yolk and water I don't seem to have this problem...perhaps the wine is the culprit...I've never added it so can't say from experience. Try it without though and see how it goes.

[JeffG]

I use one part egg yolk, one part red wine and two parts water.

That's an awful lot of liquid. I just use a 1:1 yolk-water mix, maybe a few more drops of water and have only occasional isolated spots of lifting.

I never heard of red wine being in the recipe.

[Dennis H]

Camilla,
Try it without wine added into the paint emulsion. (I do usually add a few parts red wine to my painting process, but they're reserved for quaffing.)
I add a few drops of white vinegar to each egg yolk. I only put water to the mix in my palette cups as necessary while painting.
That said, I have colleagues who add up to an equal part water to the yolk at the outset, or add as much as 1/3 vinegar (and no water.) I just like mine richer to begin with.
With so much wine and water as components in your emulsion, it certainly sounds as though you don't have enough egg to temper your pigments sufficiently. As you experiment in finding the proper strength, try brushing out a few strokes or patches of tempered pigment on a sheet of glass. Let them dry and then see if you can peel them off the surface of the glass with a razor blade or other thin, sharp, flat knife. If the paint flakes off or seems powdery, you will know that there is not enough yolk. It should lift in a single piece or two. You'll have to find that "tipping point" of just enough yolk. Too much egg is not as crucial a distinction; the paint in that case is simply less easy to handle well or is more transparent than you might like.
Regards,
Dennis

[Camilla]

There seems to be consensus on the fact that I use too little yolk, so I'll use some more and perhaps leave out the wine. Dennis' glass plate trick sounds like a very good idea.

Thanks a lot everybody.

[Anonymous]

Yeah,

I know what the problem is! Your supposed to drink the wine :lol:

Lori

and ummm you might want to make sure your brush is not loaded either!! Keep it relatively dry by brushing it across a paper towel before you go to the support.

[Gertz]

I almost always keep a glass of wine ready within reach when I paint. My fear is that I some day will dip my brush in that instead of the paint - - that is definitely not supposed to happen, as it is there for drinking purposes only.

[turlogh]

I have a bit of a problem. Unless I am very careful, there is a tendency for underlying paint to come off when I apply the next layer(s). This happens even if the paint has been allowed to dry for a day.
Could this have something to do with my egg mixture? Or is it a part of the ET charm?
I use one part egg yolk, one part red wine and two parts water.

In addition to the other suggestions here, you can also try putting your painting in a sunny window for a few hours. The actinic light from the sun has a significant effect on the hardness of ET. You can test this yourself by painting some egg yolk medium onto two identical surfaces and letting one sit for a day in a dark room and the other in the sun. The sun-hardened egg will be noticeably tougher and more water-resistant.

[odyssic]

I've had the same problem when attempting washes, especially if the underlayer is within a day new. If you're doing washes, you can let it sit around a bit longer. Also, I notice if I lay it on fast it works better than if I keep fussing. Then the friction of the brush begins to pick up the under layer.

Steven

[Alessandra Kelley]

I'd like to add that one day is not really all that long a drying time for egg tempera. Three or four days, or even a week, is better to toughen up the paint and keep it from lifting. I once discovered four months drying time produced paint like iron, but I wouldn't recommend going much longer, as I understand that after a long time the new layers of paint don't adhere to the old ones properly.

I like to paint several paintings at one time, or a couple of pretty large ones, so there's always a really dry area to work on.