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Let's learn about painting mediums

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PAINTING MEDIUMS

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·        Encaustic: Encaustic, which means ‘to burn in’, is an ancient Greek painting technique, also known as hot wax painting. It is done by combining hot beeswax with colouring pigment. Encaustic wax has many of the properties of oil paint: it can give a very brilliant and attractive effect and offers great scope for elegant and expressive brushwork. The wax has to be reheated to be manouvered after applying to the surface which is usually wood or canvas. It was used to make portraits by the Greek to honour the dead.

·        Tempera: Tempera was the original mural medium in the ancient dynasties of Egypt, Babylonia, Mycenaean Greece, and China. This medium combines egg yolk with pigment. It was used to paint religious Christian icons. It is permanent, fast-drying and has to be applied on stiff support as it’s not flexible. However, this medium is said to be 'temperamental' as it’s consistency has to be delicately balanced by changing the amount of yolk and water.

·        Fresco: Fresco paintings were used on plaster and ceilings. This medium was popularized during the Renaissance by painters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Buon fresco was used on wet plaster, combining water with pigment. When the plaster dried, it sealed the paint making it durable. Secco fresco was painted on dry plaster and hence needed a binder to hold the paint together.

·        Oil: Oil paintings use pigments combined with drying oil as a binder. It was a technique developed in the 15th century and is still famous among artists because of its durability and versatility in texture due to which on balancing the amount of oil, the paint can applied thinly giving a transparent effect or like a paste with a pallet knife. Its slow drying nature allows an artist to work on the painting for days even months. It can be applied in layers, with each layer increasing in the amount of oil. Oils act as a great medium for obtaining a variety of colours. They have to used in well ventilated places as the oil used in thinning or binding release fumes which can be suffocating and toxic. Oil paints have to be used with extreme care as the brushes and paints cannot be used with water. They also take a lot of time to dry between layers which can increase the duration of painting.

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·        Watercolor: Watercolour is the easiest medium to use and often children are taught to use it in schools. They are water soluble and are dissolved in large amount of water to obtain thin layers of translucent colours that can be build to form detailed artworks with depth. They have a matte finish and are preferably used on watercolour paper which thick like blotting paper which can absorb water without changing its texture.

 

·        Gouache: Gouache is similar to watercolour but it is more opaque in nature. Gouache has a considerable history, having been used for at least twelve centuries. It can be used to paint lettering or fill in drawings, it allows flexibility because mistakes can be covered up, and it photographs well — an important attribute in the age of digital illustration and design.

 

·        Acrylic: Acrylic paint is the most recent medium in this article, with the first synthetic use dating back to 1940s. It is a mix between oil paints and watercolours. Acrylic paints have a huge versatility as they come in bold colours and their consistency can be changed by using synthetic mediums such as gel and matte for thick textures which give glossy and opaque finish respectively. These mediums can be used for impasto techniques. Retarding mediums can be used to slow the drying time as the acrylic paint dries very fast once exposed to air and this medium makes them resemble oil paints. On adding excessive water they act like watercolours. Acrylics are also efficient because they use water as medium compared to oil paints and can be removed from surfaces by peeling.

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