Egg Tempera

Egg tempera is an ancient medium whereby egg yolk and pure pigments are mixed together to make paint. Each working day begins with a fresh egg yolk mixed with water then worked into the dry pigment to make the egg tempera paint.

This is applied painstakingly in many thin layers to achieve a translucent quality whereby each layer is affected by subsequent layers to produce subtle gradations in tone and a complex web of colour.

The completed painting has a matte finished which, over time, becomes waxy and resistant to change. The egg medium does not yellow with time, so the colours remain as bright and clear as the day they were painted. It is this purity of both colour and working method that drew me to this medium initially and it is the translucent quality which continues to captivate and sustain this passion.