Egg Tempera: Historically egg tempera has been the primary paint of artists for over two-thousand years, since its invention by the Egyptians. The medium was highly favored during the Byzantine Empire for its versatility, richness of color, transparency and timeless qualities. The beauty and luminosity of Byzantine Icons is unsurpassed by the modern oil painting mediums we use today. The beginning of the renaissance was launched by using egg tempera paint to create more realistic looking icons and portraits with the newly developed Italio Byzantine style, known as International Gothic Style. The early fathers of the renaissance, Duccio, Giotto and Simone Martini all used egg tempera to the fullest extent of range, color, realism and newly invented perspective to achieve a marvelous new approach to western painting. This development inspired artists like Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi and Michelangelo to create some of the worlds best known paintings on panel. With the creation of oil paint during the early 1500’s artists slowly started switching from egg tempera to oil because of the the ease of mixing paint and speed of being able to apply paint to a gessoed panel. In the process the luminosity and transparency of tempera paint was lost to modern painters that no longer have the knowledge of the materials and techniques to create a timeless tempera painting. This workshop is intended as an educational introduction to these unique techniques that can be applied by artists in their paintings today. 

Making Your Own Tempera Paint: During the workshop students will learn to make their own egg tempera paints from scratch. By learning the properties and chemistry of pigments, grinding and mixing pigments, applying the egg yolk with distilled water and white wine as a binder, you will make your own paint just like the old masters. No modern store bought paints will equal the vibrancy, beauty and quality of the paints you will learn to make yourself.

Water Gilding 24K Gold Leaf: During the workshop students will learn how to achieve a mirror finish shine to their gold leafed paintings. The process is called Water Gilding, it requires a marble gessoed background on a wood panel on which you apply red clay bole mixed with rabbit skin glue. The clay bole dries, is sanded and polished with an agate stone burnisher. Then solution of distilled water and denatured alcohol is applied on top and the 24K Gold Leaf is placed on the wet areas, it will immediately stick to the bole. Once dried the gold leaf is burnished to a mirror like, perfect finish. Water Gilding is a unique process used by the masters that gives a beautiful finish to backgrounds or to decorative elements in paintings. You will be amazed at the possibilities of the work you can create once you learn how to properly water gild with gold.

Art Materials: All materials will be provided for the workshop by Dacia Gallery. Marble Gessoed Icon Board, Tempera Pigments, Red Clay Bole, 24K Gold Leaf, Brushes, Pallets, Drawing Paper and all other items needed. There is no need to purchase anything just come ready to paint.