WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Paper, pencils, erasers, eggs, a pin, distilled water, pigment (from an art supplier or art supply store), eye droppers, glass jars, small porcelain bowls or cups, spoons, paper towels, acrylic gesso, wood or masonite panels (do not use paper for egg tempera paintings), fine sandpaper, disposable palettes, a plastic palette knife, a selection of sable brushes, charcoal sticks, dust mask or respirator.
PREPARING THE PANEL
1. Lightly sandpaper the surface of your wood or masonite panel.
2. Prepare wood or masonite panels with gesso. Use a wide brush and acrylic gesso paint. Brush gesso on the panel in one direction. Apply 4 layers of gesso. Allow each layer of gesso to dry completely before applying the next one. Leave to dry for several days. When your panel is dry, lightly sandpaper the gessoed surface.
|MAKING EGG BINDER
3. Crack an egg with one hand and pour the yolk and egg white into the palm of your other hand. Try not to break the yolk
4. Roll the egg yolk from hand to hand, and let the white drain into a cup or bowl. When the egg white has drained away, carefully hold the yolk over a jar, break the sac with a pin and let the liquid yolk drain into the jar.
5. Add small amounts of distilled water to the yolk and mix with a spoon. Put your egg binder aside to use when you begin painting.
MAKING PIGMENT PASTE
6. Use a dust mask or respirator when handling dry pigments. Put dry powdered pigment in a separate glass jar.
7. Add enough distilled water to the pigment to make a thick creamy paste. Mix with a plastic palette knife. Make as many colors as you need. To store, cover the surface of the paint mixture with a small amount of water and close the lid tightly.
Special thanks to Frainceska Aristethene and Cheryl Chan, Youth Insights Interns and models for these photographs. Find more information about the Youth Insights program and projects at
©2001 Whitney Museum of American Art