Just what are all these artist’s media? Oils, Acrylics, Watercolor, Gouache … ?
Over the years many kinds of materials have been used to produce color and
monochrome images. Prehistoric cave painters probably used the juice of berries,
the burnt ends of sticks and colored rocks to produce their images. Today we use
manufactured products that are more convenient, consistent and durable. Following
is a brief description of some of the more common media.
First – all drawing and painting media consist of some coloring matter and a binder.
The coloring matter is either pigment (finely ground powder either natural or man
made) or dye stuff. Most pigments are more or less permanent while dyes generally
are not. The binder is what is used to hold the pigments together.
Painting Media
Oil Media
Oil paints are pigments ground into a drying oil of either linseed or poppy
oil. These date back to the time of the Italian renaissance and are the most popular
media today.
Water miscible oils are a recent variation on traditional oils. They consist of
an emulsion of oils in water. This eliminates the need for toxic, flammable solvents
in the studio. They handle much like regular oils and when dry have the same
characteristics.
Alkyds are another product of the 20th century. An alkyd (or alcid)
is a compound of alcohol and acid. This is then blended with one of the drying oils
and ground with the pigments. Alkyds differ from regular oils in that they dry to the
touch in a few hours, as opposed to days, and they do not have the tendency to yellow
over time as do the regular oils.
Water Media
Acrylic paints are pigments ground into an emulsion of methylacrylate in water.
They are extremely fast drying, very flexible, and non yellowing. They are also more
fluid than oil media. Acrylics may be used straight from the tub or jar to produce
effects similar to oil paints, or may be mixed with varying amounts of water to produce more
fluid effects, similar to watercolor. Many people, myself included, find the drying
rate a drawback - the colors cannot be blended or worked on the painting surface as can
oils. Works done in acrylic are sometimes included with oil paintings and sometimes
with watermedia, depending on the style of the work and the preferences or prejudices
of the gallery.
Watercolor paints are extremely fine ground pigments in water with a little gum
arabic as a binder. The paints are transparent and applied as layers of washes or full
strength. White is not normally used - the paper is left uncovered where white is
needed and colors are lightened by adding more water.
Gouache (pronounced gwahsh) is a heavier, thicker opaque form of watercolor. White
is used both for white and for mixing. Gouache is used extensively in commercial art and
illustration.
Other Painting Media
Tempera is ground in egg yoke and Casein in a natural milk precipitate. Both
are quick drying and dry to flat or matte finish. Casein can be bought prepared, in tubes, while
tempera is prepared by the artist when needed as it has a very short shelf life (egg yoke
spoils quickly). I have never used either of these, but tempera is used by some, almost
exclusively, most notably by Andrew Wyeth. NOTE: the dictionary defines casein as:
ca·sein (pronounced kay!-seen) n. A white, tasteless, odorless protein precipitated
from milk by rennin. It is the basis of cheese and is used to make plastics, adhesives,
paints, and foods.
Drawing Media
Pastel is pigment mixed with gum arabic and water to form a paste. The paste is
then shaped into round or square sticks, cut to length and dried. Works completed with
pastel may be called drawings, if the main effects are linear, or paintings, if modeled
color areas predominate. As there is no real "binder" in pastels, the resulting
paintings are very fragile and must be handled with care - the only thing holding pigment
to the surface is that the drawing act forces the pigment particles into the fibers of the
paper surface. However, this lack of a binder means there is no "paint film" to
get between the viewer and the color, it will never yellow and will retain their brilliance throughout
their life.
Graphite The so called lead pencil contains no lead, but rather a mixture of graphite
and clay which is then baked. The more clay, the harder the stick and the lighter the line
produced. Graphite drawing media is produced as wood encased pencils, "leads" for
use in mechanical pencils, and as blocks used much as you would use a crayon. It is also
available as "woodless" pencils - blocks of graphite in the shape and size of a
standard wood pencil.
Ink is a liquid containing colored dyes and as such, with one notable exception, is
not permanent. The one exception is India Ink or Chinese Ink. India ink is a black ink made
from carbon, traditionally from lamp black - the "soot" from an oil lamp. Inks
may be applied with a brush, pens of various types, or with a stick, sponge or almost anything.
A recent innovation is acrylic and other pigment based inks. These inks are permanent and
waterproof. They are used the same way, and with the same instruments as regular inks, except
they may not be used in regular fountain pens. As you may have guessed - India Ink is a
pigmented ink - carbon, or lamp black, being a pigment.
Colored Pencil in the broadest sense includes a wide variety of drawing media
including Pastel Pencils, Watercolor (or more properly water soluble) Pencils and
Colored Pencils. As with all media, colored pencils consist of pigment and binder, with
the difference between the colored pencil types being the binder. Pastel Pencils and
Watercolor Pencils use the same binders as regular pastels and watercolors, but with
differing amounts to make them harder. Colored Pencils use wax, oil, or both as the
binder.
Metal Point, little used today, is drawing with fine wires of metal, most commonly
silver, copper and lead. The term "lead pencil" comes from the similarity of its
marks to that of a lead wire. Metal point drawings are extremely refined, delicate drawings
that may be made no other way. While it is little used today, in the hand of a fine craftsman
produce beautiful and subtle effects.
