Tempera Paint Recipe

Materials: Glass slab, glass muller, paper towel, container for paint, small bowl, palette knife, sieve, mortar & pestle. 

Notes: Tempera is typically made either a day or a day or two in advance for a painting project due to its short shelf life. Plan accordingly.


Thinner Ver Recipe 

Pigment used for swatch: Cosmos Flower Lake pigment (LC)

Ingredients

Viscous Ver Recipe 

Pigment used for swatch: Walnut & Iron Lake Pigment

Ingredients 

Cosmos Flower Swatch Above

Walnut/Iron Swatch Above

Paint Making Steps 

1. Grind down 1 tsp pigment in a mortar and pestle to avoid clumps. Then strain the pigment through a sieve onto a tempered glass slab.

2. Add water to the pigment on the slab and mix together into a paste with a palette knife.

3. Use a glass muller in circles to blend and grind the water and pigment into a smooth paste until there is little to no grit in the paste.

4. Separate egg yolk from egg white. Discard the egg white. Once separate gently dry off the yolk with a paper towel.

5. Hold the yolk over a small bowl. Pierce the yolk with a palette knife, and collect the inner yolk in the bowl, keeping the yolk sac separate. Discard the yolk sac once the inner contents have been emptied.

6. Use 1 tsp of the inner yolk and add it to the pigment on the glass slab. It's best to blend the pigment and yolk with the palette knife as the paint dries around the edges quickly, but a glass muller works if you are careful.

7. Using a palette knife or a glass muller mix 1/4 tsp honey into the paint as a preservative.

8. Scrape your paint into a container of your choice. The more airtight the better. You can store your paint in the fridge for longer shelf life.