Oil, Alkyd, Acrylic, and more

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 to for toxic, flammable solvents in the studio. They handle much like regular oils and when dry they have the same characteristics as regular oils.

Alkyds are another product of the 20^th 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 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 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 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, will never yellow and 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 drwing media including Pastel Pencils, Watercolor (or more properly water soluable) Pencils and Colored Pencils. As with all media, colored pencils consist of pigment and binder and the difference between the colored pencil types is the binder. Pastel Pencils and Watercolor Pencils use the same binders as regular pastels and watercolors but 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, it is still in use and in the hand of a fine craftsman produce beautiful and subtle effects.

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