ART: Chapter 7

Pigment: A substance that provides color, usually in the form of fine powder. Must be:
- Stable while drying
- Resist fading over time
- Advances in the chemical industry allowed for synthetic pigments in various stable colors during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Binder: A substance that holds pigment particles together.
- Oil Paint: Contains linseed oil.
- Tempera Paint: Contains egg yolk.
Vehicle: A liquid that makes paint a liquid form and can be added to thin it.
- Oils: Use turpentine as a vehicle.
- Watercolors: Use water as a vehicle.
Support: The structure beneath the painting, which must be sealed.
- Sizing: Initial step to prepare the surface.
- Primer: Applied after sizing for a uniform surface.

Watercolor: A water-based paint medium used for thousands of years.
Composition: Pigments mixed with water (as the vehicle) and gum arabic (as the binder).
Common Support: White rag paper which does not require sizing or priming.
Technique: Staining technique; thin, translucent washes applied, leaving areas of white paper unpainted for highlights.
Fluid Spontaneity: This quality is suited for capturing outdoor impressions.
Example: Winslow Homer’s "Boys Wading" showcases this technique.
Traditional Chinese Watercolor Technique: Involves water-based black ink and often uses ink without color, viewing painting as an extension of calligraphy. Example: Li Shida's "Five Deer Hermitage".

True Fresco (Buon Fresco): Involves applying pigments suspended in water to a damp lime-plaster surface.
- Preparation: Only the area that can be completed within a day is prepared; joints arranged along edges of major shapes.
- Popularity: Widely used in Renaissance Italy, e.g., Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling, Raphael’s Assumed Portrait of Francesco Maria della Rovere.
Durability: The rapid drying process allows lime to form calcium crystals chemically binding the pigment to the wall, making it durable, particularly in drier climates.
Revival in Mexico: Supported by the government in the 1920s, led by Diego Rivera, who blended traditional and contemporary themes in his murals, such as "Detroit Industry".

Encaustic Technique: Involves pigments suspended in hot beeswax, serving as both binder and vehicle, resulting in lustrous surfaces.
Historical Significance: Known to ancient Greeks, flourished during the Roman colony period in Egypt with examples like Fayum portraits, which served as memorials to the deceased.
- Example: Portrait of a Boy (c. 100–150 CE).
Temperature Control: Critical for encaustic application; it is less commonly used today despite technologies aiding in temperature management.
- Example of Modern Use: Jasper Johns' "Three Flags" showcases textured surface achieved through this method.

Tempera: Known to Greeks and Romans, highly developed during the Middle Ages.
- Composition: Egg yolk (as binder) mixed equally with pigment and thinned with water, leading to a matte surface when dry.
- Gesso: Preferred ground for tempera, a chalky and water-based liquid used in preparation.
Advantages: Allows for sharp lines and precise details, does not darken with age.
Disadvantages: Colors can change during drying, challenging to rework, requires a pale underpainting.
- Example: George Tooker’s "The Waiting Room" exemplifies the medium's detail.

Historical Context: Oil paint has been a preferred medium in Western art for five centuries; perfected linseed oil recipe by Flemish artists in the 15th century.
Advantages: Provides increased opacity and transparency when thinned, slow drying time, color stability during drying, and flexibility allowing for canvas use.
Application Techniques: Includes different methods such as:
- Impasto: Creating textures with thick layers.
- Wet onto Wet: Applying paint on wet layers for direct painting.
- Wet onto Dry: Allowing for layered effects.
- Example: Tom Wudl's "Rembrandt's Indulgence was Van Gogh's Dilemma" highlights the use of different application techniques.

Development: Acrylic paint was invented in the mid-20th century, using acrylic polymer as a binder with water as the vehicle.
Characteristics: Relatively permanent, does not darken or yellow with age, rapid drying time.
Example of Modern Use: Yunhee Min's "Into the Sun #10" utilizes the bright shades and application techniques of acrylic paints.

Contemporary Developments: Painting continues despite the perception that it might become obsolete, as artists discover new paints and methods.
- John Sabraw: Works with powdered pigments derived from recovering poisonous sludge from streams, creating striking compositions such as "Chroma S1 17".
- Airbrush Technology: Allows for even applications of paint without individual brush strokes, favored in graffiti art and artists like Keltie Ferris who utilize spray guns and layers for textured compositions in pieces like "o R i O n".
- Ken Okiishi: Incorporates digital screens into painting practice with works like "Gesture/Data", blending traditional painting with modern technology.