I returned from a holiday in Morocco recently with several packets of powder in plastic bags. No it is not what you are thinking, I had acquired six different packets of natural pigments from the local souk in Essaouira, where I’d spent a week in October (see my earlier post Morocco). On returning home, I felt at a loss as to what to actually do with them. Then the idea of egg tempera paintings sprang to mind.

And that was the beginning of the faffiest way of painting I’ve ever come across. For those of you unfamiliar with the word “faff”, try making gesso and you’ll soon find out what it means. That is, it takes days just to prepare a surface to paint on, whereas if you just used acrylic primer it would be done within a matter of hours. However, it is also for some strange reason immensely enjoyable, especially if you like cooking as I do and enjoy mixing up recipes. It makes you think about what you are painting with and on, instead of just squeezing paint out of a tube and not knowing what it actually is.

Egg tempera is not a flexible paint and will flake off if you try to paint on canvas or paper or any type of surface that is likely to move. So instead I decided to use mdf as a painting board, which I also use to paint on with acrylics. Avoid mdf that is green as this is water resistant (and may have an effect on what is painted on top) and use MDF that is thick enough to avoid warping (I used 5mm). You can buy MDF from a DIY store. I get it from B&Q as they sell it in various sizes and thicknesses.

The term gesso has become a misnomer recently as some people use it to describe “acrylic primer” which is different entirely and is not suitable for using under egg tempera paints. I decided to experiment and used two methods of priming the surface with gesso. One was to use a ready-mixed gesso, bought from Green and Stone on the Kings Road in London. The other was to mix up my own recipe from water, white (PVA) glue and talcum powder (I used baby powder, which not only produced an acceptable surface to paint on, but had the added bonus of smelling sweet too). I’m sure purists will be shaking their heads if they read this, but for a beginner who doesn’t want to invest too much on materials, then this second alternative may be a good way to start. For step-by-step details on gesso recipes see my web page How to prime an mdf board with gesso.