How to Make Dye Out of Tempera Paint

Tempera dye has been used for centuries. It was a favorite of many Byzantine and Gothic artists. This is because tempera dye is made from natural objects. It was, and still is, fairly inexpensive to make and extremely durable. Tempera paint works well when used on canvas, wood, canvas paper and canvas board.

Things You'll Need

• 1 large chicken egg
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1/3 teaspoons white vinegar
• Chalk, multiple colors
• Coffee grinder
• Dirt, red, white and brown
• Dried plants
• Fork
• Paper towel
• Small bowl
• Toothpick
• Water
• White vinegar
• Wide mouth baby food jar

Instructions

Tempera Egg Base

1. Carefully separate the egg yolk from the egg white. Discard the egg white. Leave the membrane around the egg yolk intact.

2. Wash the egg yolk under slow running water to remove any remaining egg white, or gently rub it with a paper towel to remove any excess egg white.

3. Place the egg yolk over the top of a bowl and pierce it with either a toothpick or a fork. Pour the egg yolk into a wide mouth baby food jar.

4. Stir the egg yolk with the fork, and add two tablespoons of water and 1/3 teaspoon of white vinegar, and stir.

5. Store the egg yolk mixture in a sealed baby food jar for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Chalk Based Pigment

1. Place chalk into an automatic coffee grinder and grind it until it is finely ground.

2. Remove the chalk from the grinder and store it in a baby food jar. Rinse the coffee grinder with water and wipe it dry with a paper towel. Repeat the process with each color of chalk.

3. Place a small amount of the chalky pigment into one baby food jar of the egg tempera base. Mix the pigment and egg tempera base well with a fork.

4. To make the color darker, add more pigment. Mix additional pigments to create a broad spectrum of colors.

Natural Pigments

1. Dry several different varieties of plants. Grind the dried plants into a fine powder. Mix the ground powder with the tempera base to create natural tempera.

2. Collect various colors of dirt and grind it until its fine. Mix the dirt powder with the tempera egg base, and paint

3. Collect rust from old nails and old coffee cans for a rust colored pigment. Make sure to crush the rusty material until it is fine. Mix it with the egg tempera base before using.

Tips & Warnings

• The yellow color of the egg tempera base will fade out of the paint about a day after the tempera is dry.

References

• Byzantine Tempera Paint
• Chalk Based Tempera Dye
• How to Make Your Own Pigment

Resources

• Make Your Own Tempera Dye
• Society of Tempera Painters; Egg Tempera Paint