Egg tempera as a contemporary medium.
Lately, I have found myself using egg tempera. The medium appears rather unknown in contemporary practices and yet it is one of the most important paints during the renaissance which has since been forgotten to time. In my experience this paint dries faster than acrylic therefore it allows for swift abstract strikes upon the canvas and fast-paced paintings.
Though it is much more expensive than acrylic if you decide to buy pre-mixed tubes rather than the pigments and doing it yourself. The DIY method is much more fun and you can control what colors you use, however it also is dangerous if not done properly. The powdered pigments can get into the air then into your lungs if breathed in and they're stuff that shouldn't be inside of your body.
You can mix these pigments well together and even add detail with watered down layering; though I have found that using another layer on another will eventually make the paint combine as the water re-wets the underlying layers.
In comparison to oil and acrylic; it's much more expensive and can be a problem when working in layering. Though the experience felt while using this archaic medium has been received to me with much aesthetic pleasure.
You can find my work in this medium in the Color Nudes project where I am now painting in egg tempera on vellum (another fun material to work with!) to create aesthetically challenging artworks.
