Pigment- color is derived from chemicals and minerals found in plant and animal life, clay, soils and sand.
Vehicle (binder)- holds the pigment together. Examples: plaster, egg, oil, wax, plastic, water and gum arabic.
Medium- provides fluency, thinning agent. Examples: water, turpentine of solvents
The support can be almost anything. Some common supports are stretched or un-stretched canvas, wood panel, various papers and plaster.
The ground is used to seal or prime the surface and get it ready for paint. For example canvas is very absorbent and is usually prepared with a coat of gesso to seal it before paint is applied. Grounds can vary depending of the process and materials being used.
Let us look at some examples of each of these and discuss them in more detail.
Fresco is the art of painting on plaster.
Buon fresco (true fresco) is executed on damp, lime plaster.
The pigments are mixed only with water; the lime of the plaster wall acts as a binder.
Fresco secco utilizes dry plaster.
The pigments are combined with a vehicle of glue that affixes the color to the dry wall.
Encaustic involves pigment in a wax vehicle that has been heated to a liquid state.
Because the molten wax at a constant temperature, this technique is quite difficult to manipulate.
Tempera originally involved ground pigments mixed with a vehicle of egg yolk or whole eggs thinned with water.
Contemporary tempera involves pigment mixed with an emulsion of milk, different types of glues or gums, or even the juices and saps of plants and trees.
Oil paint consists of ground pigments combined with a linseed oil vehicle and turpentine medium or thinner.
Oil paint is naturally slow in drying, but drying can be facilitated with various agents added to the basic mixture.
Acrylic paint is a mixture of pigment and a plastic vehicle that can be thinned (and washed off brushes and hands) with water.
Unlike linseed oil, the synthetic resin of the binder dries colorless and does not gradually compromise the brilliance of the colors.
Today’s watercolor is more precisely known as aquarelle, in which transparent films of paint are applied to a white, absorbent surface.
Contemporary watercolors are composed of pigments and a gum arabic vehicle thinned with water.
Spray paint involves pigment in a solvent that is then applied from a pressurized container.
Mixed Media involves a combination of traditional painting techniques with other materials.
The process may also involve painting on nontraditional supports.