Andrea’s Painter
In a recent review, Andrea’s painter colleague described testing 14 handmade pigments from the Paintmakers of Lira in his studio using a traditional egg tempera binder. He shared how the pigments got to his studio from Northern Uganda( Lira City) through Berlin and noted that they worked beautifully in egg tempera overall, with only one color (Atin kok, D007) proving slightly more challenging to handle.
He highlighted the richness of the natural earth tones, the fact that all pigments are sourced from nature and prepared by hand, and his excitement at discovering two distinctive grey shades not commonly found in standard commercial palettes. Egg tempera emulsion, the medium used in his test is a historic technique where powdered pigment is mixed with egg yolk diluted with water to create a fast-drying, luminous, and durable paint, applied in fine layers on rigid surfaces and left to cure over several months. His review affirms both the high quality of the pigments and their strong performance in one of the most respected traditional painting methods.
D001 ATURACHINA: the pigment does not absorb water. Moisten with methylated spirits. Works well. The result is very fine-grained. Transparent to semi-transparent.
D006 OCUC: can be moistened with water. Initially rustles strongly: fairly coarse grain. The rustling quickly subsides: easy to work with. Very usable.
D007 ATINKOK: can only be moistened with spirit. This is a difficult pigment to use in egg tempera. Coarse grain: continues to rustle when rubbed. Grains are also visible in the final result. I do not recommend this pigment for use in egg tempera.
D008 OLOO GREEN: can be moistened with water. Works well, despite noise when rubbed. Semi-transparent.
D010 AWEEDOK: moisten with methylated spirits. Initially noisy when rubbed, but quickly becomes quiet. The result is beautiful.
D011 MARY JEN (marigold?): moisten with methylated spirits. Works well. Semi-transparent.
017 AMON MAKA YELLOW: moisten with water. A fairly coarse pigment that initially rustles considerably and continues to rustle softly even after prolonged rubbing. The end result is good and very beautiful.
022 OLOO ORANGE: moisten with water. A fairly coarse pigment. Works well. Result is almost opaque.
028 AGWATA ORANGE: moisten with water. Fairly coarse pigment. Result: a beautiful, semi-transparent paint.
030 COOKING POT SOOT BLACK/KING JAMES SCHOOL: moisten with methylated spirits. Nevertheless, it is usable.
052 NGETTA BROWN: moisten with water. No problems. Opaque. The best pigment for egg tempera in this test.
053 BOROBORO BRICK: moisten with water. Good result. More transparent than 052.
054 NGETTA BLACK: moisten with water. Good result. The result is not black, as the name suggests, but an iron oxide-like dark brown. Semi-opaque.
076 IMAT LAGO COOKING STONE: moisten with water. Problem-free pigment. Opaque and with great color strength.
