Art Encyclopedia - Paint

Art information > Art Encyclopedia > P > Paint

Paint
Paint consist of pigment suspended in liquid. The pigment is only wetted and not dissolved by the liquid. Dye differs to paint in that it is dissolved colouring matter which will permeate a material and not cover and coat it, as will paint. Paint forms a solid surface and must therefore be insoluble in the medium.

Since the time of the Renaissance, siccative (drying) oil paints, primarily linseed oil, have been the most commonly used kind of paints in fine art applications; oil paint is still common today. However, in the 20th century, water-based paints, including watercolors and acrylic paints, became very popular with the development of acrylic and other latex paints. Milk paints (also called casein), where the medium is derived from the natural emulsion that is milk, were popular in the 19th century and are still available today. Egg tempera (where the medium is an emulsion of egg yolk mixed with oil) is still in use as well, as are encaustic wax-based paints. Gouache is a variety of watercolor paint which was also used in the Middle Ages and Renaissance for manuscript illumination. The pigment was often made from ground semiprecious stones such as lapis lazuli and the binder made from either gum arabic or egg white. Gouache is commercially available today. Poster paint has been used primarily in the creation of student works, or by children.