I. GUM ARABIC SOLUTION      

Gum arabic is the traditional binder of watercolor and gouache. This simple recipe will give you a solution that you can use for both techniques.

Proportions			Directions
Gum arabic	1		Put the dry gum in a double boiler, add the water and heat gently for gum arabic is not soluble in cold water. You can stir a little, it will speed up the dissolution process. When you don't see any lumps of gum remaining in the boiler, simply turn off the heat and put the solution in a clean glass jar (this way you will help prevent it from spoiling easily). Gum arabic solution should be kept in the refrigerator.
Water	2
			How to use it
			Put a few drops of dispersion in the solution to instantly obtain watercolor or mix your dry pigments directly with the solution. To get an opaque gouache, simply use talc, zinc white, or china clay mixed in you solution.

II. EGG TEMPERA      

One of the oldest paint, egg yolk and water is very permanent and dries very fast. It produces deep brilliant colors that will not darken with time.

Proportions			Directions
Egg yolk	1		First, you need to separate the egg yolk from the white. Once this is done, place theyolk in the palm of your hand and dry it by moving it from hand to hand. When it is sufficiently dry you grab the yolk by it's skin, hold it on top of a clean bottle or jar, and pierce it to extract the yolk. Once this is done, discard the skin, but keep the white because it is still useful. Mix the water with the yolk until you have a satisfactory pale emulsion.
Water	1
			How to use it
			Pre-mix your dry pigments with water or alcohol into a thick paste on a glass. Then you can pick up the wetted pigments with a brush and mix them with a sufficient amount of emulsion for the stroke you want to apply. Don't mix all of you pigments in the emulsion, because it will dry out and be non-resoluble. Use this paint on a rigid support with addition of gesso or on paper and keep the emulsion in the refrigerator.
			Further remarks
			You can use both parts of the egg as binder. The white will naturally allow you to obtain transparent colors (with transparent pigments), while the yolk will have a tendency to be more opaque. If you want to slow the spoiling process, you can add a touch of white vinegar to your egg emulsion.

III. EGG/OIL EMULSION      

Despite all of her virtues, egg tempera dries very fast, doesn’t allow much mixing of color and demands only rigid supports. This modified formula allows flexibility by gaining some of the qualities of oil paint.

Proportions			Directions
Egg yolk	1		Separate the yolk from the white and drain in a little bowl. Drop by drop, mix the linseed oil vigorously into the yolk to obtain a good emulsification and add the water when done.
Linseed oil	1
Water	1
White vinegar or oil of cloves	10 drops
			How to use it
			Pre-mix the amount of dry pigments necessary for your session with the binder and paint. This emulsion may be used over rigid or flexible supports with proper application of gesso. For multiple layers, use water as you solvent and, as you progress in coats, gradually reduce the amount of water used in order to respect the “fat over lean” rule. This emulsion may also be used to paint wet in wet in an fresh oil painting.
			Further remarks
			The linseed oil may be replaced for stand oil to get a different texture and faster drying.

IV. DAMAR VARNISH      

Damar is the oil painter’s universal resin. It comes in solid translucent lumps of yellowish appearance, once it has been made into solution, the painter can use it in the preparation of his mediums or varnishes.

Proportions			Directions
Damar lumps	1		Place the damar lumps and turpentine in a well closed bottle or jar. Agitate every day until the resin is fully dissolved (which should take about one and a half weeks). To speed up the process expose the bottle to sunlight. This solution will have a thick consistency ideal when you will be making emulsions and it can be thinned down later if needed by simply adding turpentine to it. If the damar lumps contained a lot of impurities we recommended that you strain the solution through a cheesecloth and store in a clean bottle.
turpentine	1
			How to use it
			Damar is ideal for use as final varnish on oil paintings. When the painting has fully dried, simply reduce consistency of the damar varnish by adding an equal quantity of turpentine and apply using a varnish brush.
			Further remarks
			By itself, the damar varnish will give you a high reflective gloss finish on your painting, it can be brought to a matter finish through the addition of wax.

V. COLD WAX MEDIUM      

This other important medium will allow you to thicken you oil paint to a buttery consistency. It will also be useful in stabilizing the consistency of the oil paints when you prepare them yourself. Here are the suggested proportions.

Proportions			Directions
Beeswax	1		In a double boiler, gently heat the wax until it has melted. Then, remove from the heat source and gradually add the turpentine. When adding the turpentine the wax is very likely to solidify because the turpentine is cold, what I do is that, instead of heating the wax and turpentine together for the whole time, I re-heat them after putting the turpentine in the melted wax. This way the turpentine get heated for a much shorter period of time, thus greatly reducing the risk of fire. When re-heating the wax/turpentine you don’t need as much heat as if it was only the beeswax you were trying to melt.
turpentine	3
			How to use it
			This medium has many uses: to make encaustic, to modify the consistency of your oil paint, to make emulsions and it can also serve in final picture varnish.
			Further remarks
			The above given proportions aren’t necessarily exact, they can be changed (adding more turpentine will bring the wax paste towards a more liquidy/fluid consistency by reducing the amount of turpentine, the paste will be more stiff/solid). This medium is also useful when making oil paint, adding just a little quantity (say 5% by volume of paint), will help stabilize colors such as Ultramarine blue that tend to become stringy with time.