Casein paint, (or cassein) derived from

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins ( αS1, aS2, β, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of the proteins in hum ...

(milk protein), is a fast-drying, water-soluble medium used by artists.

Description

It generally has a glue-like consistency, but can be thinned with water to the degree that fits a particular artist's style and desired result. It can be used on canvas panels, illustration boards, paper, wood, and

masonite Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and ...

. Because the dried paint film is inflexible and brittle, it is not appropriate for heavy

impasto ''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...

on flexible supports like canvas; canvas laminated to board is more suitable. Casein paint is reworkable and can be used for

underpainting In art, an underpainting is an initial layer of paint applied to a ground, which serves as a base for subsequent layers of paint. Underpaintings are often monochromatic and help to define color values for later painting. Underpainting gets its name ...

. It generally dries to a

matte Matte may refer to: Art * paint with a non-glossy finish. See diffuse reflection. * a framing element surrounding a painting or watercolor within the outer frame Film * Matte (filmmaking), filmmaking and video production technology * Matte pa ...

finish.

Uses

Casein paint has been used since ancient Egyptian times as a form of

distemper Distemper may refer to: Illness *A viral infection **Canine distemper, a disease of dogs ** Feline distemper, a disease of cats ** Phocine distemper, a disease of seals *A bacterial infection **Equine distemper, or Strangles, a bacterial infect ...

paint, and is still used today. One of the qualities for which artists value casein paint is that unlike

gouache Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache ...

, it dries to an even consistency, making it ideal for murals. Also, it can visually resemble

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...

more than most other water-based paints, and works well as an underpainting. Casein paint loses its solubility with time and exposure and becomes water-resistant. It is suited most to inflexible surfaces, including furniture. It can be buffed to a soft velvet finish when dry, or varnished for a gloss finish.

Manufacture

The binder for casein paint is made by dissolving casein in an alkali, usually lime,

ammonium carbonate Ammonium carbonate is a salt with the chemical formula (NH4)2CO3. Since it readily degrades to gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide upon heating, it is used as a leavening agent and also as smelling salt. It is also known as baker's ammonia and is ...

, or

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form ...

. Casein itself is precipitated from milk by the action of an acid or the enzyme

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin an ...

. Lime casein works well on porous surfaces, even outdoors, though it has a short shelf-life and must be used with pigments that are balanced against the binder's low pH. Ammonium carbonate casein has similar strengths and weaknesses. Borax casein has a shelf-life of several weeks, is pH neutral, and can be used outdoors through the addition of

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

Casein artists

Yantonai Dakota artist

Oscar Howe Oscar Howe (''Mazuha Hokshina'' or "Trader Boy", May 13, 1915 – October 7, 1983) was a Yanktonai Dakota artist from South Dakota, who became well known for his casein and tempera paintings.Libhart, Myles and Vincent Price. ''Contemporary Sioux ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

used casein extensively.

Santa Clara Pueblo Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè ″Singing Water Village″, also known as ″Village of Wild Roses″ is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federa ...

artist

Pablita Velarde Pablita Velarde (September 19, 1918 – January 12, 2006) born Tse Tsan ( Tewa: "Golden Dawn") was an American Pueblo artist and painter. Early life and education Velarde was born on Santa Clara Pueblo near Española, New Mexico on September ...

created a series of more than 70 paintings of everyday Native American life in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

for

Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Most ...

between 1937 and 1943, painted mostly on

using casein paints. Casein was widely used by commercial illustrators as the material of choice until the late 1960s when, with the advent of

acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. ...

, casein became less popular.

John Berkey John Berkey (August 13, 1932 – April 29, 2008) was an American artist known for his space and science fiction themed works. Some of Berkey's best-known work includes much of the original poster art for the '' Star Wars'' trilogy, the poster for ...

continued to use casein in combination with acrylics in most of his paintings. ''Dick Tracy'' (1960), and ''Popeye'' (1960), two early paintings by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

, who had been a commercial illustrator before becoming a

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

, were painted with casein.

References

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External links