Collection: Sarah Harding

Sarah Harding studied at The Slade School of Fine Art and is a member of The Society of Tempera Painters.
"I paint using the traditional method of egg tempera on gesso panels. Egg tempera paint is made by combining equal quantities of ground pigment with a solution of egg yolk and water. It is one of the oldest mediums used by visual artists and was in use at least from The Middle Ages.
The egg yolk acts as a binder and it is what adheres the pigment to the support, usually a gesso panel. Egg tempera is usually applied in thin, often transparent layers that dry quickly, although they take several months to cure completely.
Many, many layers are applied in order to build up the image. The artist needs to understand the characteristics of each pigment used, the relative opacity or transparency and how they work together in particular sequences.
The gradual building up of many transparent or semi- transparent layers on the white gesso ground, produces a luminous, rich and delicate effect that is just not possible with any other technique"