After a stretch of the flu, and a lack of energy due thereto, I have returned to my art.
Paintings are both transferred, silverpoint swan for DoL is proceeding apace, and I needed eggs this morning. And toast.
Having actually visited a large egg-laying facility, I am most often supportive of cage-free eggs. But it is the freshness of the eggs that really counts in painting, so sometimes I cannot be so choosy. When I can buy local eggs, I do. I can find out exactly when they were collected that way.
I suggest the following techniques for getting the freshest eggs when shopping at a grocery store. First, of course, check dates on the cartons for the freshest date. Then look at the eggs themselves.
Eggs that have been sitting around start to deteriorate and have a faintly speckled look, like clusters of light pinhole sized dots. I understand that this is due to some gases working their way out of the shell. Also, when held up to the light, a fresher egg has a very small air space at the end, while the air space gets bigger in older eggs. Get the best eggs you can get, freshness is more important than grade, though A and AA eggs usually have thicker whites and larger yolks, which is a good thing for our purposes.
Separate the yolks and whites, preferably with your hands. Egg separators and eggshells have sharp edges and may break the yolk. Much like making a meringue, you want to beat the egg whites to a foam, and not include any of the fatty yolk. After beating the egg whites to a good soft-peak foam, let them sit. Do not use any of the tricks of the baking trade in making egg whites form peaks, such as copper bowls or additional ingredients. Some of the traditional pigments will react chemically if given any incentive.
Oh, and make sure the eggs are room temperature. Cold egg whites won’t respond well to beating.
While waiting for the whites, take a whole, unbroken yolk, and roll it around a bit on a paper towel to dry it. Then hold it in your fingers and pierce the underside of it, letting the inner goo fall into a bowl. Discard the skin. If bits of skin get into the goo, fish them out with a fork. The yolk can be used straight from the bowl.
The whites will sit a while, and start to weep. At the bottom of the bowl, under the foam, a clear liquid will start to pool. Pour off this ‘glair’ and you have another binder for paint, with different properties than the yolk. Cover both ingredients with airtight covers, and they will last in the refrigerator for about a week. Take out a bit at a time for use, as the air will dry the ingredients quickly.
Yolk is a fatty emulsion that adds richness and depth to colors, and the yellow coloring does not change paint colors. If you use too much of it in a paint, the paint will look greasy and clumpy. Yolk is the favored part of the egg for paintmaking, because the added fat allows the paint to dry to a tough film that is resistant to water.
Glair has little fat and creates a matte finish. Used alone to make paint, it forms a more brittle, thin layer, which is more soluble in water. Some instructions for making tempera will state that only the yolk should be used, but experiment with the egg white glair and you’ll wonder why. The use of the glair creates more opportunities for texture changes, as glair is more soluble in water than yolk, and the paint moves and shines differently.
More details as we go.
And Panera bakery has the best cheese bread for making toast. Especially good with fresh, scrambled eggs on top.
KJN