This is my first time using casein paint as a medium. Casein, the main protein found in milk, has been used as a binder for paints for millenia, long predating oil paint. Schmincke, a German paint manufacturer, make a special binding medium. I mixed my powder pigments with the binding medium to make casein paint. They are quite runny when water is added so care is needed when water is mixed. My iriodin blue silver pigment created pleasing effects on the breaking foam in the foreground.
My biggest painting to date (1 metre x 80cm). The whole idea for it belongs to my older sister Claire. Shortly after last Christmas, she came to me with the idea for doing a picture of the sea when the froth is foamy and thick. I liked the idea because I haven’t seen many paintings of such a view. The picture is based on a photo taken on New Year’s Eve. I took loads of shots and spent time observing the ebb and flow of the tide. 99% of the painting was done with my thin Dalon rigger brush. I was determined to finish it without doing anything else, so for four months I kept at it. I used a palette knife to deposit much Titanium White as an undercoat for the foamy froth in the foreground.
eastcorkpainter 