When it comes to purchasing original artwork there are certainly more than a few choices. And things such as size, subject matter, color, framing and so forth are but a few of the things that come into play while choosing, but most often what can be the least known to many is something about the actual paint and painting itself. Most of us know of oils, acrylics and watercolors too, but what is it and why would you want one over the other? Those three fore mentioned paints are not the only ones either. Pastel, tempera, gouache, and casein may find their way into your life as well and don't forget about scratchboard, pencil, charcoal or graphite and the list goes on.

You may also wish to consider how the paint was applied, thick (impasto) or maybe in thin layers (glazing) or what the painting or sketch was done on. Called "supports" these include canvas (such as cotton, linen, etc.), Panels (such as wood, etc.) and then numerous types of papers as well.

So there can be a lot to know, but just knowing a little can help you know a lot about what you are really buying. So let's start with paint or the medium. Paint is actually a very complex thing and none of the types mentioned work exactly the same, but paint in general works like this. You have color or pigment, which is basically a dried powered. You then need something to make it come off the brush, a vehicle or "medium" and then something to make it stay together, a binder.

The oil in oil paint does both, in the case of acrylic paint there are synthetic resins that do this and they can be mixed or thinned with water as with watercolor. Watercolor itself uses a gum as a binder and the water used during painting is what delivers the transparent pigment to the paper. Gouache (gwash) is basically opaque watercolor. It's most popular use, by the way, might be old cartoon cells, Mickey mouse, Bugs Bunny etc., which were painted on clear film.

Pastel is basically pure pigment held together with a binder just to make it into a crayon of sorts. It's probably the purest form of painting. Real crayons by the way are basically colored wax.

There are also some rather earthy paints such a tempera which as an example, instead of using oil the pigments are mixed with an emulsion such as milk or egg yolks as in egg tempera and casein is made by allowing skin milk to sour and then separating the curd from the whey, washing and then drying it to be used as a binder. Apparently the earliest recorded periods show the crude curd from milk used as an adhesive.

Okay, now we have a bunch of different types of paint, which one do you want? Maybe one or all, but the important thing to know is all of them have different characteristics and if you are attracted to many different types of art, it is likely these characteristics are part of your varied attraction. Artists through trial and error pick favorites that works best for them and what they like to paint. I like to somewhat think of each as a tool and use the one best for the task so, let's see how that analogy might apply to you and your particular taste.

We'll start with the big three first. There's little question the most widely used medium by the masters is oil. Oil is slow to dry (days) which makes it easy to blend colors smoothly. This makes it perfect for portraits (skin tones) and landscapes (beautiful skies), but oil also has a rich deep feel to its color which makes it very inviting.

Acrylic is very quick to dry (seconds to minutes) which makes it great for detail, but also thick impasto paintings and it has bright color which it best for modern or graphic paintings. I think it's fair to also say because it dries fast and mixes with water, it is a favorite medium among beginners and or those with a sensitivity to oils. That is not to say you won't find some very accomplished artists using acrylics, because you will.

Watercolors being transparent pigments, used properly rely on the white paper they are painted on to represent any white color you see. They dry fairly quickly and are usually applied in a blocking technique where the artist starts with a light sketch and fills in areas with the color. Soft and sometime blended areas of color such skies are done using a "wash" technique which can be hard to master. Great watercolors are truly that and they are wonderful for detail, can be soft or hard edged, be soft or strong in color. Others can take on a beginner look which is logical because again with the use of water as thinner and for clean up as with acrylics, they are widely used by students and such.

Pastels do not need to dry, they are raw color and as an example would be like using chalk. They can be used for any type of subject matter, they blend well meaning with portraits are likely used by artists second only to oils. Color can be strong or very soft depending on technique. I would say the only hazard is that pastels usually need to be properly fixed by a spray top coat because the color is basically colored dust on paper.

The other mediums mentioned such as tempera are difficult to use in that the artist has to make their own paint. You must admit, that in itself takes dedication and it is one of the oldest mediums. Most tempera paintings are very detailed and often have a somewhat flat finish. If you find a tempera painting and like it, understand the artist likely put great effort into creating it. This would also go for scratchboard which is really not a paint at all, but rather a waxy black coated panel where the artist scratches away this coating with a scribing tool to reveal white. This makes for very detailed works of art with high contrast. Done right they can be a real treat to see and again a true labor of love for the artist.

Next month "supports".

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