Tempera Paints

If you enjoy painting on paper or wood, tempera is a great medium to use. Tempera is lightfast, pigmented, water re-soluable, and doesn't curl paper when it dries. Since it's water-based, you can also dilute it with water. It's important to note that tempera is not waterproof so if more tempera or water is added on top of previously dried layers, the paint can "reawaken" and blend, bleed, and move around,. Tempera drys matte with a little texture which is great for drawing over it with dry medium (like oil pastels) to create mixed media art.

You cannot use tempera on canvas or metal - tempera has to be used on a porous surface otherwise it will eventually flake off the substrate.

Tempera is safe on skin and can easily be washed off with soap and water, however because the paint is extremely pigmented, it may temporarily stain hands and could permanently stain clothes.

When purchasing tempera, we only recommend the Blick Premium Tempera. All other tempera is not good quality, even Blick Student or Blick Essentials.