Letter

CO-809 Boltz, Oswald H. [Carta] 1941 Dec. 12, New York, NY [para] George Biddle, [s.l.]. 2 p. [inglês][datilografado] Dear Mr. Biddle: Thanks so much for your letter of Dec. 6th and hope that the last samples of “Temperol” have arrived in good order. The only solvents present in this medium are water and a highly volatile grade of turpentine. I have mixed 1 part of egg yolk with 1 part of “Temperol” into a soft buttery mass; then have mixed equal parts of cadmium red “tube oil color” and the buttery temperol-egg yolk mixture. This paint and medium combinations readily diluted with water. Without the addition of water, this oil color and modified medium combination on a non-absorbent ground produces a mat surface which “does not dry very fast” and if you tub your finger over the painted surface two or three days later, it feels as if it had been painted with lip-stick. There seems to be no tackiness either with this combination or with heavy “Temperol” and oil color alone. For some reason the light temperol and oil combination dries more rapidly but tends to go thru an intermediate phase of tackiness, which I understand you do not want. Therefore, I have not mailed you any samples of it. I am sure that you will have no difficulty in mixing varnish or a dryer with the “temperol on the palette”, but judging from your first letter would not care to do it. To get the paint to dry more rapidly, rather than add any siccatives, I would think the egg-yolk and temperol combination with dry colors or mixing with this some of the oil colors mixed with temperol, might be what you are looking for. I do not think you have any of these drying problems on a semi-absorbent ground, even with the oil color and temperol combination, but the drying will be much slower than if you painted with ordinary egg emulsion tempera and dry colors. As far as I can determine, the transparency quality of tempera will be the same, the neutral tones more satisfactory and colors, like alizarin crimson, which are apt to dry a dead mat with the dry color and ordinary egg emulsion set up, will have more depth when the oil color alizarin crimson and temperol combination is used. Armfield in his “Manual of Tempera Painting” p. 84 describes the Tudor-Hart emulsion prepared with egg yolk, oil lavender, linseed oil and water. This produces a soft buttery medium which requires a certain amount of time and trouble to prepared I think you will find the temperol-egg yolk combination at least as satisfactory, if not better, than the Tudor-Hart medium, it is also leaner (only oil of egg present, no linseed oil) and can be made in about two minutes. None of the Doerner receipts for egg tempera emulsions can be mixed with tube oil colors. I hope in my clumsy way I have been able to clarify some of these problems and being only an amateur painter myself have not been able to experiment effectively, except with great effort, with the “fat over lean” and glazing techniques, although I do understand something about them. Hoping that you will find the medium a contribution to painting technique and deeply appreciative of your interesting it, I am Very sincerely, Oswald H. Boltz, M.D. 2