Egg Tempera
Egg tempera is a traditional paint made by combining pigment with an egg-yolk binder and water. It dries quickly in thin layers and is normally used on a rigid, smooth, absorbent ground rather than a flexible painting support.
Painter
Mavis Smith
Mavis Smith is an American painter known for luminous egg-tempera portraits built in translucent layers on gesso panels and atmospheric oil paintings.
Mavis Smith quick facts
Mavis Smith's egg-tempera process alternates thicker brushwork with translucent color washes on true gesso panels for detailed, luminous figures.
| Born | 1956 · Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | — |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | — |
| Paint types | Egg tempera · Oil paint |
| Painting surfaces | True gesso panels · Canvas (oil paintings) |
| Painting methods | Alternating thicker tempera brush strokes and translucent washes, building many layers on gesso panels; larger oil-and-graphite compositions |
| Common subjects | Enigmatic figures, symbolic portraits, quiet domestic scenes, mysterious natural settings, and twisted branches |
| Other materials | Graphite combined with oil in the Thicket series; graphite is not classified here as paint |
| Notable works | Red Room · Paper Chain · Take Out |
Sources: James A. Michener Art Museum: first-person description of layered egg tempera on gesso, Artist website: biography, egg tempera and oil/graphite Thicket series, Gallery Henoch: birthplace, career and egg-tempera practice, Gallery Henoch: Red Room, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch: Paper Chain, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch / Artsy: Take Out, egg tempera on panel, and Gallery Henoch / Artsy: egg tempera and graphite on panel.
Paint types used
Explore Smith's detailed egg-tempera panel paintings and the oil medium used in her larger Thicket works, keeping graphite separate from paint.
Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying paint made with pigment and a drying oil binder. It is widely used for artwork because it blends smoothly and develops rich color.
Surface types used
True gesso panels support Smith's translucent egg-tempera layers, while canvas provides a larger format for her oil-and-graphite Thicket works.
Painting Board
Painting board is a rigid artist support made from hardboard, wood, or another stable panel material. It may be sold raw or prepared with a medium-specific ground layer.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support used for paintings, banners, bags, décor, and other projects. Artist canvas may be raw, sized, acrylic-primed, oil-primed, or factory-coated, and each condition changes how paint absorbs and bonds.
Painters similar to Mavis Smith
Explore painters connected by carefully layered egg tempera, controlled figurative detail, symbolic subjects, and prepared rigid painting grounds.
Koo Schadler
Koo Schadler is an American painter known for contemporary egg tempera paintings, metalpoint drawings, works on prepared paper and rigid panels, and teaching traditional painting methods.
Robert Vickrey
Robert Vickrey was an American painter and illustrator known for detailed egg tempera paintings combining realistic observation with symbolic imagery, alongside acrylic, watercolor, and gouache work.
Fred Wessel
Fred Wessel is an American painter known for Renaissance-inspired egg-tempera portraits and still lifes on gessoed panels with gold leaf.