Gouache. Sound like a foreign language? No worries. I'm here to translate for you. Below is a quick guide to common artists' mediums that you're likely to stumble on. Next time you're at an art opening you'll sip champagne and converse with confidence!

Up until the Industrial Revolution the main sources for pigment were minerals and biological products (think ground shell, clay, insects, precious stones, etc.). Now a synthetic pigments are created by chemically manipulating natural materials.

Art is alchemy!

egg tempera - one of the most ancient painting mediums. Pigment is mixed with egg yolk and liquid another liquid to form a paint. It must be used on a stiff surface to prevent cracking. *note that tempera paint or poster paint is different.

watercolor - pigment mixed with a small amount of gum arabic (glue); it is water soluble and produces translucent washes

gouache (pronounced gwaw-sh like I’m going to gwawsh the dog)- a watercolor paint with a higher proportion of pigment that produces an opaque, matte chalky finish

gesso (pronounced jess-o)- a white or clear paint mixture combined with chalk that preps a surface for paint.

acrylic - the relative newcomer in terms of painting mediums. It is water-soluble, quick drying, and water-resistant when dry . Pigment is suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion and is highly flexible even when dry.

oil - pigment suspended in a drying oil, most commonly linseed oil,with a slow dry time. Oil paint is not water soluble (haven’t you hear that water and oil don’t mix) and instead is thinned with the use of solvents like turpentine or mineral spirits.