Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1920, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “My Sundays are all taken up with my oil work in my home studio, and I seem to have a more thorough understanding of the real nature of oils. I have always hammered into the oil, same as I do with temper, I have so little time for this work that I get a bit discouraged.”
Moses’ refernce to “temper” was distemper, or tempera painting. Dry pigments are made usable for painting by “tempering” them with a binding medium. As defined by Encylopedia Britannica: “The word tempera originally came from the verb temper, ‘to bring to a desired consistency.’ Therefore, tempera painting uses pigment ground in a water-miscible medium.” However, the binding medium can vary. For example, egg can be used in tempera painting; here are directions for egg tempera: http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/intro/tempera.html
19th and 20th century scenic artists used tempera painting for the stage, just with a different binder. They used animal glue (hoof and hide) instead of egg for stage paintings. The diluted animal glue provided a matte finish that worked well under the glare of stage lights, unlike other paints. Arriving in slabs or granules, water was added to the dried glue and then diluted prior to mixing with dry pigment paste. Like egg, once binder was added to the pigment there was a limited shelf life; the binder can quickly rot. Ideally, a scenic artist mixed fresh size every day.
Moses’ 1920 diary entry is his first commentary between oil and temper painting. Tempera was his preferred medium of choice; second nature as it was also used in the scenic studio.
His skill on the studio paint frame with the medium carried over to his fine art easel. By 1932, Moses wrote, “I should like nothing better than to be able to spend all my time on these tempera pictures which I painted from pencil sketches that are taken from all over the country.”
Keep in mind that Moses’ was a member of several fine art groups, including in Palette & Chisel Club (Chicago), Salmagundi Club (New York) and the Laguna Beach Art Association (California). He worked in various artistic media that included watercolor, oil, pen and ink, graphite and temper. Moses also had several art exhibitions over the years, with the most notable one occurring in Chicago during the fall of 1913.
In 1913, Moses wrote, “November 3rd, I got all my framed pictures; oil, watercolor, pen and ink and lead pencil…. A great many of the members didn’t expect to see so many or as good pictures as I had the pleasure of showing there. The amount of the sale went far ahead of what I thought it would. It was pretty good for me, and up to this date it was the most ever sold at the one show. I had 77 pictures on the walls, oil, water, temper, pen and ink, and pencil. Maine to California. That made it quite interesting. I received some very flattering newspaper notices. Mama and Rupert were responsible for the show, as I would have never gotten it up myself. We opened with a reception, which was well attended.”
By 1930, Moses wrote, “Have made several trips on Saturdays to the mountains for oil sketches and have been partly successful. Owing to the high winds, it is too hard to anchor my easel and umbrella. I find I would rather work in distemper. Not so mussy when I come to pack up.” Understandable as tempera painting uses water for clean-up, and does not require carrying a solvent.
Later in 1932 while working in McAlester, Oklahoma, Moses wrote, “Early in October, I was lucky in finding a wonderful place to sketch. Kimball organ man, Coverly by name, used his car and took me to his place, nearly 30 miles from McAlester. I found a subject from which I did a large distemper and presented it to the Temple for which they were highly pleased.”
In 1932, Moses was still working in both oil and tempera, writing, “Have an idea that I will attempt some oil pictures as well as tempera… I have done quite a number of tempera 15 x 20 pictures. Hope to do something with them at the Blackstone Gallery here in Oak Park, where I will have an exhibit of my oils in the fall… I will get busy at once and get some of my tempera pictures in the eastern galleries. I have written to galleries and to Pitt in Trenton; also Washington D.C., Fort Wayne, Indiana, Tacoma, Washington, and Pasadena, California, all of which are willing to give me space for a consignment of my water colors or tempera… Have received some very flattering notices of my tempera pictures that I have sent out. I hope to sell some of them as they seem to please everyone. But it is awfully hard for anyone to buy pictures when bread is needed.”
By the end of 1932, Moses wrote, “At seventy-six years of age, I am just as capable of painting, and have the proper amount of ‘pep’ to back up my ambition to turn out some picturesque bits, as I had fully forty years ago. I will not live long enough to realize my fondest hopes of someday being recognized as a painter in oil, with an equal amount of ability as I have displayed in scenic painting. I feel that my tempera pictures are appreciated by all, even the artists. If I could get the same in my oils, I would be thankful. I will wait for tomorrow – maybe it will bring me the same plaudits that I have so often received in the theatre. If not, I will pass on with the happy thought that I tried my best and lost. It was a pleasure to have made the effort.”
To be continued…
