Gel medium

Description

A gelatinous, unpigmented medium added to oil and watercolor paints to produce more transparent colors. Megilp, a mixture of Linseed oil and Mastic resin, was used during the 18th and 19th centuries then abandoned. In more recent years, synthetic gel media have become available that have good handling properties and do not yellow with age. However, gel media mixed with oil paints are still likely to produce weak under-pigmented films that are susceptible to cracking (Mayer 1969).

Synonyms and Related Terms

megilp; medium de gel (Port.)

Resources and Citations

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)