But it is only in the past three years that I have been painting with casein as my sole medium for a major portion of my work. Casein has been used by many famous artists, such as Gustav Klimt, Joan Miro, Edvard Munch, Thomas Hart Benton, and more recently by John Molnar, Robert Tanebaum and Stephen Quiller. The paint previously had to be mixed by hand, blending the milk protein product with pigments, but in 1933 the paint was made available in tubes. It was a popular paint until acrylics were introduced taking over the market. Today the Shiva line manufactured by Jack Richeson & Company is the only commercial maker of casein paint available in North America.

Casein color is true and it dries quickly to a marvelous velvet matte finish or can be buffed with a soft cloth to produce a satiny sheen. Works in casein can be varnished to give them an appearance of oils. It can be used as the sole medium, or as the under painting for oils. I have used it both ways and much prefer working with straight casein paints, which I apply to canvas mounted on board.

It has become my medium of choice due to its variety of possible applications. I can create aqueous washes by layering delicate glazes and this process is quickened by casein's short drying time. I can also apply the paint thickly as seen frequently in oil paintings. With water I can thin casein glazes, or add a bit of emulsion to achieve translucent glazes. Lightly thinned with water, casein can be mixed to the buttery consistency of tempera or gouache paints to be used in a dry brush technique for detailed work.

Different surfaces render different effects. Gesso board is more absorbent than canvas and it provides a lovely flat surface for detailed work. On canvas board I tend to paint more spontaneously leaving the white canvas visible through a diaphanous casein glaze or covered completely with opaque casein color. Not widely known or recognized as such a versatile and exciting medium, casein is worth discovering.