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Nesbit’s first venture into the
art world was with her works
using egg tempera, a paint-
making process of blending
pigment, water and egg. She
discovered egg tempera when
she took a materials and
techniques class at The School
of Art Institute in Chicago and
immediately fell in love with it.
She instinctively knew she was
a “materials person” and was
instantly obsessed with making
her own paints. The exploration
of material and process would
become the driving factors in her
work.
She further explains that the
advantages of creating your own
paint, at least in the case of egg
tempera, is that it’s affordable,
more pure and higher quality. If
the pigment is already in a water
solution, the process is fairly
easy to produce. If an artist starts
with dry pigment, then it takes
more time to mix properly and
completely.
Nesbit states that egg tempera
truly revisits the time when
an artist was an alchemist and
studio workspace resembled a
cross between a laboratory and
kitchen.
“
It was extremely popular for
artists in the early Renaissance to
create their own paint by using
egg yolk, water and pigment”
said Nesbit. “Even though this
mixed technique was replaced by
oil painting in the 16th century,
the medium is still being taught
today.”
Nesbit spent nearly 15 years in
Chicago so she could be near The
Art Institute, to get her degrees,
and to begin her work in the art
world. Over time she successfully
made the transition to live off the
art that she painted while living
in Chicago.
“
I had a good couple of years
where I sold enough to make up
about 75 percent of my income
and then supplemented that with
part-time freelance work,” she
said. “At one point I was also an
editorial and data specialist for
the Internet start-up, uptake.
com, now a part of Groupon. It
allowed me to work from home
and the flexible hours gave me
the opportunity to have studio
time.”
She states that her stay in
Chicago was far longer than she
had originally planned and that
after some soul-searching she
knew she was due for a change.
The next chapter in her life
would involve the recent return
to her hometown, Peoria. The
homecoming would be two-fold.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 58
Using egg yolk, water and pigment, Sarah Nesbit
creates most of the egg tempera she uses in her art.
