- [Voiceover] An emulsion
is a uniform mixture of oily substances and watery substances which usually don't mix. To take the most common
example of salad dressing, you'll know that olive
oil and vinegar don't mix, unless you add the egg to it. Then you can froth it up and make a uniform mixture of the two. Well in paint, emulsions
work the same way. In fact, one of the same
emulsifiers is used, and that is egg yolk. de Kooning, among others,
would add egg to his oil paint, which is typically compatible
with solvent, like turpentine, but after adding egg yolk, it was compatible with water as well. By adding water, he could
then froth up the paint to get a very interesting texture, as well as a matte quality of that paint.