In the past, artists inherited a tried and tested body of knowledge concerning materials and techniques, this practice manual aims to restore this heritage and to supply a single reliable source of information, a guide both for beginners and advanced practioners. Here are details of pigments, media and fillers; types of support and studio equipment. Descriptions, accompanied by full-colour demonstrations and numerous specially prepared illustrations, offer a complete introduction to traditional techniques of painting - oil, tempera, watercolour, fresco - and to comparative innovations such as acrylics and silica painting. The author reveals the important links between various media and makes the case for a systematic approach to painting, in which materials are working for, not against, the artist.