WILLIAM BAILEY, my older than old teacher at grad school at Indiana drew me, eggs, girl portraits, mainly EGGS. Know his work....decades later he is still painting.....eggs.
I always used acrylic gesso but lately I started to prepare my own traditional gesso, and I now size my canvases (i glue the canvas onto mdf panel because i like the canvas texture but also the rigidity of a panel) with rabbit skin glue. I'm an oil painter but i want to learn tempera painting, and in tempera painting one must - or should - use traditional gesso anyway
Tempera painting requires a rigid ground, and the best gesso for it is homemade from melted rabbitskin glue mixed with marble dust and/or chalk. For oil painting on canvas I use W&N's Oil Painting Primer right out of the can, though it can be thinned with linseed oil, sparingly. Thanks for your comments!
I love egg tempera.. that is a beautiful painting. Thank you for sharing.. I dabble in this medium and I have one of the books I bought when I purchased my pigments. I also sometimes use an egg emulsion with my watercolours for interesting effects for fun . Important to not dip into pans with egg wash.
Lovely painting. ^_^ And it seems like the supplies don't get old, like acrylics hardening in a tube! Now, I have several questions: * You do not use vinegar in your paint mixture? * Do egg tempera paintings ever develop mold over time? What environment should they be stored in? * How long does the paint mixture last? * Does the work get sealed after completion? * I imagine a mask is needed when handling the unmixed, powdery gesso components? * I am a vegetarian. I do not mind using unfertilized eggs, but hide/rabbit skin glue is completely off-putting. Do you know of a viable substitute that doesn't involve a blood sacrifice? >_< I have seen Mr Vickrey's work at Tree's Place gallery in Orleans, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Though I remember few of the works I have seen there, I remember his well. They were always gorgeous standouts. Thank you and stay creative!
Vinegarr? No. Just distilled water, ground pigments, and fresh egg yolk. The freshly mixed paints don't keep. You should plan on only preparing enough paint for a single painting session. I have seen some egg tempera paintings in museums (one at the Whitney in NYC, a subway scene by George Tooker comes to mind) that showed mold bloom, but that was probably because the Tooker didn't use distilled water, or his tools were dirty. Properly painted and conserved, egg tempera paintings can last for hundreds of years mold-free. I always frame my paintings behind glass, since air pollution can affect the paint surface. If you meant some kind of varnish, no. Never varnish an egg tempera painting. A mask is optional, if you handle the pigments and marble dust/chalk with care. As for the hide glue binder for the gesso, I do not know of any other kind of glue for this purpose. Feel free to experiment! Thanks for the comment and the questions!
What a lovely video and atmospheric painting. I’ve also got all the pigments in my cupboard so you have put me in the mood to start another egg tempera painting. It’s such a lovely medium to work with but the gesso prep is what always puts me off.
Thanks for commenting. I hear you about the gessoing. If you do it in a series of thinned coats, there will be less sanding/rubbing at the end to get it smooth.
Don’t know if you remember but we’ve talk a couple time on some chat somewhere. I made my own slipcase for the 3 volumes and used the Eye on the face. You spotted it in a picture and asked me about it.
My brother and I considered a similar project, based on my young son’s medical challenges. Russ (Goodlin), now retired, was at that time a freelance illustrator. Life got in the way, and we never completed it, but I think of that project often.
Adult books have never offered much in the way of illustration. E-books would seems to narrow that field even further. I’m glad you’ve had the opportunity to contribute in a fairly narrow arena. I’ve always liked pencil drawings, and yours are very good. I was especially affected by the crucifixion pieces from “Graven Image”.
