Lights

Here I am, putting lights on St. John's red garment.

After the first lights are complete (as you can see in the pictures above), I use 'floats' to colour the lights.

I also use the floats to change the overall colour.  Sometimes I do this to harmonise the colours.  Other times, I use them to correct a mistake.

 

Lavender just did not seem to be the right colour  for a soldier!

 

As I continue working, I build up the lights giving depth to the forms.

Here you can see the faces as they get modelled and highlighted.

I loved the way the light streamed through the windows late this afternoon as I was leaving.

Color and light.

During the late Middle Ages, painters like Duccio di Buonisegnia started to use green as a base colour to give the flesh tone a more realistic look.  Before him, iconographers used green as the undertone for skin, and this tradition continues to this day particularly when painting in the egg tempera technique.

Especially appropriate for the painting of holy images in which we represent the human being enlivened by the light of God, egg tempera starts with a wash of dark, deep colours.  On top of these, the lights are built up in layer after layer of white and coloured washes.   

In the picture above you can see the panel with the myrrh-bearing women.  The sealer has been brushed on, but the gold has not been applied yet.  The garment of the woman on the left received the first layer of color while on the other two, the underpaint is still visible.

Marys garment is a dark maroon color at this stage.  In will change with each successive layer of paint.  It is very exciting to see the image transform itself in the most unexpected ways even to myself!

 Mary's face has received the first lights!

 In these two picture you can see how I am building up the first lights on the face of St. John.

These are the two central panels.  Your beautiful cross will hang in the middle, between Mary and John.

  

In the panel on the right of St. John is represented the Centurion Longinus who pierced the side of Christ and was the first 'pagan' to reccognize the divinity of Christ. 

Gold

Work is progressing.

After finishing the under painting, the next step was the laying down of the gold. The background was done in the 'oil gilding technique' using an oil based sealer and sizing (a type of glue that stays tacky for about 12 hours after it sets).  In the picture bellow you can see my assistant for this project, a talented artist in her own right, painting on a second layer of sealant, thus getting the boards ready to receive the 24k gold leaf.

For the background we created a textured look which enriches the surface and makes an interesting play of light on the large expanse of the board.

For the halos, a different technique was used, 'water gilding'.  This is a much more difficult and time consuming process, but it is well worth it as the result is a highly polished metallic surface that can be decorated with intricate ornament.

First, a solution of red clay and glue is painted on the surface of the board.

When dry, this foundation layer is polished with an agate burnisher to a high gloss.

agate burnisher

The gold is applied next and then the ornament is drawn on and polished.  The gold comes in sheets or leaves that are so thin and delicate they melt under the touch.

gold leaf booklet

 And here it is!

The contrast between the gold of the background and that of the halo is stunning!  All that is left are the two rings around the halo, one red and the other one white. 

I will take a moment to explain the meaning of the halo and the gold in icons.  The halo that goes around the head of Christ and the saints symbolises the sanctification of man, his ultimate destiny.  The gold is used to represent the uncreated light of God which unites itself with the clay of our human nature and restores us to the perfection for which we were created.  The red line around the halo is called the Crown of Martyrdom, or witness to Christ, and symbolises the Church Militant or our lot here on earth.  The white one is called the Crown of Glory and symbolises the Church Glorious or our hope in the life to come. 

...curious about the green faces? 

Under painting

Hello everyone,
Father Jerry and myself thought it would be a good idea to keep you posted on the progress of the triptych, so here we are: a blog just for you.

I am working in the scenery shop of a local theatre belonging to George Mason University.  It is a wonderful space with lots of room and light.  Tim Horst delivered the panels for me and set them up leaning against the back wall.

 

The first step was to enlarge the original drawings, and transfer them to the panels.   Next came the underpainting which I did using natural powdered pigments and egg as an emulsifier.  

 

Here they are: