Hello again brilliant humans! This week was a busy week of ploughing through the tax return, conference calls and a failed interview (my sheer terror at being in front of an interview panel is something to behold, but that’s a discussion for another day…), so I rewarded myself with a full day of painting, before a project begins in the coming weeks (alas, one of those projects which I can’t publically share, so you’ll just have to trust that I’m busy behind the scenes…)

But lots of painting, huh?

Well, it was a petite painting - a 5 x 5 inch panel to be precise! Shameless self-promotion: I’ve made it as a reward for one of my Founding Members here on Substack (very grateful indeed to these humans who support my art making)

Button below for all those of you who are scrambling now to subscribe:

Before we get to the big reveal…

I’ve loved learning about working with egg tempera. I have a few beautiful books (Ok, more than a few) in my collection - I do love to read a nerdy tome on painting techniques:

Some are a bit, ahem, old fashioned and rigid in their approach (Thompson and Cennini), but give a fascinating foundation to the traditional techniques as were taught in studios and ateliers many moons ago.

Koo Schadler’s your go-to if you want the science! How to check your temper (not the Hulk kind)! Working up your halftones and shadows! Pages and pages of pigment characteristics! Troubleshooting, mould, which eggs are the best eggs…all the good stuff!

I’m a bit of a slapdash painter now, and am confident enough to break the rules if I want to - similarly, Vickrey & Cochrane’s approach very much gives permission to explore texture, layers, masking, sanding, scratching and different brushwork - although still a ‘how-to’ technique book written in the 1970’s, it shows the potential of what can be perceived as a rather inflexible medium can achieve - so rather than painstaking brushstroke by brushstroke - which is how I’ve approached painting in the past - I will blob on the paint, sand it down again, use a toothbrush, a decorating brush, a rag. I will half-heartedly attempt an underlayer, then overpaint, then paint dark to light, light to dark…paint with years of trying, failing, getting better and well, not worrying too much.

Kermit Vibes???

So theres a thing called ‘Verdaccio’. Put simply, its a green / brownish underpainting for white-skinned flesh tones, which adds depth in the shadow areas, as egg tempera has a lovely transparency, and the underlayer can very much influence subsequent applications. All the ‘finest old masters’ used this technique, so in my early days of egg tempera painting so did I. And I still do. Maybe more for the comedy / dramatic effect now, but for me, it works - apart from getting rid of the scary white surface of an unpainted board, it really does add a glow to the skin, (which when paired with a pinky red cheek, is just delightful)

I’m not going to lie - the paintings look ridiculous at this point, and clients have questioned my ability at this stage in the painting….I’m fairly inconsistent in my colours, opacity, brushstroke application and layering technique…but I know what works for me, so I will carry on regardless, forgetting how to paint, and discovering it anew with each piece (or at least that what it feels like sometimes)

Mini Portrait 101

So here’s how it began:

And here’s all the steps along the way (at super-speed):

So, how do I get to the flesh tone? Its always a bit of a wonder - but there are layers and layers of paint - strengthening tones, knocking them back, adding highlights and more highlights, and details till at some point I just stop. And I’m not even sure what clicks in my mind to say done, but it just feels ok to stop painting.

The little board I used here had tiny pinholes in the gesso (probably from applying it to quickly or too hot, don’t tell Koo!) but I used it to my advantage, as I wanted them to emulate skin texture / pore holes.

She’s rather lovely, don’t you think? It’s those Hypnotic eyes!

Thanks all for reading to the end - let me know any painty-related questions! Speak soon….