Page 19 - Artist Materials Advisor

Step-by-step instructions for painting portraits using earth pigments which lend themselves to making flesh tones. Some of them even look just like flesh colors right out of the tube without your having to mix them...

Part one on preparing wood panels for painting with the application of chalk grounds and fifth in our technical series on painting icons, this article discusses the history and materials used in the preparation of wood panels for tempera painting—size, pavoloka, and gesso — since the earliest period of Christian art until today. While the series specifically applies to making icon boards and preparing them for painting egg tempera icons, it has application to preparing wood panels for painting in any medium on chalk grounds...

Part two on preparing a wood panel for painting with the application of chalk grounds and the sixth in our technical series on painting icons, this article discusses preparing the glue solution used in the preparation of wood panels for tempera painting—size, pavoloka, and gesso—since the earliest Christian period until today. While the series specifically apply to making icon boards and preparing them for painting egg tempera icons, it has application to preparing wood panels for painting in any medium on chalk grounds...

The technique followed by painters in medieval Western Europe to prepare and paint tempera panels and that used by painters in Russia of the same period are closely allied. However, there are some differences in the process, from the preparation of the panel to the final varnish. These differences are interesting to note and can provide some insight into the technique and process used by the earliest Byzantine artists to make panel paintings...

In the previous article of this series, we introduced the idea of collecting your pigments in the article, Pigments from the Earth. In this article, the second in the series, we will discuss the processes involved in preparing the samples of soil you have gathered—grinding, sifting, washing, drying, mulling, and storing the pigment...

Painters interested in Old Master effects benefit from a good understanding of the differences between modern tube oil paints and those used by the Old Masters whose works they admire. Too often, this critical issue is overlooked, and the focus tends to be disproportionately on mediums and additives, while the paints generally receive too little attention. There are significant differences to be acknowledged between modern and oil paints in use in the 17th century and earlier...

Third, in our technical series on painting icons, this article discusses the different types of braces found in Russian icons since the 12th century and their use in icon panels from the past to today. This series of articles applies specifically to preparing and painting icon panels but has a broader application to preparing wood panels for painting...

Not all tempera painters strictly use egg yolk as the binder for their paint. Some of the most popular recipes are egg, casein, and gum tempera, shared by Russian and Ukrainian painters. What follows are formulas and instructions on making and using tempera and emulsion paints...

Gold fascinated medieval society. The medieval love of gold is exemplified during the Byzantine period by resplendent domes, mosaics, icons, and architecture. Illuminated manuscripts echoed these achievements in miniature. Gold became an intrinsic element of the illuminated page...

Second, in our technical series on painting icons, this article discusses the technique of making joined icon panels from several boards in detail, from wood structure to joinery. Although this article applies specifically to icon boards, it has a broader application to making solid wood panels for painting...