Over the past year of pandemic, quarantine. and a little too much routine, I have been focused on producing the Tree inspired paintings now on display at Jansen Art Center in Lynden. Most of these paintings were large, up to 48″ x 60″, and painted with Acrylic paint on canvas and panel. Acrylic is a very versatile medium, dries quickly, you can use medium to extend the workable timeand it is very durable.
Now that “The Seasonal Forest” is complete and out there, I felt I needed to change things up, so I have revisited Egg Tempera. I am currently working on a full portrait of my wife Nancy, I can get totally lost for days just painting her hair. Tempera painting is unlike any other for rendering detail, the brushstrokes dry immediately and the color does not darken or change as it dries, as other painting mediums do.
Egg Tempera is a timeless painter’s medium that preceeds oil painting, I viewed egg tempera paintings in the Scrovegni Museum in Padua, Italy that had been painted in the 14th century and they still looked vibrant and detailed. https://www.eggtempera.com/ Andrew Wyeth painted most of his masterpieces with Egg Tempera https://andrewwyeth.com/, as well as Bellingham’s own, Tom Sherwood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zF1WwRBLPI
The process begins with powdered pigments that are blended with a mixture of egg yolk and water and applied to a smooth surface panel in thin layers of paint. The pigments are mostly transparent and the underlying colors tend to shine through the top layers giving a lustrous velvety appearance to the finished painting. Once the painting is complete and cured for a while, it can be buffed to a luminous sheen.
The Gallery below is a collection of Egg Tempera paintings, “Tuscan Sheep” and “Larabee Pool” have sold, “Rialto Beach” is part of the Jansen show, “Nancy” is in our private collection and Nick & Gina is a personal piece since I know the bike, a classic 1980 H.D. Shovelhead, and I know the guy trying to kick it over. “Distant Horizon” is also in our personal collection. It is the first Egg Tempera painting I attempted and i think it’s got a definitive drama about it, leaving the viewer wondering what the subject is experiencing as she is looking out into the distance.
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