Using my regular mixture of bole and rabbit hide glue, I’ve applied the clay undercoat for the gold. Again, because of their small size I had to rethink how to prep with these diminished shapes. After the bole has dried, I do a fine sanding to make sure that everything is perfectly smooth. But, because … Read more
Today I finished the frame and panel construction for the diptych. And, I’m really pleased with how things have turned out. Both panels are tight and they fit together well. One concern I had when I decided to use ebony wood was that it would look too much like plastic for another person to appreciate, … Read more
Work continues well with the miniature diptych … The joints I’m making will not be as complicated as I have done in the past, but then again the stresses on such a small frame will not be as great either. With everything fitting well, I believe that tomorrow I’ll be ready to put the frame … Read more
Given the piles of lumber that I’m use to dealing with, this really makes me smile; here is a photo of the complete stack of wood I will be using to create the miniature diptych. In a more serious vein, one of the benefits I hadn’t considered before of making a smaller work is that … Read more
After working in my studio for the morning, I headed into Waterloo for the afternoon. The KW Gem and Mineral Club has a special Kids Club which takes place the first Saturday of each month at 2 pm at the Button Factory. They cover a range of topics, and this month they had asked if … Read more
Today my family visited the Royal Ontario Museum, and we had a wonderful time. Between dinosaurs and bat caves and totem poles and paperweights, we also explored the new Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth’s Treasures! Here we found rocks of all shapes and sizes (even a meteor from the moon!) but it was the above … Read more
With the new year well under way and I am taking that perceived newness and foraging a little off the path. Whether it is ultimately a little detour, or a parallel path, or something entirely new, I really don’t know yet; but, inspiration has whispered something into my ear, and I’m going to find out! … Read more
With the mass tones applied I can begin to apply other colours and create images. Egg tempera is unique in the way an image is created. Rather than creating with a neutral tone and then applying shadows, tempera painting works best when a dark mass tone is applied and highlighting layers are added. While the … Read more
Gessoing is a messy and demanding job and once it has begun it cannot be stopped until completed or else future layers will never quite adhere properly. Gesso, which is a mixture of hide glue and a type of chalk, is the intermediary between the wooden panel and the paint layers. It starts off as … Read more
Jointing the wood panels together is a perfect job for the casein glue that I created using the milk from Harmony Organic. The reason why it is worthwhile to create a special glue for this purpose is that casein glue, once cured, is waterproof. Given the amount of water that the wood will be subjected … Read more