Egg Tempera
My introduction to egg tempera.
I was taking my narrow boat to Thurmaston boat yard near Leicester for a new base plate to be welded on the bottom of my boat.
As the work went on I got to know the local people that lived on their boats and one particular named Greg who was married to a lady called Shari. Greg said he had come across me before on the canals and seen the art that I painted, he went on to say "Have you tried to paint with egg tempera before" Well I had heard of it in my past but never was told enough about it.
He was like a history book telling me the ins and outs of this wonderful medium that I really must try. I could have listened to him all day but I needed to get my boat sorted. I kept seeing him around the boat yard and each time he would tell me more. I had to try it. I got to the art shop and purchased an MDF board, It was very thick so it felt sturdy enough for me to try the gesso in layers, I also studied intensely how to apply the gesso online and the best way to get a smooth finish, I must admit my finish was astounding using wet and dry, it looks like marble or ivory.
I ordered the pigments and at first, I played with some small wood blocks that I put the gesso on to get used to the egg and mix it in my pigments and also needed to see if I enjoyed it. oh yes did I enjoy it, my mind was working overtime. I felt like Greg had told me about something I was missing in my life. How could I have not done this before?
Egg tempera wood blocks to practice with.
After feeling confident enough I went on to try egg tempera on a bigger wood panel but I could not think of a subject that I wanted to paint and I was so desperate to paint on it, I was itching to do it.
Then I remembered a photograph by Victor Soares, many years back I asked him if I use it as a reference for a watercolour painting. he said yes.
After getting most of the painting done in egg tempera I realised that when I come to finish it I need to make sure that Victor is still ok for me to use his photograph as a reference.
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