From The Practice of Tempera Painting:
"The secret of ease and expedition in tempera painting may be summed up in one simple formula--Get your tempering right, keep your color liquid, and have your brush squeezed almost dry. In a word, make haste slowly. Tempera painting is as far from the technique of water color on the one hand as it is from the plastic paint-pushing of oil handling on the other. It is much closer to the technique of pencil rendering; and the tempera painter will do well to bear that comparison in mind, and handle his brush as if it were a pencil. When you want to lay a tone in tempera, do not try to float a wash, and do not try to spread the paint out with a brush; but run over the area to be covered with quick, easy strokes, like pencil marks. Follow this first coat with a second, applied in the same way, running the strokes perhaps at a little different angle, according to the form; and continue in this way until you have build up a deep and even a body of color as you want."
Thompson, Daniel V. Jr. The Practice of Tempera Painting. New York. Dover Publications. 1962. (Yale University Press. 1936.) pp. 99-100.
This one definitely has the delicacy and life you are searching for- amazing how just changing how you apply the tempera can affect the energy of a piece so dramatically.
ReplyDeleteI had always heard that painting in tempera was a slow and methodical process- but to liken it to pencil drawing is a brilliant piece of advice and puts this medium into a class by itself. I would have done the same as you and tried to apply the paint with wide strokes that would cover, vs. building up areas like colored pencil work.
These ivy leaves are already reflecting light and showing dimension.
~ gretchen
I am trying to maintain a nearly dry brush but still seeing some blobbing. Patience seems to be key and keeping in mind that pencil analogy does help.
ReplyDeleteHaving opaque white to bring in highlights is a new experience for me. I get a bit of a thrill when dropping in highlights, so much easier and forgiving than watercolor. Lifting only got me so far.