Anatomy of a Painting ('Super Dry 57')

From Start to Finish Working Sequence

Initially a drawing of the figures is made on the panel, with indications of shapes and light and shade. Only the figures are included, and a great deal of time will be taken to form a composition within the panel. The panel itself is 40cm x 40cm. No indication of the background is made. On this particular painting I had an idea for the background which involved metal steps and a skylight, in the end this was abandonned.

Working in egg tempera parts of the heads and arms are under-painted with green (terre verte), blue (ultramarine) or a mix of both. The paint drys almost instantly and allows me to lay multiple transparent glazes quickly. Areas where I really want to maintain a transparent feel throughout may be identified and painted early on. The elbows in this picture are a good example.

The cool under-painting will show through in the finished work. Heads and arms are all worked up with alternate warm and cool colours. Some colours are formed from transparent pure glazes laid on top or next to each other. White is used extensivley in the warm colours, which become translucent rather than transparent.

The figures are largely finished before decisions about the background are taken. In this instance an abstract pattern giving me light and dark in the right places suggested itself. After careful positioning the painting of the shapes happened quite quickly.

All works reproduced here are copyright© David Stevenson 2013