Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Post 28: First Full Scale Attempt: "Trompe l'Oeil Window"

    The special stretcher for this one has been built for a week already, and I have done two successful small scale tests, so I am not too concerned about this piece.



    The old wall background is mostly dirty yellow and red ochres, with touches of purple, red and green pigments sprinkled in. I will use Pastels to draw a realistic baseboard and a window frame with a cast shadow. The images will be printed with a shadow to achieve the Trompe l'Oeil effect



    I gave the panel three light coats of Golden Absorbent Ground to make it as white as possible for maximum contrast. I am using a different medium, but as with oils, I want the light to reflect back from the white ground through thin transparent layers of color. To me, it is what gives life to colors.
    I may have to acquire a few of my old favorite super lightfast Daniel Smithtransparent oil colors in pigment form, like Anthraquinoid Red and Naphtamide Maroon.
   First, I taped out the window frame and the baseboard and roughed them in with pigments and pastels. I then taped over them with the Yellow Delicate tape. I will almost completely finish the wall before I do these. as I want a clear line, and fusing would blurt too much.
   I started roughing in the wall rubbing pigments in with my fingers and removing the excess with a wide brush.


   I use a watercolor palette to put pigments in, and wear a dust mask for safety when working with pigments on large areas. The first 12" x 12" test is in the background:

  
   I will later use my full set of Rembrandt Soft Pastels to add details, lines, spots, etc...


   There is something a little nostalgic here,and significant as well, as this is how I started painting back in the late 70's. I have gone full circle over the last 40 years, and am back somewhere near where I started, except for the wax layer  the addition of colored medium, the sprinkling of pigments, the fusing, and the scraping. 

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