Egg Tempera
10 x 16
Back in high school I had a science teacher that painted a bit. When he found out that I also painted and sold he couldn't understand how I could stand to part with a piece. He said it would be like selling one of his kids. Assuming that to be true, it's probably a good thing I don't have any kids. Most of the time, once something is done, its done. Get it out of the way and move on to the next. Being a good capitalist, I consider sales a good thing. There are a few exceptions though. This one I would have trouble parting with for some reason.
Here's a detail.
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7 comments:
thank you for this. i don't like keeping work around either.. and it's not like selling my children. not one bit.(-:
better to make room for new work.
it must be hard to get paid for the time that goes into egg tempera though.. this must have taken so much patience.
i couldn't believe how much one brilliant egg tempera artist was getting for his work. it was a crime. maybe it's one of the reasons why so many artists stick with oil, or go back to it.
i'm also wondering if photography can do egg tempera justice? and capture the depth. that would make it hard to let it go... if you can document well it can be easy to let things go out into the world and find good homes for your work.
I hope you have luck with your scanner and camera issues soon (at least they are getting more affordable and better.) I'm in the same boat right now.
cheers, jp.
As I remember this one didn't take all that much time. It was one of those where everything just kind of fell into place. One of the neat things about tempera is how fast it dries. You can lay down a dozen thin layers a day.
I'n not sure photography can do any painting complete justice, tempera, oil or watercolor. It's just too removed from the real thing. It's like the Cervantes quote from Don Quixote on reading books in translation. It's like looking at the back of a tapestry. You get the general idea but all the subtlety is missing. But then I suppose it's better than nothing.
Oh one other thing I meant to say. Have you looked at the Jeff Gola link? If not take a look, I think you'll like it.
Hi Dave,
Great work on this one.
I like the convincing textures and the soft lighting.
Best regards,
José
Hi Jose.
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment. It means a lot to me. Sorry it's taken so long for me to reply, but you may have heard of the flooding along the Mississippi in Missouri? I've been throwing sandbags around for a while now so that's my excuse. Personally, I'm still high and dry and will continue to be, but closer to the river it's really a mess.
Interesting to hear another artist talk of not 'holding on ' to finished work . Quite honestly , sometimes when I have finished a work I look back on it and literally cannot remember much of the 'doing' of it . It seems alien somehow .Something that came through me not by me . Quite strange sometimes . In some works when I get a really good result with some small area I look at it and wonder how that actually happened . I feel that if I wanted to repeat it I would not know how . Oh well just keep on doing our thing is what it is all about , I guess ?
I know exactly what you're saying. This is one of those paintings that looks really complicated and hard to do, but it really seemed to paint itself. Not quite sure how that happened.
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