Second Putty: Lights 9/5/11
In this phase, I made up a batch of Tad's putty medium, not to be confused with my mistake!
This surface will show slight brushstrokes, which are a good way to emphasize the contours of the face.
It will set a ground for additional layers of oil and pigment glaze. I had a little problem on one or two areas which seemed perhaps saturated with oil and weren't taking the putty; next time I will use borax and mlik over the whole surface before I apply the putty medium. This breaks up the oil and allows the next layer to adhere.
I started on this painting four days ago. If I didn't have to work, I could have done it even faster. I'm not saying I'm a great artist because I work fast; Caravaggio has done all the heavy lifting here. The interesting thing is how speeded-up this process is with the use of the terra cotta-like putty surface.
Faster is not always better, but my purpose is to study this painting and learn something from it. Speed suits me just fine for a study. The next phase will be to add glaze to the light areas. The surface is dry enough for me to do it now, but I decided to post this for Tad so he can see what my "putty mistake" is doing. . .
This surface will show slight brushstrokes, which are a good way to emphasize the contours of the face.
It will set a ground for additional layers of oil and pigment glaze. I had a little problem on one or two areas which seemed perhaps saturated with oil and weren't taking the putty; next time I will use borax and mlik over the whole surface before I apply the putty medium. This breaks up the oil and allows the next layer to adhere.
I started on this painting four days ago. If I didn't have to work, I could have done it even faster. I'm not saying I'm a great artist because I work fast; Caravaggio has done all the heavy lifting here. The interesting thing is how speeded-up this process is with the use of the terra cotta-like putty surface.
Faster is not always better, but my purpose is to study this painting and learn something from it. Speed suits me just fine for a study. The next phase will be to add glaze to the light areas. The surface is dry enough for me to do it now, but I decided to post this for Tad so he can see what my "putty mistake" is doing. . .