So this is where I have got to after two weeks – fortyish hours– of learning to paint in tempera. For most of the image I have completed two of a minimum of three layers. The first layer thin, the consistency of watercolour. The second, thicker, more like gouache, so that the light, mid and dark tones are set out. For the next stage, if I decide to finish the painting, I am on my own. This is, I think, where hours and days can be lost blending different tones together, using opaque but tiny almost invisible brushstrokes. There is such detail in the original to recreate. In particular, the hair of Chloris has individual strands of hair picked out as they flow over locks twisting in other directions.
To be honest, I am not sure if I will finish it. I wanted to learn the technique so that that I can be more confident when I use tempera in my own work. I may keep it as a place where I can return when I feel the need to refine my technique, a sort of test bed. For now, I have a half-finished section of a Botticelli, that looks to me a little like an Art Nouveau poster, getting somewhat battered and bashed as I travel south down Italy.
To be honest, I am not sure if I will finish it. I wanted to learn the technique so that that I can be more confident when I use tempera in my own work. I may keep it as a place where I can return when I feel the need to refine my technique, a sort of test bed. For now, I have a half-finished section of a Botticelli, that looks to me a little like an Art Nouveau poster, getting somewhat battered and bashed as I travel south down Italy.
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