EGG TEMPERA

I must check in more often. I noticed that there were over 800 interactions since my last visit. I have no idea whether that is supposed to make me feel guilty or what.

Tartarin-glad to meet you , I really got the sense of how egg tempera interact with the environment. I started putting all my left over colors in these tiny TUPPERWARE containers. I stuck em in the frig and they , because I didnt get back to work, dried like neat little puddles of plaster. I should have looked at the chemistry . Its a real pain trying to match the same colors over and over.
MY paintings are, shall we say, presently,....experimental, yeh, thats it, experimental. Ive gravitated to larger pieces of masonite and wood. I use a
colored gesso base. Ive been doing some of my wildlife art with tempera and Im getting acceptable results. Im using an off white or cream colored gesso for my animals and I find that I can achieve a chiara scuro (god I hope I spelled that right ) look. Ive copied Durers bunnies and some Austrian chicks just for "workin the surface" . Im starting to really like this medium, however , now Ive gotta learn a way to make correct batches matched to the time Im going to be working.Like , for now, I wont be painting till this Friday due to my workload.
Fresh eggs, as feedstock, is not a big problem. Weve got chickens , we will need more.

Yes, farmerman you should feel guilty, we miss you when you are not around. :wink:

Your saga in search of the perfect egg tempura is fascinating and I wish you well. You are so dedicated but obtaining chiara scuro (I hope you spelled it right) is worth all the trials and tribulations I would think. It is good that you keep us updated I cannot wait to see you work. And for god's sake keep you painting away from the ants and rain.

JL- been busy? You were travelling no?
I have to say that sometimes , the use of multiple tricks, such as airbrushing along side a painting's subject , can achieve atmospherics that are quite unique. LW was correct, that most of the time airbrushing is used to achieve hard edges and soft "innards" and this can often set the tone for a work by making the subjects appear almost phony. I like to work airbrush mostly without masks or frisket. Further, I like to load many layers of different colors for thicker atmospheric perspective.

Thanks for the encouragement Joanne. Today I am totally in a goof -off mode. I had a major client meeting postponed , so maybe I will go home to the studio and fire up the pellet stove and pursue more of my tempera studies. I plan to do some triptychs and Im just gearing up for the attack.

We have acrobat ants, carpenter ants , and powder post beetles up here. All of which would chow down on a tasty egg tempera painting. I never gave this any thought. I wonder if Ill have to store my ETs in a bag of bug powder or rotenone? as the weather goes toward the spring , I suppose Ill have to face these problems, as for now, its in the high 20's this morning and Ill soon leave the office to drive home and we should not get above 40 today.

I have a very large collection of brushes..(From very expensive sable to contoured and specialty-This may be a subject for an art therapy thread) Anyway, from my collection Ive extracted a few flats that Ive been using for my egg temperas. I prefer them cause I can use the flat side or the edges. A very versatile brush, the flat.

Art is therapy for me farmerman, takes me somewhere else. Sable paint brushes, yikes. I would be afraid to use them.

Or the freezer, Farmerman. You got me all lusty there, talking about brushes! I'm a brush NUT. Have, use sable brushes. For highly detailed work I use 0000's. When I lived in Spain, I got wonderful squirrel brushes, with three-four-five hairs. It took me a while to fall in love with flats, but now I'm a big flat fan (and have a big fat... no, I won't go there!!)

Ive got some multi zeroed brushes also tartarin, I used to do striping on vans and motorcycles for money in my days in grad school. I made 10X the money than from my TA.s
I think there is something about the brush that makes one decide that one can never have enough. What is the imperative in action?

the squirrel brushes I have are long hairs, probably from the tail of the little tree rats.

I think that many artists prefer flats, wonder why?
Joanne. When somebody paints watercolor and needs a brush that, fully wet comes to a needle point, you cant beat sable. I have one great big one that I use like a mop for very squishy washes. Today, some of them cost over 100 bucks Mine are maybe 15 , 20 yeqars old and good as new. why? cuz I take mighty good care of them.

I just remembered at one time I owned a really special squirrel hair brush for painting the thinnest of lines yet capable of some dimension in the painted width... Kozinski or something like that. I was the manager of an art store at one time and bought one of those great $40 brushes at half off. Oooooh, I miss it!

I used to paint signs on glass and buildings, using "One-Shot Signpainter's Enamel". The long, long bladed sables were essential. The shape was odd. The length and spring of the hairs is critical. Of course one has to know literally HOW to paint with each type of brush.

I just remembered that danon5 would be interested in this discussion. Without going way back, can anyone tell me if he is *here*?

I think I saw danon here when I just joined. I havent seen any posts lately. He travels cause he can. Your long haired was probably a Kolinsky (thats a sable, verry soft and has a habit of clumping to a point. I buy my brushes in Canada now, because , even though the Canadian prices are higher , in US its much lower and, I get my tax back at the border. Also, some brushes I cant buy in the states.
What would a brush-o-phile be called?

Cobalt, I like your quote about W.

brushes
Cobalt and Farmerman, I went through the "members list" (man is it long) and saw no trace of Danon5, meaning that he has not registered yet. Someone should find him.

I thought he was here too. Hmmm.

hey, y'all! danon5 is here and hangs around Lola's Salon alot. In fact, today or this evening he's been yawing there for quite a spell - something about the history of Texas on the east, and Native Americans who used a written language... we should all invite him over with pms! When I stayed at his home for a few days I saw all the amazing artworks that he and his wife create. The antique-look giant clocks are delightful and there is quite a delicate touch he uses to paint the gilding with, and the old style of formal Roman numberals on them. I bet he'd love to hear a discussion of brushes.

Anyone want to start a topic JUST on brushes? I think that would be cool.
Seriously - everyone go PM the guy now, lol!

HELLO!!!!!!! Hi everybody, got cobalts pm. It'll take a little bit to catch up here. Looks interesting.

Hiya doin danon, long time ....
Ill bet you can make your own brushes. I saw an article about making squirrel tail striper brushes, very similar to tying flies.

so, whats new down in the hill country?

Hi farmer, yep, I could make my own brushes, but its like I found out with makin moonshine - hell of a lot of work when I can just go buy it for less than I can make it for - not to mention the time wasted. lol that about covers it. :-D
How you been? The arm must be ok now - I heard periodically how you were doing.

brushes
But, Danon5, I suspect that making brushes would not be wasting time for Farmerguy; it would be using time enjoyably. Correct me if I'm wrong FM. By the way, please tell me what is/was wrong with your arm. The topic fascinates me given my present bout of "impingement syndrome/tendenitis/bursitis/rotary cuff dysfunction" or whatever. I can hold up a brush but I can't use my violin bow--both critical actions for me.

JL, last years, I forget what time but I believe it was in mid summer, I was playing with the dogs and I had Ernie on a restraining leash while I was working Stashu on some sheep (stash is our backup dog, a very smart border collie who will soon be main dog) I was sitting on a fence and got pulled backward , I loosely had the leash on my arm and Ernie yanked me off the fence and I broke my arm. Then, but a month later, I busted the same arm doing some work on the tractor. So m y second trip to the bone plant required surgery. Its all fixed up and Ive been doing all sorts of therapy . I am still on a regimen.
Last year, due to the drought we were suffering , our ground was like cement.
Ive created a leash with a heavy damper for people who are always getting yanked around by their dogs. It works fine and will prevent another occurance of extremity damage from overly happy dogs .
BTW JL- I do not consider creating my own brushes. The spirit of the brush means that it be purchased or be a gift so its power to help me create is maximized.
I dont make my own trout flies, I make em for friends, and they make em for me. Its weird I know but, with your psych background, I suppose youre familiar with how we make little deals and bets with ourselves.? I think almost everyone I know has some manifestation of that syndrome.
Its harmless, not like OCD

Also JL, when I first came off my cast, my arm had lost much of its flexibility. The physical therapy was invaluable. Sounds like your condition was trauma induced. Rotator cuffs just dont fail, they are torn asunder. Skiing accidents , many years ago, can have amazing powers of recurrent injury syndromes. Does your arm tremble when you hold the bow? This is usually a sign of a degenerative atrophy, trauma induced. If thats the case Id go to a sports medicine physician whose got an ability to isolate and restore the specific atrophied muscles. Spondylitis is something else entirely. The way arthroscopic surgery is now, they can take the spondyles off with a "dremel" and much of your flex is restored

I play the pedal steel guitar and , after my cast was removed, for a few months I had lost the ability to work the slide properly. It never bothered my drawing arm , but the slide operations of my pedal steel are as important as the pickin fingers. Im slowly regaining the fine tuning component of the arm. So, go, and get this worked on, for if your as nutty about your music as I am about mine, it can be really frustrating.

arms
Yes, FM, VERY frustrating. My doctor--the violist in our quartet--gave me a cortisone shot (and that's the last I 'll have), and my pain subsided a bit, but when I bow the fiddle for five minutes the pain arises, no trembling and no signs of a tear (probably tendenitis). Any case, he prescribed that I consult our cellist who is a practicioner of Feldenkries. I resisted--hate new age stuff--but he "prescribed" it so what can I say. Don't want to lose a decent violists--even if he seems to be in cahoots with the cellist. I resist surgery, even arthoscopic surgery, but only on grounds of horror stories, most of which are probably apocryphal. I put down my border collie a couple of years ago (age 18), and, while I loved her dearly, I swore never to have another pet smarter than me.
Thanks for your response.