Did you complete your cartoon transfer yet? (See Part 4) Keep in mind that working from a photo is not a lifetime sentence–it is a great beginning and learning tool, becoming simply reference material later on as you gain skill and begin to build a morgue of artist references.
At this stage, you should have transferred what is in each acetate grid section, box by box, triangle by triangle, to each identical grid section of your painting panel. If you begin to think about your drawing as specific objects, turn the panel and acetate upside down and continue. This way, it helps you to stay in the abstract and be more objective.
Are the acetate and panel drawings exactly the same? When the acetate tracing and the panel look exactly identical, you can either erase most of your grid lines, or just leave them in case you need refer to them later at some point during the charcoal drawing and underpainting. I usually just leave them. If your drawing has been accurately reproduced, spray it with fixative so it won’t disappear on you. Remember that the Old Masters taught and used this same grid method to execute extremely accurate drawings, so you are in the best of company.
Now, it’s time to move on to the marble dust gesso and gelatin padding, and inking of the drawing. Your surface should look sculpted when complete, but only to the degree of the Golden Mean. In other words, you should aim for about thirty-three percent or less, or sixty-six percent or more of your surface area “sculpted,” but never 50-50. Of course, this will generally be applied in areas throughout, so you will have to guess the aggregate amount. Also, make sure you emphasize the illuminated, higher-value areas only, areas you want to advance. The lighter the area, the more gesso or gelatin you can add. Darker-valued areas should remain smooth and recessional.
If you plan to add any gesso or gelatin for textures, do it now during the drawing/charcoal/inking stage. Remember that the process of sculpturing your work with the marbled gesso is completely optional. I don’t do it for every painting, but whenever I do, I never regret having the additional dimension that oil paint alone can simply not provide.
Here is an example of Rubens’ Roman charity painting, “Cimon and Pero,” where I extensively padded on the marble dust gesso to varying degrees on the man’s muscles in the light. You can see why it is so important to study your anatomy and know the shapes of the musculature. On the daughter, I added extra gesso to the face, breast, forward arm and hand, and on the dress folds, only on areas of light and those nearest the viewer. Gelatin was added to stone areas only. It is finely granulated, totally permanent and used just as it is, right out of the box. It can be used in gesso or mixed directly in the paint, and creates a more crude surface–perfect for things like rocks, stone and bark:
If you zoom it on your computer, you can actually see where I have added marble gesso (those areas appear whiter) on this painting in progress of Titian‘s “Venus at her Toilet.” I have built up gesso on the pearls, hair, face, the sternocleidomastoid, the breasts, abdomen, hip, arms, hands, jewelry, the angel and wings, and spent a great deal of time on the tiny trimwork of her wrap. It’s an amazing tactile experience to literally feel the shapes as you run your hand over the painting and yes, it takes time, but it is so much worth the effort:
Remember that not just any old plastic-y gesso works for this–you MUST have quite a bit of marble dust in it AND have a surface with tooth to apply it to. You can make your own, or buy Bonded Marble Gesso from Frank Covino. Several other companies are emulating Frank and finally beginning to make it also.
Working on a marbled board allows you to scrape, carve, and shape without ruining your surface. Just remember that this gesso dries very quickly and becomes quite hard (like marble), so whatever your plan is, you should execute it as soon as the gesso is touch dry. For instance, when I build a muscle, I keep adding coats with an older bristle brush until it’s the thickness I want. Then, I sand it thoroughly, paying very special attention to the edges, as soon as the gesso will let me. If you let it cure and come back a couple of days later, you’ll find it nearly impossible to make the edges smooth–it’s just too hard to work at this point. Remember that paint will not cover up whatever textural accidents or sloppiness you leave. The texture will still telescope through the paint, so make sure you are thorough with those edges.
All the best,
Marsha
P. S. Just a note to remind you of the upcoming workshop—
Hello, dear readers. Here is some information I just sent out to all members of The Arizona Renaissance Art Guild, and I would like to share it with you as well. We are having a one-week workshop where we intensively work on our paintings for one committed week. If you will be in the Phoenix area on October 7-11, 2013, we would like to invite you to attend and perhaps make some new painting friends. Respond to this post if you are interested.
Dear Artists:
Great news! Karen has confirmed the dates for the Arizona Renaissance Art Guild’s one-week workshop. So, are you ready to paint those gorgeous works of art???
It’s PAINTINGPALOOZA time, one whole week to devote to your Classical painting for about $60 – $85 (total for the week), where we artists help each other make our work better and better.
The workshop is scheduled for the week of October 7 – 11, 2013, at the museum. Workshop hours each day are from 9:00 a.m. until ?.
Signing up is simple–just send us an email and please include your phone number in case we need to contact you. We have space for a maximum of 12 people. The more people that sign up, the less the cost!
There is no need for you to send a deposit ahead of time: just RSVP via email to confirm your attendance, and then pay your share when you get there.
And as always, if you see someone who didn’t get this email but who should or wants to be on the mailing list, please feel free to forward this on to them and us so that we will be able to include them in our next mailing.
Call if you have any questions. Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Karen and Marsha
Arizona Renaissance Art Guild
A Pigment of Your Imagination 