Tell us about yourself
I grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early on I studied music, piano being my first instrument, and then switching to drums. After high school I went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and took a double major in Music and Physics ( my parents didn’t want me to go into music).
After graduating, I joined the Army Band at West Point, then graduate work at The Juilliard School. From there I freelanced in the New York area and eventually played with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic (principal timpanist) and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (Associate Percussionist). Great experiences!
My mother was an oil painter so I was around painting and probably learned a little bit from her but not on a formal basis. I became interested in black and white photography and watercolor painting, exhibiting work at numerous venues in the greater New York/Hudson Valley area. We are now living in eastern Connecticut, and after a hiatus, I have resumed painting.
I started to incorporate some egg tempera painting into my watercolor painting, both being water-based media. Up to this point I was self-taught. Since resuming painting I have studied with Koo Schadler, egg tempera artist (who really deserves the title ‘artist’). I’ve gone to her workshops as well as having critiques and great conversations. Her book ‘Egg Tempera Painting, a Comprehensive Guide’ shares her 30 years’ experience and experimentation with this medium.
That’s my story. I now paint and exhibit in eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island and I’m very happy to be doing that.
How long have you been a WAA member and a JAM?
This is my second year as a JAM but I believe I have belonged to the organization for 6 years. I like the WAA in part because it is a warm, outwardly friendly group of people. They have a great mix of classes and types of exhibits. The WAA is very inclusive and open to a lot of different focuses. I do volunteer work for the Wickford Art Festival, something that fits my time demands. I mostly sell T-shirts, give directions, assist wherever needed, and am delighted to be of some help. There are many members that put in countless more hours and deserve the real credit.
Why do you paint what you paint?
I received some good advice from Koo: ‘Paint what you like’. I am not trying to make my daily living from my painting so I paint what I like. My wife is an avid gardener and we have flowers from February straight through until the end of October, so they frequently find their way into my work. Also, we live in a Colonial Period house and have collected antiques for a long time, some of which are also often featured. I am not interested in photorealistic painting but endeavor that my paintings have a realistic look with depth, obviously a painting. So, for me Egg Tempera painting, being basically linear, lends itself to this. It likewise lends itself to other approaches and there many painters that have different approaches to the medium.
Egg tempera painting predates oil painting, from before and throughout the Renaissance, when oil painting gradually became predominate. It gradually fell out of favor with the onset of oil painting save for Icon painters. In the 19th century, there was sort of a revival of egg tempera painting that carries on today. I try to incorporate lessons from painters of this period.
Tell us about your working method
Paint consists of Pigment (organic – contains carbon, inorganic – contains minerals, natural – found in nature, synthetic – made in a lab), Binder – in Egg Tempera paint the binder is egg yolk, and Solvent – in this case water.
Pigments are mostly available as dry powder and some are available as a liquid dispersion. I put some of the powder in a small jar (wearing a mask) and wet it with distilled water. This forms a pigment paste which is what I use – it may dry into a cake, similar to watercolor pans, just add a little water.
The binder is egg yolk – only the yolk. Break an egg, separate the yolk and put it in a small container. Add a small amount of water equal to roughly one half the egg volume, as otherwise it’s too thick. If you keep it cold it will be ok to use for a couple of days.
To make the paint, place pigment on your palette and add approximately the same amount of egg, then mix well. The solvent is water and you can then thin the paint as much as is necessary.
Egg Tempera is traditionally painted on a wood panel coated with gesso, which is similar to plaster. I use 1/2” Baltic Birch Plywood, which is a high-grade plywood, all the layers being Birch, unlike regular plywood.
I seal the panel with a layer of rabbit skin glue (a high grade hide glue – not necessarily from rabbits). Next, I apply a layer of cloth then seven to ten coats of gesso. For a complete description of the process, see ‘Egg Tempera Painting a Comprehensive Guide‘. As you can see, there is a craft element to all of this, but it’s not impossible. There are synthetic gesso panels available.
I do still life paintings. Egg Tempera painting is a slow process: this is my working method:
- I put together the various elements that will be in the painting. Then I spend a lot of time experimenting with the composition and lighting. Single source light is most important and it should be sunlight or artificial light, 5000K or so color temperature. Elements of the composition come and go, as well as light intensity, direction, etc. This is where most of the creative process happens, although changes can take place throughout the painting process.
- When I have something I like I take several careful photos, examine them, make changes, more photos, until I am reasonably satisfied. It’s important to be excited about the image and I look at all this process as if directing a scene in a play.
- At this point I make several color prints, adjusting them to the size I want for the painting. At first I used our all-purpose printer/scanner/copier but soon realized that better quality prints would help the process, so I now use a high quality printer. I also make several black and white prints, to a. Better to see the relative values, and b. Use for masks in painting.
- Now I make a careful drawing from the mockup photo, which may include some freehand drawing and the use of templates to justify certain shapes. I make several copies of this and tape one on the panel (place it exactly on the panel and then carefully run tape over the top corners, over the top of the panel and part of the way down the back). I can now use this as needed to transfer elements of the drawing to the panel. This stays attached throughout the painting and is flipped over to the back when not in use.
- Now the actual painting starts. The painting consists of many, many (many) layers. I work from the furthest elements (background) forward. At first I’m just blocking in big areas and usually use cosmetic sponges and fairly thick paint. Gradually it becomes sponges and brushwork with thinner paint, then mostly brushwork, with even thinner paint. Along the way I use scumbles (a thin layer of white paint, maybe tinted, softens an area a little, aids in blending, and reduces the chroma) and glazes (a thin layer of transparent paint to slightly change the overall cast of an area). When the painting is finished and has dried for a couple of weeks, I apply a thin layer of platina shellac to seal it (solvent – alcohol). Then, in a day or so, a thin layer of Renaissance Wax (solvent – mineral spirits).
If I can work two to three hours a day, actual work time, maybe five days per week, from start to finish takes around two and a half months. The complexity of the painting is a factor. Additionally, I make my own frames.
It’s a never-ending journey and you have to find your own way. I’m always pleased if someone likes my paintings but it’s not why I paint.
I have three upcoming shows: Lyme Art Association, Mystic Museum, and CAFA