Oftentimes I paint things in the neighboring areas to help me judge the image's accuracy. I intend to chip away the echoes of the shirts and repaint them to completion on my next session
The next stage requires the artist apply thin washes of color over the undertones. Little by little the painting approaches a fully pigmented image and the thin washes allow the white of the plaster to shine through!
The paint goes on in thin washes of color. Traditionally artist would solve the values or tones in grays (grisaille) or with a single muted color such as grayish-green (verdaccio) or brown. After the undertones are finished the fresco painter takes a break to allow time for the paint to fuse to the plater. OFtentimes Diego Rivera would eat the lunch that his wife Frida Kahlo would prepare for him.
The image above shows the final layer of the intonaco made from one part fine marble dust and one part lime putty. After sitting for a short period of time the plaster will firm enough to be polished a bit with a smooth clean trowel. This helps keep the surface abosorbtion consistant. But as I've learned too much of a good thing (finely polished surfaces)can be a bad thing! :) Too smooth and the paint will not stay put and will pull up on second passes with the brush. Ack!
Thanks again to ILia from the Fresco School for that helpful tip!
This image (above) shows the first section of the Intanaco. It's two parts fine river sand combined with one part lime putty. It's floated to help maintain a level surface while at the same time providing a tooth for the next layer.
Here are a few images of the fresco these days. I've snapped a few in progress shots to show the progression of this particular giornata.
An educational opportunity came about as an art history class came through last week. They gave me advanced notice so I had my assistant Julie Schuck spread a small square of plaster, earlier in the day, for them to try their hand at painting on a buon fresco. I will chip that area off before painting the next section.
Thanks for looking
