July updates

Hello everyone,

Here are some updates. I'm closing in on finishing the fresco! Last week I finished the large figure on the left and today I plastered from her to the figure on the far right and painted some echoes in the middle figure's hair. I forgot to get an image after the painting portion was completed so I'll post it again in a bit. Also note the white plaster at the top that is a bit darker is wet and will dry to nearly the same white as the far right right and left backgrounds. You shouldn't be able to detect the edge from a distance when it's finished (fingers crossed).

May Update!

My most recent work. I plan to add a fifth figure on the right side of the mural and add echoes of the figures in the negative white spaces.

More January updates!

I took advantage of the January break by working some long hours on the fresco. To this point, the tall figure is the result of three 21-23 hour days of painting, plus a fourth 20 hour day that was scraped off (painfully so). The hallway lights were off at the time I took these photos; the mural is being lit from the sky light in the atrium. When the lights are on the wall is lit fairly evenly, without shadows.








This last image was a fun shot that I took standing next to the mural. I simply looked up and shot the photo. I love how the vantage point skews the proportions and it gives you a good sense of the scale of the figure (gigantic). If you look carefully (click image to get a larger view) you can see faint lines that come from the transfer. Essentially I draw the image to scale on a large piece of paper. I hold it up to the wet plaster and transfer the drawing by incising the drawn line with my fingernail, which leaves a linear dent on the smooth white plaster. The dent fills in a tad darker when passed over with paint.

January update

hello everyone,

I'm still chipping away (literally in some cases) at the fresco. Here are some images showing where the image is today, which takes you all the way to my latest section, a 4.5 foot-tall face (a couple images down). In Sr. Wiley fashion, this face alone is the result of a working session that began at 8am on one day and ended at 5am the next (21 hours total, 12+ were actual painting).

A note: traditionally fresco paintings are completed sectionally in horizontal rows, starting at the top of the mural. This helps ensure that unexpected drips fall onto unfinished portions of the painting, rather then sections that were completed the day before. Despite the logic of this practice, and with great caution, I've chosen to work the figures first, irregardless of their vertical placement. I plan to finish the negative spaces between them, which include transparent echoes of figures towards the end of the fresco.

This image shows the greenish-gray under painting, commonly referred to as the "verdacchio". Once the completed verdacchio has sat for 30 min, I can add transparent glazes of color . These layers of color build slowly until enough have amassed to fully pigment the image.



This is my palette. It includes cups of fresco-safe pigments ground in water. I mix colors (mostly) by layering transparent glazes from this basic set. I use paper towels to control the amount of water in my brush, which helps prevent dripping and allows me to respond to the plaster's changing thirst, with more or less wetness.

Traditionally painters squeeze out excess water and paint from brush with their finger tips. I've opted not to squeeze and instead use paper towels to control the water because some of the pigments are toxic.





The irregular white border around these figures will be carefully chipped away with a sharp chizel before working on sections that bump up to these figures.

Update September

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

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Here are a couple in-progress shots. I have some of the section in between as well that will come later. Each session my confidence and skill grows. My control has grown significantly since changing my brushes to something more in line with traditional fresco brushes.

Mike

Updates coming soon!

sorry for the delayed updates. I'll try to get things up to date this weekend. Until then here are a few pics of the fresco's current state! The wall is 10.5 feet tall, making these faces around 5-6' each. I'd also like to throw a BIG THANKS out to ILia from the Fresco School for all of his advice. I couldn't have gotten this far without it!

Thanks for looking!




I plan to finish the far right figure first, from top to bottom before starting the middle and left zones. This is a little out of the ordinary as many fresco painters avoid finishing lower portions before upper portions typwriter style.





Last night's work included these ears (yup plural). When the rest of the figure in completed i hope it communicates a shifting image.