Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Epiphany!

I had somewhat of an epiphany. I was looking at Leonardo's paintings of The Adoration of the Magi, and Saint Jerome in the Wilderness. Both are unfinished paintings, both very familiar to me. Saint Jerome is EXACTLY the same color palette as the Mona Lisa. In looking at both paintings, one can see much of Leonardo's process. I'll document and post in process photos of the painting as it progresses. It appears from the unfinished works of Leonardo that he first drew in the outlines of figures in light gray paint, then sharpened up the drawing with a thin brush, outlining the final composition in umber. He then would use white (probably lead white) to paint in highlights and begin modelling forms. In The Adoration of the Magi, he also painted in darks fairly soon in the process, probably to get a feel for the composition early on in the process.

I'm continuing on sculpting the frame, and will begin materials tests soon!