How to Paint a fresco: Three more steps on Fresco....Color

(8th Cenury Restored Fresco from Santa Sofia in Benevento, Italy)

Last week I wrote about the five initial steps an artist takes to create a fresco.  I wrote in step two about how the artist creates a rough color study with pastel or some other colored medium to give him an overall understanding of the scope and emotive potential of the color relationships in his composition. Going from there the artist must make, mix and test the paint.
 
6. Color preparation:  Fresco pigments must be spun out in water, with a glass muller in order to create a consistent paint to lay on the plaster.  Certain pigments that might be used in other kinds of paint making are simply not chemically compatible with the lime plaster and must be omitted from the palette. 
 
7. Premixing color:  Working from the color study, the artist (or his team) work to create simple premixed colors that are used as baselines for painting day.  The artist will use a reddish tone to draw in, or a green earth tone to create transitions in the flesh of a figure.  In addition, he uses verdaccio, which is a mix of  black, yellow ochre, and a touch of red for warmth.   He might have a light and dark verdaccio.   This is just one example of the premixed colors a fresco artist would require to have on hand and prepared before the "giornata" or painting day. 
 
8.  Test panel: A test panel is made to show how the colors will look once the fresco is complete, and allow the artist to alter the premixed combinations, or add to the palette.  This is a very useful and important step for the artist to take when preparing to paint a fresco.  Fresco dries dramatically different from the way it appears when wet early on.  The artist has to trust the intense power of the white lime.  The plaster will affect the colors as they dry.   This adds to the difficulty of mastering the medium, as the artist must paint with a future result in mind, and build careful color relationships early on. 
 
 
Seven King Landscapes on View in Asheville:

Gallery Minerva is on Broadway street just up from the Fine Arts Theatre and down from Pack Place and Diana Wortham Theatre.  Anna Parker-Barnett owns and manages the gallery, and she is working with the other galleries on Broadway and with the city to have this section of the city dubbed the "Downtown Arts District".  Seven of my Western North Carolina landscapes, ranging in size from a mere 3.75 x 12.75 to a much larger 36 x 48, are on view this month at the gallery along with a great selection of other artists working in a diverse range of styles. The gallery is open from noon to 7pm.

Ben Long: Paintings & Drawings

A retrospective of Ben Long's work is opening next Wednedsay at the Greenville Museum
in SC.  The exhibit runs from November 11, 2009-February 7, 2010