METHOD OF THE MASTERS

Read a book on Van Eyck the Dutch painter. Very impressed with his attitude. 'As best I can' was his motto. Apart from that the classical method of seven layers was followewd. First they did a drawing - the actual size of painting or smaller. On transferring it to the canvas or board, they did it in great detail with ink. Then the whole canvas or board was given a wash with an olive green or brown sienna like layer mixed from various colours. After this they completed the first layer in a gray scale. Then a second gray scale followed. Then the first colour layer. Then the second colour layer. The third colour layer followed.And finally the highlights and thicker paint followed. Between each layer the painting was allowed to dry and before a new layer was started a dry onion was rubbed all over the painting. Then a thin layer of painting mixture was painted over and the next layer painted into this layer. This secured a good binding. The method of painting from thin to thick was strictly followed but it was done in such a way that previous layers shone through each new layer. So it was done very, very thinly. Various mixtures and formulas of painting mixtures existed at the time. The thing that impressed me is the shine and the good craftmanship. It is very good art. Love to do an art piece following this rigid method.