The Divine Comedy

Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016 – Oil on canvas –

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Canto VI Cerberus 2016

The Divine Comedy (Illustration)

Dante awakens in the 3rd circle.

Cold dirty rain-fall, mixing with heavy hailstones, pounding down, finally, streaking the nude bodies of the condemned souls lying supine in the filthy mud.  (epic poetry of Dante Alighieri)

Cerberus, the three-headed, dog-like worm beast stands over the souls clawing at the slightest movement made by the supine lying in the filth.

The process of the painting is below.

 

 

Drawing for Canto VI

Drawing for Canto VI

 I did a few drawings like this one above and a watercolor.

 

Canto VI Cerberus 2015

Canto VI Cerberus 2015

Next, I painted a similar version on a canvas with egg tempera to start with.

On Canvas

On Canvas

I started building up shape and color

Egg tempera

Egg tempera

 Then I changed my mind about something

 

Building up the shapes

Building up the shapes

I wanted a frontal view of the mouth

Almost finished

I put everything more or less where I wanted it

The Divine Comedy

Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016

And then I changed my mind again

That’s what I like about art

 

Figure Painting

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Dante’s Inferno Canto IV in process – Mixed Technique:  Tempera Under-painting and Resin-Oil Finish.

ILLustration in Process of Canto IV, Limbo

Almost finished…(Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s  The Divine Comedy)

Canto IV Session 17

Canto IV Session 20

The mixed technique is oil paint and egg tempera. The resin-oil drying time is more than a few days.

When drying a painting with this kind of mixture make sure the painting is isolated for a few days since all varnishes are volatile and harmful.

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is as Divine as Epic Poetry gets.  There’s nothing pretty about the poem to paint and art has never been about painting a pretty pictures.

I’ve posted three sessions, the other sessions in between were mistakes taken off of the canvas.  ;).

 

 

 

 

unfinished

Session 19

 

Canto IV Limbo

Canto IV Limbo Session 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egg Tempera Figurative Painting Process

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Here I’m posting some of the steps of mounting a canvas and starting a tempera painting.
primed-canvas-on-easel
Here is the stretched and primed canvas on the easel ready to use.

In the spring there’s a lot of light and colorful motif, but it all goes away when the fall comes in.  That’s the season I prefer to do tempera painting; when it’s not too hot.

2-stretcher-bars

This is the first step; stretcher bars.

Make sure the corners are squared.

3-stretcher-bars-on-canvas

Step 2; Canvas Material.

This is called Duck-Cloth.  It’s made of good quality cotton and is inexpensive.  After stretching the canvas, it is sized with glue.  I use rabbit skin glue ( in the white coffee cup) brushed on the canvas lightly with a wide brush.

Primer

Primer

Once the canvas has been sized and is completely dry, it is primed. It’s made by mixing  3 equal parts of zinc oxide, calcium sulfite and rabbit skin glue.  I buy these ingredients here in Madrid; most art stores have these products. 

Primed Canvas

Primed Canvas

Primed.

It takes about a day and a half to stretch, size and prime a canvas because of the drying time.

charcoal-drawing

Charcoal drawing on canvas

I made a quick charcoal drawing on the canvas to put everything more or less where it belongs.

mixing-emulsion

Mixing the Emulsion

Here is my set up with newspaper, brushes, spray bottle, pigments,  water container. This is a water-based medium.

9-dry-pigment-mixed-with-emulsion

Pigment mixed with emulsion and water container

When the emulsion and the pigments are mixed together, they should stand up, not run to meet the surface of the table.

session-1-light-underpainting

Session 1 Light egg tempera under painting

This is the first session.

session-2-building-up-color

Session 2 Building up Color

Session 2. Building up Color.

session-3

Session 3

This is the 3rd session.  One of the things I like about painting is that I don’t know exactly what it will look like when it’s finished. This painting is still in process.

 

 

Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016 – Watercolor on paper –

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The Divine Comedy (Illustration)

Dante awakens in the 3rd circle.

Cold dirty rain-fall, mixing with heavy hailstones, pounding down, finally, streaking the nude bodies of the condemned souls lying supine in the filthy mud.

Cerberus, the three-headed, dog-like worm beast stands over the souls clawing at the slightest movement made by the supine lying in the filth.

canto-vi
Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) 2016

This is my first draft for a tempera under painting which will finally become an oil-resin painting.

I like to start with what I see in the mind’s eye when I read Canto VI, staying true to what I read.

 You’ll have to read Canto VI of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri to find out what each circle holds and why they are there.

Dante’s Inferno Canto 2 (55-63)

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Beatriz Summons Virgil

Dante’s Inferno Canto 2 (55) Beatriz Summons Virgil in Limbo 2012

Beatriz decends from a place that she longs to return to visit Virgil whose soul is suspended in Limbo.   She asks Virgil to guide her friend Dante out of the dark forest where he is trapped by three beasts.  Virgil describes Beatriz as having eyes that surpassed the spledor of the star’s.