lid and bottom of bone basket box, image area is 2 inches in diameter
bone basket box
I'll be posting my rose miniature for sale as soon as it's frame arrives.
Meanwhile, however, I am so excited to try this new challenge---painting a miniature of Giverny gardens on this exquisitely carved bone basket box! Some of you know that in 2007 I had the great experience of visiting Monet's Giverny gardens during tulip time in April. I've had a number of miniature paintings in mind to paint from my experience at Giverny.
Here I'm experimenting with the best way to try egg tempera on this smooth bone surface, very like ivory, but when I reached this point above, I realized my medium was not adequately absorbed and secured on the bare surface itself, so I am recording this try and wiping it off in order to apply a hide-glue-based ground on which I can paint with egg tempera more successfully. I may seal it all with liquin upon completion; I may add some oil paint highlights on top. I'd like to try adding gold leaf to the inner rim around box lid too. We'll see. It will take a bit of extra patience, but that is what miniature painting is all about, and I'll post my progress with this tiny landscape as it develops.
13 comments:
How exciting Mona! I'll be watching. It's going to be beautiful!
Mona,
Glad you realized the need to start over before you were done with the piece. That would have been heart breaking. Are baskets something you collect? It is going to be quite a striking piece when done.
Thanks Barbara and Gail. The surface is so smooth, the trick is to get the paint to adhere properly, but I'm working on it.
Gail, I haven't collected them, but if this works out well, I may try more of them. This pretty basket box came from Nancy Still's MiniArt Supply.
This is just the kind of project I would find really exciting too Mona - I can't wait to see it develop. I am always inspired by the preparation you put into your pieces - you really do have the patience of a saint!!!!
Thanks Karen. I must admit that ever since the computer crash I had earlier in the year, I feel like I don't have enough patience! My mind keeps racing over the many projects I need to finalize for sale. Hopefully having something new will spur me on in general.
Mona, if you are lacking in patience, then I am severely handicapped. Anyone who paints miniatures in egg tempera is way up there in the patience scale in MY book! :) What I love about visiting your blogs - You are always trying something new. And while your work is so very salable, (is that a word?) it never looks commercial. When I try to do crafty types of fine art, they inevitably end up looking too crafty. So great job, and it's so fun watching what you will work up next!
Thanks Deb, I appreciate hearing your thoughts about this.
This is going to be beautiful Mona! Can't wait to see it finished and I would say it could be the beginning of a new direction for you and certainly appeals to a broader audience of collectors.
Thanks, Wes and Rachelle.
What an interesting project, Mona! The box is beautiful as is, but when decorated with your miniature painting, it will be so GORGEOUS. I can't wait to see it finished.
Thanks Akiko. This project is taking a new direction, since I've wound up working in a different medium, but will post on it when it's done.
This is incredibly beautiful!
Love you,
Mom
Thanks Mom. I've wound up using oil paint over gold leaf, so it is proceeding more slowly, and I will try to post a progress picture tomorrow.
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