It's been a while.

We have been so busy.  The symposium where we will present our findings is this Friday.  First, I want to take a moment to thank Clare for all of her help with the project.  She has been more than I could have hoped for in a studio assistant.  We will continue the project because we haven't even begun to document our color mixing or layering techniques, and there are so many material options to choose from.  This is one of the most rewarding studio-based art experience of my life, and that is saying a lot.

Without further adieu, here are some more photos:

Clare Painting Some Parsley and Egg Tempera.
We've not found a dense green, but I like these for
glazes with interesting effect.

Post Permacolor Project Studio Shot.

Beetroot and Egg Tempera, one of my favorites.

Beetroot and Linseed Oil, also wonderful to paint with.

Beetroot and Linseed Oil close-up

We strained the material, but if I were concerned with
consistency, I might use several layers of cheesecloth.

Madder and Safflower Oil

Sandalwood and Safflower Oil

Sandalwood's Close-Up

Turmeric and Safflower Oil.

Charcoal and Egg Tempera (L) and Charcoal with Milk Paint (R)

L-R  Hibiscus and Milk Paint, Elderberry and Milk Paint.
These are two I will definitely re-create.  I used them both on a recent painting
as a glaze to vary the sheen and give the piece a warm, aged quality.

As always, happy painting and healthy living!

Christel



More to come...

Got wine?

Here's a post because it's Friday, and I know some of you like your wine.  I don't drink much these days, but I had a friend come by for dinner and leave a bottle for later...so, of course, in a brilliant moment of curiosity/inspiration we decided to paint with it last Thursday.

Here are the results:

L - R:  Red Wine & Egg Tempera, Wine & Milk Paint

Red wine and egg tempera makes the most incredible pale flesh tone.  All of the milk paints produce gorgeous, matte pastel tones that are great for layering with complimentary pigmented egg tempera paints.

I'll show you those results soon, but in the meantime, happy painting!

-Christel

An Enchanted Spring Break...in the Studio

There were so many surprises!  I'll show you part 1 of the highlights in pictures.

I am having a moment with indigo and oil...

Indigo and Linseed Oil:
A powerfully dense and luscious combination.

The weight of the oil pulling the pigment down the sides of the canvas.

Indigo's close-up.

Sweet Safflower and Milk Paint

Our oil choices...Safflower for the gold tone pigments,
and Cold Pressed Linseed for the darker pigments.
After some research, we decided to relegate the stand oil
to glazes only.

The potted pigments ready to be mixed with either egg tempera or milk.
As you can imagine, the first part of our week was all preparation..

Good news!  My show, New World Currency (see last post) has been extended through April!  So if you're in KC and would like to see the show or meet me in person and talk about natural color, I will be at MLB Gallery 2020 Baltimore KCMO 64108 from 6-9pm on Friday April 4.  I'd love to see you there.

In the meantime, I'll be enjoying these spring showers in the studio as much as possible.

-Christel

New Experiments and Other Natural Media

I just opened a show at MLB Gallery, owned by a former Hallmark Executive the lovely Marie Smith her gallery is just enough off the beaten path for viewers to really interact with the work without interacting too much with one another (or me!).  Sometimes First Fridays can become an human experience rather than one about art appreciation...but her spot was a welcome exception.

This show incorporated my work with beeswax and paper in order to reclaim imagery produced by new world explorers, which also related to Anglo Saxon runic imagery.  All of this was my new look at currency- something simultaneously future and past focused.  I really had no idea how timely the topic was, until my friend Avritt came by for an afternoon preview and mentioned Autumn Radtke's (First Meta CEO, and Bitcoin developer) murder the night before.  The show is titled New World Currency and is up until the end of the month.  Here's a preview:

It's snowing outside right now even though we're on spring break (UGH!) and I'm in the studio all week potting, pouring, and painting, so there will be another post later this week with new findings.  In the meantime, I want to show you two paintings I've been working on which incorporate the egg tempera as well as the natural oils for glazing.

2014, 2014

Christel Highland

Oil on Canvas

24 x 36 inches

On this piece, separate espresso and turmeric glazes were added.  I'm pretty happy with this painting overall, but espresso (of course) does not absorb oil, therefore the pigment remains separate from the oil to a great degree making it un-ideal to work with in this manner because the dry time can be quite extensive.  The turmeric, however, was fantastic for toning down the whites and giving an aged quality to the piece.

Window, 2014

Christel Highland

Egg Tempera and Oil on Canvas

18 x 24 inches

I love egg tempera!  It bound beautifully with the oil.  It did crackle where my application was a bit heavy-handed.  So, I sanded down the extraneous bits which then revealed the under layer.  It was actually quite exciting.  Some of the texture you see is from an underpainting, so keep that in mind.  I used lots of elements on this piece- letting it be a true experiment.  The texture at the bottom is salt, which is something I tend to use in my works on paper and silk.  A lot of the gloss is from the egg tempera, which was mixed in separate batches with espresso, iron (yes, you read right and you have to email me if you want this trademark recipe), and cabbage.  I was pleased with all of these effects, especially the cabbage which is rapidly becoming a new favorite due its unpredictable nature.  It read very purple with a grey underpainting.  Finally, turmeric oil paint gave the nice gold finishing strokes.

Next time, I promise mostly pictures.  Today has been a fun day in the studio with Clare and we took lots of pictures!

Be well,

Christel

The color transformation caused by the egg...

I'm concentrating, not angry!

Friday in the studio, freshly inspired (and a bit overwhelmed) by the energy at the International Folk Alliance Convention here in KC, we focused on capturing two colors: green and purple.

What we actually created was quite a bit different, but not displeasing in the least.  I will explain.

First coat wet.  Parsley left, cabbage right.

They dried so differently than they look here!

We created the most gorgeous shade of grey/green/blue with our dense purple from boiled purple cabbage.  I am in love with this color, and was hoping to achieve it through our experimentation, but I was surprised to discover it so early in the process.  The fresh farm eggs required for egg tempera will (and should) have a densely rich golden color.  I thought we might get a slightly brownish purple, but because of the translucency of the material, I expect our results will continue to be delightfully unpredictable.

Then, we cold processed some greens- Italian parsley to be exact.  By cold processes, I simply mean that we pulverized the entire bunch of parsley into as little water as possible and then strained it.  Let it sit, and then poured off the excess water.  Oh, and then we treated ourselves to a nice refreshing tonic of parsley-carrot-ginger-apple juice.  Mmm.

I shied away from using something deeply pigmented like kale, but I think we will try that next time.  We have wheatgrass seed on the way, but I think kale micro greens are in order as well for a less yellow green, but it is a beautiful yellow green.  Fortunately, I'm on my way to the market in a bit, and it's a bit chilly out, which means I'll have room to roam and figure out what to grow to paint and eat this spring.

Oh, after our work session, we went to a reading by the captivating poet/activist/herbalist/mother Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie.  What a powerhouse of intellect, charm, and beauty that stems from strength within!

Cheers to a week full of surprising beauty.

Christel

The Egg Tempera Process

We began with thin syrups taken from hibiscus, elderberry, and safflower.

They were boiled down on our previous work days.  Like cooking rice,  in a 1 parts material to 2 parts water, boiled for almost an hour.  Then, we strained the material, and used them for tea (!) elderberry is a natural anti-viral, and hibiscus is great for your liver.  Safflower, however, we did not consume.  Anyway, the leftover material simmered until about half the original volume and cooled until our last work session.

Now for the egg tempera process.

First, you MUST have fresh eggs.  Fortunately, we have lots of options for fresh eggs here in KC.  

• Separate your egg yolk from the white.
• Place the yolk on a paper towel.
• Roll the yolk around on the towel until as much of the white is removed as possible.
• Pierce the yolk, and then allow the yolk to seep out slowly without the albumen.  
• The yolk is then mixed with your syrup-pigment.
• The mixture can be refrigerated for a couple of days, but it is preferable to use the material as soon as possible.
• Use air movement if you must speed drying, never heat.
• Also, I like to use olive oil soap to clean my egg tempera brushes.
• Please be aware that, of course, the yolk does have a slight effect on the color.

Painting the Safflower Egg Tempera

L-R Hibiscus, Elderberry, Safflower

Please note that the hibiscus will rapidly turn too thick for my preferred consistency.  There are times for a more gelatinous consistency, but I was displeased with our outcome this go-round.  It is a brilliant red that can almost be used without the egg tempera addition, if the art object is to be sealed at a later time.

More next week!  Photos by Clare...

Have a great week,

Christel 

The Crew Convened

Before I made my way to the studio, I made the very chilly climb to my favorite herb store here in KC, Phoenix Herb Company.  The wind was at my back.

It was a wonderful afternoon in the studio with Clare and Janet.

Janet and I worked on a grant application for a project together.  It's such a grueling process for us artistic types, but our musician cohort is also a mathematician!  Bonus.  Plus, he strummed away at his guitar while we worked and told stories...Janet's stories always win.  Yesterday I learned that she saw Jimi Hendrix in 1967.  Wow.

So it was a day of multi-tasking (what day isn't?).  And, sadly, we didn't get photographs taken, but we will next Friday.

Clare was boiling hibiscus into a syrup, and pulverizing alfalfa in the kitchen while we plugged away at numbers, bios, photos, and hammered out conceptual themes.

We did discuss which processes to use with different herbs.  The Safflower will have to be boiled as well, for example.  Other herbs and plants will have to ferment, like indigo.  And then others will be pulverized, placed in a small amount of cool water, and then set in the window sill to transfer the pigment.  I'll tell you everything, but right now, we have hibiscus pigment evaporating as much water off as possible, and I'm enjoying the soggy, less than red flower bits in my green tea.

Happy Weekending,

Christel