No.....

 

It's Not Yet Done....

You Might recall, Dear Readers, my caveat at the end of last week's post, reminding you that there was still the exterior opening wall panel needing it's decoration before I could declare the Chapel "complete". It might be a small caveat, but it is not a small task! And knowing myself, I am determined to not jump away from this project before I have those paintings at least ninety percent finished! No rough sketches with design challenges still to decide, no half finished painting while I dither about a color..... I really want to "finish" the Chapel this year! I have known for a long time what the topics are for each of these panels, and I have a very clear "sense" of how I want them to look... but that leaves a Lot of vagueness about the specific details. The two remaining panels will have the Tower of Babel and The Annunciation as the subjects. I have spent a lot of time this year poring through all my texts to tease out the versions I want to use for my principal models. You might have forgotten that I am copying from actual originals for all these panels, with the knowledge that I am also making them "my own version" by altering them sometimes only a tiny bit, sometimes quite a lot for my versions. The above picture is an example of a Tiny version of "The Annunciation" tucked into the illuminated border.... you can see it there right above my thumbnail... along with the Visitation, Nativity, The Visit of the Magi, and The Presentation in the Temple. These are tiny paintings from The Gorleston Psalter, an English manuscript dating to around 1304 which is about as late as I would like my sources to be. I find it significant because the Virgin Mary is standing up when she receives the word from Gabriel. It is much more common to see her pictured as kneeling in prayer...

 

As in this illumination from the Beaufort/Beauchamp Hours

 and dating to "before 1400".

 I admit, I was intrigued at the idea that the older portrayals

 of this scene showed Mary standing, not kneeling humbly at her prayers.

 I found a couple more versions that seemed to confirm my suspicion...

 

Such as this one from "The Apocalypse Norman"

 dating to around 1320....

 (I used another scene from this as my model for

 the Visitation stained glass panel, you might recall).

 

This one, taken from a Psalter from Wurzburg 

and dating to around 1240,

  is much closer to the dates I am trying to use,

 and embodies "the strength of Character" I am looking for.

 This then, would be my principal model for the Chapel painting.

 I say principal model, because I will have to modify it

 to fit the narrower sized panel I am painting. 

I am borrowing several elements from the Norman Apocalypse

 version and am squeezing them into the narrower space

 by making Gabriel "entering" the panel but not entirely visible.

 

I used the tracing I had made to establish the overlap panels shape,

 and placed it over the book rendering, and was surprised 

that the figure is the perfect size for this panel!

 I traced it onto the tracing paper and worked the remaining details in by hand. 

When it all fit the panel properly, I covered the back side with graphite

 (my pencil) and used it to transfer the image directly to the painting panel.

 

If you look carefully, you can see the fine pencil marks on the panel... 

I am just beginning the inking process.

 

Here the inking is complete on the main panel.... 

I have to do it separately from the overlap panel

 because there will be overlap... 

ie. part of the painting on both doors.

 

 Here you can see both the doors, the main panel inked

 and the overlap panel still not inked.

 

 I needed to let the ink dry for twenty-four hours

 before trying to paint... the humid air is not conducive

 to drying things out at this time of year. 

 

And then I started to add the pigments. 

This is just the base coats, nothing subtle or delicate, 

just blocking in the colors.

 I want to stay as true to the original as I can with the colors... 

they are a big part of what I love about this version.... 

later work all insist in dressing Mary in blue.... 

here her gown is maroon and her cloak bright red! 

I have borrowed the chair and the reading stand

 from the later version... in nearly every

 version Mary is reading or at prayer... 

clearly a message that she is educated. 

The chair fits on the overlap panel, 

along with a sliver of Mary's cloak... 

just a perfect fit for this divided painting!

 

 I also love that her halo is blue.... 

again, from before the standardization of only gold for haloes.

 

In this squeezed version, Gabriel's role is down-played, 

while Mary is central to the whole event.

 

Here you can see the overlap panel has also been painted. 

I have to be careful to keep them separated while the paint dries. 

Then I need to make sure the overlap of the designs is aligned correctly.

 

Another reason I am so fond of this version is

 the golden ocher color of it's background, 

and I now know just how to achieve that radiant golden glow effect! 

I could not imagine a more fitting panel for this golden background

 than the Annunciation... the return to Eden, 

or as close as anyone can come!

 

Here you can see I have added the golden yellow under-paint layer.

 In general, the older the manuscript, 

the less sophisticated the paint medium methods were.

 This manuscript was done in tempra

 (usually an egg-yolk based paint hand mixed by the artist.) 

I get to use tubes of acrylic ready to paint.

 But still, they are the genuine basic pigments... 

cadmium red, chromium green, cadmium yellow,

 titanium white,  and ultramarine blue..... 

which is a modern invention and replaces the antique lapis-lazuli blue.

 (Just in case you wanted to know!) 

Oh, and black....used to be made from lamp soot.

And then the layers of the lighter brighter thalo gold 

(also a modern invention.)

I am not using gold leaf!

 

 

And more gold layers... sorry about the darkish photo... 

it is getting late, and golly gosh the sun is actually setting

 earlier and earlier now! (How did that happen!?) 

 

 

Here you can see both panels.... 

not yet done.... not by a long shot!

 

And while we are being reminded of the not-yet-done things.... 

I scrutinized all my photos from last week's post 

and found more than a few more little tweaks....

I made a list so I would be sure not to miss any of them....

 

Chiefly, there were many places where the ceiling trim 

covered a tiny bit of the painting it sat next to.... 

so I had to paint those little bits to go "around the corner"

 onto the finished trim piece.... not quite as easy as it sounds! 

Above, you can see God's fingertips reaching onto one panel.... 

and the edges of the clouds of one of the creation scenes on another.... 

and a few places where the "rays" from God's creative thought

 needed to cross the ceiling trim panel at exactly the correct spot...... 

and heading in the correct direction... 

(an amazingly interpretive exercise depending on your angle of viewing...!).

 And then there were a few places where the arched framework

 needed to be evened up and made to match better 

with the piece around the corner.... and so on! 

 

 

And this might sound silly.... 

but the back edge on all the ceiling trim pieces needed to be

 shaved to an angle to match the slant of the ceiling.... 

(Duh!) who would forget to do that? 

(See the above example for clarity!)

 

It makes them fit better... 

the paintings line up better with each other

 and the cracks more nearly disappear...!

 

And here you can see the panels with the sunlight 

coming through the stained glass windows... 

so you can see how the painted panel relates

 to the glass panels on either side. 

The child Mary is looking toward the grown up Mary

 and the Saint Elizabeth window is looking toward Mary

 who is just learning of her impending joy. 

This view will only be visible from 

inside the Chapel when all is said and done.
 

 

So no, Dear Readers, 

I was not really and truly Done... 

Just in case you really truly wondered.... 

We still have a ways to go! 

 

On Closer Inspection....

 

More Chapel Details...

As You Can see, Dear Readers, I found a few more places in The Chapel murals that needed some work before I could declare them complete. The above picture shows a narrow edge of unfinished wall tucked behind the central column at the Chapel's side. The column, when put in it's final location, would conceal this edge from the view in the front opening side wall. But if the viewer happened to be looking in through the Great Hall Doorway to the Chapel... this unpainted section is clearly visible!

 

As you can see from this angle looking through that doorway. 

(The Chapel would not be this brightly lit.... but still...

 that unfinished corner would bug me!)

 

Here that corner has been painted.... you can see

 the Central Column is not in place in this shot.

 

Here you can see the close-up with the Column in place... 

the shadow of the post obscures the painted area, 

but the white would have been visible.

 

And the view from inside The Great Hall 

with the Central Column in place. 

I am so glad I thought to look 

before I had glued the Column in place!

 

Here you can see the Last Judgement portion of the ceiling 

waiting for me to paint those demons in the lower corner.

 

 Here you can see the piece of trim that 

"goes around the corner" and sits at the top of the wall. 

The demons need to seem to be climbing out of the fiery earth....

 

And while I am working on those Demons,

 I noticed that I still had not painted the second layer of green 

for the grass throughout this scene... so I got right to it! 

Here it is half painted.... it adds such a layer of richness

 and intensity to the painting!

 

And here the grass has been done and I am working on the Demons. 

I found it surprisingly difficult to paint the demons!

 They just aren't my usual imagery 

and I don't have a thing for ghoulish.....

 

I had to study my reference books to get me going....

 

As with all these images.... they are very small... 

but need to make a powerful statement...

 

Here are the two on the ceiling panel.....

 

And with the trim panel held in place so you can see them together. 

I do think the red one is my best....

 

 And I hope you are not surprised, Dear Readers, 

to learn that I noticed a few more unfinished details

 while contemplating those demons. 

They sit directly above an array of Saints' portraits

  which arch over the main doorway. 

Those Saints were painted years ago... 

back at the very beginning of the Chapel construction... 

but which Saints are they?

 I had to go back into my archives to discover their names.

 

And as with many things Medieval, I wanted 

to incorporate their names into their picture 

so future viewers would know who they were seeing up there.

 There are plenty of examples of Illuminated texts

 with this sort of clue added to the pictures,

 so I felt bold enough to try it for myself. 

The hard part, is that this is the right hand wall.... 

I could not get my right hand in at the right angle to do the lettering.

 I had to use my left hand, even though I am right handed!

 

It was slow.... very slow and very careful work

 using my micron black ink pen. 

The wall surface is annoyingly rough 

and the letters are small...

 freehand, no pencil or sketching... 

just wing it! 

But I got it done! 

And now you know their names.

 

And yes, the arched door frame is still not glued in place...

 it sits patiently waiting for the final moment.

 

And while looking more carefully at the already "finished"

 trim panel above the Madonna and Child painting

 (the very first part of the Chapel to be started...)...

 I happened to notice some of the red paint

 on those red and gold arches was lamentably pale... 

and had clearly Not received a second coat of paint 

all those years ago! 

I am so glad I noticed now while the access is easy!

 

Here it is completed. 

The differences is subtle... but real!

 

And how could I ignore the Crucifixion painting, Dear Readers, 

where the figure of Mary is painted partly on one wall

 and partly on the next.... and they don't quite meet accurately!

 Alas, this is that dreaded right hand wall.... 

I cannot get my right hand to paint at that angle. 

Or so I thought! 

I was able to get the paintbrush snaked between

 the candlestick and the wall to add just a tiny sliver

 of white paint to extend Mary's cloak around her head.... 

and added the blue layer before 

remembering to take any pictures..... 

but here you can see it shapes her face better this way. 

 

I also added the lettering to the scroll at the top of the Cross

 (again, using my left hand).

 

And then I added detail to the eyes and mouth on Mary.

 Just the tiniest dabs of darker colors. 

But now she can clearly "see".

 

And the blood of Jesus's wounds. 

This painting is very difficult to see

 from the outer side of the Chapel... 

so I contented myself with these 

layers of detail and left the rest alone.

 

Which brings us to putting all the parts together

 and seeing how it looks.....!

 

Here is the Chapel with the flash... 

I never think the flash does it justice...

perhaps we should try it with just the candles lit?

 

Here is the inner Chapel with just the candles 

(and daylight too) showing the Crucifixion panel...

 

And the Moses panel... I know... 

outside of the inner chapel you can't see much...

 

 So I have added the flash... 

here is the Nativity and Crucifixion side 

along with the Last Judgement over the doorway.

 

 And the Altar with the Madonna and Child 

and God in Heaven above, 

between the Moses and Crucifixion panels.

 

And closeup on The Crucifixion panel...

 

And closeup of the Moses panel and much of the Noah panel 

which stands outside the inner Chapel...

 

And the Adam and Eve panel 

below the Creation scenes on the ceiling...

 

 

And another look at the Last Judgement

 scene with the Demons..... have I missed anything...? 

 

Heavens, Dear Readers, 

On closer inspection 

I do believe I have finished 

the Chapel painting details! 

(With the exception of the 

Opening Wall doors that is....)