The Chapel Murals....

 

Adam and Eve....

When Last we visited with Adam and Eve, Dear Readers, I had just revised their bodies to show a better form than my initial attempt. This was already almost two years ago, but in their corner of Eden, time has not wrought any changes. They remained poised on the brink of ruin... the moment of temptation.... or had it just passed.... and their eyes were opened? We will never know... but I, in my haste to see them onward, had begun to paint the background around them in that antique gold paint I have used for all my "golden" work. And I have found it to be very difficult to achieve any "glow" at all! And the dark, poorly lit photo above is the only one I took "before" I began to make more revisions. My first intention was to add more "coats" to the golden background... to remove the streaks of the uneven pigment... and hopefully produce a radiant golden background... for this is Eden after all! But all I achieved was a darker feeling to the painting. Since there were other details to pursue as well, I worked on them while I pondered this dilemma. Thus I began the bottom panel which was to show Adam and Eve when they were expelled from Eden and the "Adam delved and Eve span"part of the story. This required more research in my many Tomes to try to settle on the "models" for my versions of this iconic piece of the Story of Life. And believe it or not, it was surprisingly hard to find versions of this part of their tale.... well, after the temptation it is all downhill as we know.

 

And you might recall that I am trying to "set" my Castle 

in the early Middle Ages when the style of painting 

was a bit less developed and the figures were 

often very "stylized" and static. 

The Traditions were also very established... 

Above is a very good and very small version I found.... 

Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent in the tree... 

Then they hide in shame.... Then the angel expels them from the Garden. 

The plants are very stylized and the background is just a gilded surface.

 

 Another version I found was tucked into the Illuminated Initial shown above.... 

it is the continuation of the Creation which was shown on the side panel 

(you can just see a corner of that...).

 The six "roundels" to the right show 

God instructing them about the Tree and then the temptation, 

(both in the first roundel) 

then the hiding in shame along with the expulsion in the next roundel.... 

and on the top right, Adam is delving and Eve is spinning... 

Earthly Life no longer in Eden.

 

And another slightly larger version of the story in multiple panels.... 

first showing Adam and Eve being tempted...

 (I know I have shown these before... they are taken from the 

"Illuminated Naples Bible" which was created in the mid fourteenth century.)

 

Then being expelled from Paradise....

 

And finally Adam delving and Eve Spinning. 

In reality these illuminations are each about two inches square... 

while my wall panel in the Castle Chapel is about five inches by three inches, 

and the lower portion is barely one and a half inches tall. 

At first I had intended to have the panel just showing Adam delving and Eve spinning,

 but then I decided it needed to be two sections under the Paradise panel... 

one for the Expulsion and the other for Adam delving and Eve spinning. 

And I had a memory of seeing an illumination somewhere 

of the Expulsion showing the Angel sending them out of

 a gloriously pink-walled "fortress" Garden of Eden..... 

But I could not find the original that I was remembering. 

So I did my own version...

 

 I apologize for the poor photo quality.... 

I sometimes forget to take photos, 

and those I do take are not always the best,

but here you can see I divided the lower panel

 and inked a "primitive style" version of the Main Events.

 

 And began to paint the skin tones and

 the "Garden of Eden" walled citadel.

 

Here I am beginning to add more color... 

and in particular an "ocher" background.

 Which only succeeded in making the World outside the Garden

 look much more golden than the Garden itself! 

Hmmm.

Perhaps the problem was that I had not "under-painted" 

the background in Paradise with a golden ocher base color? 

Was it worth trying to figure out if this would make a difference?

 I really want the Paradise scene to Glow

 in that golden splendor we imagine.... 

at the very least the background needs to be bright,

 not somber gold! So I did some testing.... 

painting a test strip....

 

Mind you, this is just on cardboard.... 

which I gave a couple of coats of white 

to establish a clear base.

 Then I painted, from the top down..... 

two layers of just the antique gold.... 

the white gap (will have layers soon....) 

below that I layered ocher over two layers of the old gold

 (to see how that would look if I did not re-paint

 the gold background white before adding ocher) 

then at the bottom I painted ocher over the white,

 and then several coats of the gold over the ocher over the white. 

You can see the difference of under-painting the gold with ocher 

by comparing top and bottom.

 

I added another strip of ocher because the bottom one

 was still looking murky at some angles..... 

and so much depends on the angle of the light... 

which is much of the problem in the Chapel. 

The only definite decision was I needed to 

repaint the white background behind Adam and Eve 

while I pondered the layers of color more deeply!

 

So I carefully .... 

carefully painted around the figures...

 

Because one thing was certain to me.... 

the antique gold background had appeared too dark!

 

So we're starting over with the white ground.

 

And adding the ocher background. 

I might try a different "gold" over the ocher. 

I need to test more samples.

 

 Meanwhile I am working on more of the

 other details of the mural. 

I added the base colors for the ground and the trees in the lower scenes.

 And I worked on the details of the Serpent in the Garden. 

 

And I added details to the eyes of Adam and Eve in Paradise...

 

And Well.... suddenly.... 

The Serpent looks triumphant.... 

Adam looks a little amused.... 

and Eve looks Woeful... 

and so goes the story.

The Eyes tell the tale. 

 

And that's where I have to leave you, Dear Readers,

 because progress is slow and halting... 

the details are still so unclear... 

There is no perfect place....

 Not even in the Chapel Murals

 after the Fall.

 

Afterthoughts.....

 

The Chapel Door Panels....

I Might have mentioned a time or two, Dear Readers, that The Castle project was undertaken many years ago with a great deal of enthusiasm and a quite minimal "plan" of action. The structure was going to be built from plywood in three basic "blocks" which would allow for moving and constructing in stages. The general idea was that I would finish the lowest room in each "block" before attaching its ceiling, which would be the floor of the next room up. The higher room would not be built until the lower one was substantially completed. I immediately built the three "rough" blocks that comprise the basic structure, with floors cut and loosely "shelved" in place but not attached. With three sections to work among, I still had plenty of flexibility about which room to be working on at any time. I had not yet decided whether there would be "opening front walls" or whether the entire structure would remain open on one side (as most American designed dollhouses are). I was pretty sure I would want those opening front walls eventually... but that was years down the road. And of course, you know I did add those opening front walls, already many years ago, but had not thought out the entirety of their construction. They were added as a single panel split in the middle and hinged at both sides for each room. Meanwhile, many other parts of The Castle had seen "upgrades" to the original structure... window and door trims... corner "strengthening" structural pieces and ceiling "trim rocks" galore. But the opening door panels were pretty much still just the plywood panel hinged to open. But over time and use I have come to realize some structural upgrades are needed for these opening door panels! Specifically, they need to overlap where they meet in the center (they don't always meet exactly evenly!) and they need "backstops" to keep them from being pushed too far inward. And since I am currently embarking on The Chapel front opening panel windows and trims and paintings.... what better time than now to tackle this large topic? The above picture shows you The Chapel and the room above it with their opening front walls removed... with flash so you can really see the structure in its bare bones.

 

Here you can see The Chapel opening front wall

 with the doors attached, lying aside for repairs. 

This is the view you will not be able to see

 once The Chapel is completed, 

the interior side of the opening wall in its entirety. 

I had already "roughed in" the paint and basic outline

 for the two remaining murals (The Annunciation 

on the left and The Tower of Babel on the right) 

two years ago when I last worked on  The Chapel. 

You can also see the newly added stained 

glass windows are in place. 

And yes, the painting for the Annunciation 

will have to be split on one side.

This is unfortunate, but unavoidable, 

and at least the picture will be largely intact. 

You can also see I have cut away a section

 of the "rock" edging that runs along below the windows. 

This is to make room for the "door overlap panel"

 that needs to be added.

 

Here you can see I am gluing the door overlap panel 

to the right side panel (as seen from the interior), 

and weighted it with my measure tape and a lovely block of agate.

 I have left the door panels hinged to the outer wall

 to be sure the alignments stay accurate. 

 

I gave the opening door panel a test in place. 

You can see from the outside it is the left hand door

 that has the now added overlap panel, 

which will not show on the outside. 

It covers the crack between the doors

 on the inside when they are closed.

 

Here you can also see I have added a "door stop" 

at the very top on the inside of the arched opening. 

It hangs just low enough to stop the doors from pushing inward.

 And here I have started painting the overlap panel

 to resemble the rest of the wall structure....

 rocks below, mural above.

 

And because part of the Annunciation mural 

will land on this overlap panel... 

I needed to transfer the design to the panel 

and align it carefully with the other portion.

 

And adding the basic colors to the mural section... 

starting with the glorious blue background.

 

And adding the golden canopy and red framework.

 

Here you can see the entire wall with the overlap panel.

 

And with the interior window trims for the Chapel windows in place!

 I had constructed these two years ago when I last worked on this room.

 I can't tell you how glad I am that I added the opening panel overlap 

before I finished the wall murals!

 

And here you can see the opening wall propped up vertically

 to show light coming through the windows. 

Its not a great picture, but it gives you an idea

 of the effect from inside The Chapel.

 

Well, it might be an Afterthought, Dear Readers, 

but these little additions make a huge difference

 in the structural soundness of 

The Chapel opening door panels.

 

The Chapel....

 

 Windows....

It Has Been Quite a while, Dear Readers, since I last made windows for the Chapel! As with many parts of this Huge Castle building project, I sallied forth many years ago with little knowledge and much enthusiasm and have followed many many detours along the way. The two windows on the rear wall above the altar are actually the first of the glass windows I built for The Castle, and began my quest for the best method to use. They were constructed in September of 2010. And the windows on the side wall were built in May of 2011, almost exactly fifteen years ago! And I must also remind you that it took me a while to even decide to construct the exterior front opening walls of the castle... that came about in July of 2018 if you need to pursue the chronology... it is all there in the archives by date. But it was only two years ago, when I finally returned my attention to working on The Chapel that I gave any consideration to the subject matter for the opening wall side of The Chapel. The window openings had been cut years before, the two tall narrow windows were to be opposite the two on the back behind the altar. Because the paining on the wall between the windows will eventually have a version of The Annunciation (when Mary is told she will bear the Christ Child) I decided to have the windows show St. Anne (Mother of Mary) with Mary as a child, and The Visitation (when Mary, now pregnant, greets her cousin St. Elizabeth who is at an advanced age, pregnant with S. John the Baptist). As for the construction of the windows, that was just a matter of following my now well established method of building the "glass sandwich" window frames. It is time consuming and finicky work, but it makes the glass panes securely fitted to the openings, however oddly shaped they are. You can see above the shaped panels are getting the "quatrefoil" motif cut into the top of the arched openings.

 

And because each window needs two panels for the inner and outer frame, 

the quatrefoils need to align with each other as exactly as possible. 

This is a tedious process requiring much careful drilling and sanding

 but the effort is worth it in the end!

 

And testing the panels in the window openings...

 

And then each panel gets cut to make the window opening. 

I started by making the opening an arch... the easiest way to cut it,

 but was pretty sure I would square up the lower pane opening

 because the original windows were shaped that way.

 

Here both the windows have been cut

 with the arched lower panel. 

But I will square them up.

Like so!

 

 

And the bottom rail of the window frames is added.

 

 

And if you look at the right angle... 

you can see through to the windows on the rear wall!

(The Chapel door blocks part of the view...) 

 

Then the primer...

 

And the first coat of gray paint and the "rocks" getting painted...

 

Before we finally get to the design of the glass panes themselves!

I spent a few days going through my Medieval Manuscript books

 looking for the best representations of the images I wanted to portray. 

In the Middle Ages, these "tropes" had become very standardized. 

The symbolism and even the images themself were carefully copied

 from book to book, place to place and year to year and with very little variation. 

But in the Early Middle Ages, the era I am claiming for my Castle,

 there was still a "primitive" originality to many of these designs. 

Even so, I had a hard time finding images to use directly

 and forgot to take pictures as I went. 

St. Anne is usually known for her raising of the Virgin Mary to be... 

and teaching her to read.... so I have chosen to show her 

holding a young Mary's hand and holding the book.

 

 The glass pane gets taped over the drawing, 

carefully aligning it with the outer window frame edge

 to be sure it will fit right! 

Then I draw with the "liquid lead" (a Gallery Glass product). 

This is a lot to fit into one narrow 1 inch wide pane of glass!

And the "liquid lead" goes on a bit lumpy. 

I have learned that it can be cleaned up a bit later

 once it has cured for a day. 

For the Visitation pane, I had to stick to only one figure, 

it is too narrow to show the greeting of both 

which is the main theme of this event.

 

Here is an example from the 1300's... 

showing at least the style of clothing contemporary to the painting

 (as was usual in the miniatures... the artists did not know

 ancient fashion so they portrayed what they knew). 

St. Elizabeth is supposed to be "elderly" (past childbearing years)

 but miraculously pregnant with St. John the Baptist.

 

 I drew a solitary figure, but obviously pregnant

 and touching her swollen belly as if she felt the baby move. 

She is looking toward the place on The Chapel wall

 that will have the Annunciation painting. 

I could not achieve an "elderly" appearance to her...

 but tried to make her solemn in wonderment.

 

The following day I began to "clean up" the blobby lead lines.

 Here St. Anne is partly done.

 

And here she is finished with the trimming.
 

And St. Elizabeth trimmed.

 

 

And both panes with the original designs.

I decided I needed to add a couple more lines

 for clarity of design, things that were too hard to fit 

with the blobby leading at the first go-round. 

In particular, features for the young Virgin Mary,

 and more details for the cloak of St. Elizabeth. 

If you look closely you can see a couple of yet untrimmed blobby lines! 

I will trim them before adding the glass paint.

 

 

Starting with the Quatrefoil windows at the top. 

 

And continuing with both at the same time 

so I could try to be sure the colors are balancing 

between the two windows. 

 

Nearly done. 

I wanted one more defining line for St. Elizabeth's cloak

 so I added another blobby line and will paint

 the rest when it has dried and been trimmed.

 

There! 

The glass painting is finished!

Now we just want to see them in place... right?

 

Ah, well, this is really not so easy! 

This is with the Chapel lights turned on.... 

and dreary dark evening light in the room....

 

And this is with the Chapel door open.... gosh, 

I am going to have to figure out how to get good pictures of this!

 I can't get the camera into The Chapel when the front is closed....! 

And it only shows in the light from The Chapel...

 

Well, even if we can't see it

 from outside, Dear Readers, 

I will know it is there!

But there we are at Last... 

The Chapel windows are done!