Slowly But Surely....
I Hope you will understand, Dear Readers, why it takes so long to make so little progress on such a small piece of the painted ceiling in The Chapel of my Castle dollhouse. For one thing, the paintbrushes I use are small to tiny in size. For another, I have to mix the paints to the right color blends and consistency as I need them, and being acrylic paints they dry quickly... which is good in one sense but means I am constantly mixing more and using only a tiny tiny bit in a teeny tiny space in a little specific corner of this ceiling before needing to use a slightly different color and so on! The Triangular area of The Judgement scene is 5 inches tall by 10 inches wide at the widest, the angels are all less than two inches tall and the people are 1 inch at the most..... it is slow and careful going! But when I get started the hours can disappear, and bit by bit the figures become what they were meant to be. I finally got back into it last week... just painting the features on the angels' faces... then outlining all the human bodies...
And starting in on the Angels' robes...
and forgetting to take many photos...
Adding details to their wings,
another layer of blue to the background
and starting in on the devils.... All in a days work!
And then because the morning sun was shining into the Chapel
I needed to take a bunch of pictures while the light was so beautiful...
And you can see how the Judgement Scene arches over the doorway...
with Christ's birth on one side and his death on the other...
The Madonna and Child over the altar....
Christ on the right and Moses on the left...
The incomplete Creation Scenes above the Adam and Eve Temptation....
completely washed out by the direct sunlight....
And the whole ceiling in one shot...
revealing how much there still is to do!
And working on the Creation Scenes again....
adding the faces to the suns in the rest of the scenes...
which was all I accomplished that day...
Because some days, Dear Readers, the slowness of the progress
is due to my own uncertainty about what to do...
first... next.... before... after..... what color... how much.....
and fixing tiny oopses....
the Moon faces were particularly challenging here,
being each about 3/16th of an inch across!
And the oh so tiny details on the leafy trees....
in two additional shades of green...
not to mention the flowering blooms
with an entirely other green...
And starting to add more grassy ground plants...
And adding the grassy ground around Adam and Eve....
never quite sure when to stop.
And the next day starting to add layers and details to the beasts...
Bit by bit making them sort of recognizable...
the Medieval painter had a fairly standard list of beasts to include.
Here the beasts are mostly completed...
the ox and the horse, the sheep and the hare,
the boar and the stag, the camel and the dog... (or wolf)....
Here they are even closer...
each Creation "world" is about 2 inches across...
And adding a little more outline definition to Adam and Eve...
I will have to decide if they need more.
And that is as far as I got, Dear Readers,
adding tiny bits of paint and Slowly but Surely
making progress on the Chapel Ceiling!
Dear Betsy, I have said before that I am in awe of your castle chapel. And seeing how many details go into those six small creation roundels, that is mind blowing. Needless to say they get prettier with every detail and outline you add to them. The same goes for the judgement day fresco over the door.
ReplyDeleteAnd I espescially love how much sybolism you use. This already starts with the choosing of the scenes to depict end the order in which you place them within the chapel. For example the birth of christ and the crucificion on either side of the door and placing the creation opposite of the final judgement. In short, a masterpiece. Good luck with the next stage.
Dear Betsy, your explanation about working with paint and surely acrylic paint is familiar to me, as I paint myself with this medium, so I fully understand how precise and how tiny your working surface is for putting these teeny tiny details on the right spot where you want them to be: chapeau!! I admire your persistence in this job, the result is admirable, sooo beautifully done! Not to mention the small surface you work on. The same is for me, when busy in the miniature world: the hours when we're busy, the hours disappear and fly by quickly.
ReplyDeleteI am soooo happy you took the opportunity when the sunlight appeared and your artworks were exposed in beautiful bading sunlight AND for our eyes, thank you for showing the whole picture to us, it's absolutely beautiful and I am in awe <3!!!
This medival paintwork is difficult to do in so less space and according their standards at the time, so do I admire your painting skills so much.
Warm hugs, Ilona
Betsy, you continue to amaze with your beautiful chapel ceiling art. I'm delighted that you explained your process, and I can only imagine being able to work in such a small space with acrylic paint, as well as mixing the colors correctly! The photo where the chapel is all lit up by the sun is truly spectacular!
ReplyDeleteUn trabajo espectacular, me admira tu destreza y paciencia. No se si conoces las paletas húmedas para pintar con pincel, la utilizan los que pintan los muñecos de Warhammer, según me han dicho la mezcla dura un mes y se guarda en el frigorífico. https://www.amazon.es/Mantiene-Miniatura-Acr%C3%ADlica-Limpiador-Pinceles/dp/B0DHV9D7M1/ref=sr_1_7?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jjVIPOVUyzOl5cD9bO8IHamznpB7KmJPJuLDRZlwQxkzssrlI6zMG5vuSGDbUW-regdZ0-5zryq5ttLSNx_JwbmDj_Bi12ABI7ktxEjkRA7Y1GwqAIcvKfkWaq4t2hNZuUeXcSKUNhfe1cLq5-UF1-3ITL6XpIwRcEA5kGVu0VpovBCqzhvAtG-_eUFMXyBfLrNoVxRW3h3v5c3leFh9JQrkU6f87SVVxLRAe5aruLnS30umCyCcB8X86l5Io0TyFKR4ck2B0lK-46H5h2aI-YayQ5eLZ-1yMb7PgTyIX0o._ciANisQIrAesIvPf_RHlLGL1OHPbcmAArVcyJVo7bU&dib_tag=se&keywords=paleta%2Bhumeda%2Bpara%2Bpintar%2Bcon%2Bpincel&qid=1729098603&sr=8-7&th=1
ReplyDeleteHola Betsy, te iba a comentar lo mismo que Rosa sobre las pinturas acrílicas en "húmedo" ella te ha puesto el enlace y puedo decirte que alguna vez lo he usado, sobre todo cuando he necesitado una mezcla específica para una gran zona y me ha resultado!
ReplyDeleteDe todas las maneras pintar esa obra de arte en miniatura, aparte de las mezclas conlleva una paciencia y dedicación exquisita, esa que tú tienes y disfrutas al crearla, te está quedando espectacular, me encantan todos los detalles, que gran trabajo!!
Besos.
Hi Betsy, as always your work is amazing! I admire your eye for detail, precision and perseverance. The colours are so bright and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLooking good Betsy! Painting is a slow process, but you could try adding a little open medium to your paint so it doesn't dry so quickly.
ReplyDeleteNice job! Your hard work is going to pay off. I love the bold colors.
ReplyDeleteI can't help it - I need to say it again and again: I am in awe with your painting skills! I never stop to admire your dedication to even the smallest details! And not to forget - every time I'm seeing it again I fall in love once more with this beautiful, beautiful blue. *smile*
ReplyDeletePeople who don't spend their time with creative things and even more people who are not familar with miniature work will never understand how time consuming this is. I suppose we all know the feeling of asking ourselves "My, what have I been doing all day... with so little results". *LOL* Well, it takes time to create a masterpiece like this... but with every new tip of paint and every new outline it becomes more intense and even more impressive. For example seeing the "beasts" develop, how much depth and dimension they get when shades are added or details like the horse's mane... it's such a pleasure to follow your progress.
And the whole composition leaves me in awe, even more regarding how much time it took you to study your inspirational books to get the historical content right. This is such a mastepiece room being part of a masterpiece project - and for sure a piece of art.
Hugs
Birgit