Managed to get a good dose of sawdust in my eye a couple weeks ago, and developed an inner eye infection which had me out of action for 8 or nine days.
Sights regained and for the past 3 or 4 days, I've been painting 4 "icon-lites", getting back into the rhythym of painting before resuming the icon I was depicting work upon in this thread.
Above is one of them...very simple, as you can see. Tried to choose colors that might appeal to a young child.
If you've followed this thread, you'll recall Valen the Vandal. (Wanted Poster below
You'll also recall my earnest warnings regarding letting dogs/cats get near egg tempera paintings. (Any ideas where this is heading? LOL!)
The icon I've been working on in this thread was resting on a chair, by the door to my studio this morning. I'm happily painting away, and gradually become aware of the sounds of "lick-lick-lick-lick"....I look up in disbelief: Valen's half in the doorway, helping herself to the icon!
3 cheers for me, I almost-not-quite kept my vocabulary in check, herded the miscreant outside and returned, shell-shocked, to survey the damage:
Note lower right portion of icon---dog damage:
Closeup--down to the gesso in places:
Not wanting to go thru the work of repair/repainting---never an easy task, one reason, I suppose, why restorers make the big-bucks--I decided to convert the icon to a bust figure.
Out to the workshop and the trusty tablesaw. Never have sawed thru gesso and paint before, so this ought to be a learning experience.
It worked perfectly! Pics of the newly-modified icon below:
So, let this be a lesson to me, and a caution to you: dogs/cats are not to be trusted with egg tempera,
however dry, within their reach.
Also, a good blade on a tablesaw availeth much, and can indeed cut thru gesso and paint without disturbing the structural integrity of the painting.
Hope this never happens to you, but know that it is possible to make lemonade from lemons.
The piece I cut off has been cut into two pieces and I'll be using them to experiment sealing with olipha. ("Olipha" is a linseed/stand oil mix traditionally used as a sealer on icons. Reputed to be a bit tricky as it can pull up the paint it's applied over.)
All's well that ends well, and to be truthful, I kinda like the new version better...I'm thinking of consulting with Valen more frequently about design!
Linear Mode
