To paint in egg tempera, raw pigment is mixed with egg yolk medium and painted over gesso-covered panels. Forms are slowly built up from opaque blocks of color towards shapes formed by the finest of line work. This process is time consuming and unforgiving; it must be approached with a strict sense of clarity in composition of form and color. It is for these reasons that I choose to work in tempera.
I begin my paintings with architectural salvage wood and build up a construction of geometric line work onto which the traditional techniques of egg tempera and water gilding are applied. These various layers are individually accented in gradations, working from the raw wood edges of the panel towards a finely finished painting surface at the center. Since I consider tempera more building than painting in the traditional sense, the many layers and materials inherent in the work are allowed to show through, thus adding to its visual complexity.
My work draws from a wide variety of time periods and styles. Like the majority of contemporary artists in my medium, for reference and inspiration, I focus on work in tempera from the 10th century through the early Renaissance. For my landscapes I draw from Giotto and Mantegna, for human forms I may look to Botticelli or a Russian icon. This eclectic format also draws strongly on symbolic visual language. Size, color, and a host of compositional elements combine to form complex metaphors. My style has developed out of the wealth of history associated with the medium of egg tempera.Photo credit: Betty Hageman