Richard Olsen in His Studio II (work in progress, 1)

Step 1

This painting of the artist Richard Olsen is smaller than one I completed a couple of years ago, and depicts Olé in a more casual, candid pose. It's a very modestly sized panel, 8 x 6 inches, made by True-Gesso Panels in Santa Fe. I had begun it as a demonstration for an egg tempera workshop I participated in at the High Museum in 2006. After showing the students how to transfer an image and begin an underpainting, I set the panel aside until today when I rediscovered it in my studio. The photo above shows a continuation of the initial underpainting in casein, in ivory black, Venetian red, titanium white, and green earth. At this stage the image is somewhat loose and brushy (for its scale) and is mainly rendered in dry brushwork and washes.