Simon's Art Journal - Simon Barnes Fine Art

'Artorius Triumphant' or trampled underfoot!

1/22/2019

My first post of 2019!
This painting was an experiment for egg tempera on fake parchment paper, which is why you can see the colour and texture surrounding the painting.
Inspired by the same event at Old Sarum in 2014 for 'Distant Spring Rain'
in the Equestrian section.
I'm also working out a style to use for the 'Mons Badonicus Triptych' which this and other paintings/drawings will be related to.
The inspiration for the main figures are the Greek & Roman building friezes and headstones (below). The frieze from the Pantheon and myself in Late Roman kit standing next to a painted replica of a Roman Cavalryman's headstone.

The challenge working on the paper was to see if it would take the paint in any way without cockling too much and whether would hold up to any editing while painting.

However, when it came to work on the rider I wasn't happy with the proportions of the body, legs and head!!!!! So I went about scratching out first then carefully drawing the corrected proportions back in.

Egg Tempera Painting demonstration at Bishops Stortford Art Society evening 5/7/18. Or Questions, questions, so many questions!

7/7/2018

I was invited by members of the Bishops Stortford Art Society of who's attended my #EggTempera workshop in February @RhodesArtsComplex . To give a painting demonstration of the medium as part of their Summer programme of invited speakers/demonstrators at their meeting room, they had a camera and projector screen to enlarge image of the painting while working on it.

With thanks to my wife Barbara who took the photos above and helped me set up & set down!! I too along some unfinished pieces so the members could look for themselves the progression of the medium as well as finished pieces including the re-worked 'Fayum Bearded Man' below.

The above size of the demonstration piece is A3 (29 x42cm). Lots of questions so this is only as far as I got at the end of the evening. I throughly enjoyed the expierence!

'Fayum Portrait' Workshop transformation!

6/7/2018

Starting with one of the traces I drew as a guide for the students of the egg tempera workshop I chose to have the face clean shaven. However, because I was tutoring the workshop I wasn't able to really put the detail into the face even though I'd brought plenty of 'Fayum Mummy Portrait' reference to follow. So the end result was a face looking more like a northern European man with plate skin!!!!!

I painted the hair and added the beard more in keeping with Middle Eastern appearance as well as darkening the skin tone. The biggest change was to slightly enlarge the eyes as was the style used in the original portraits by the craftsman.

The finished painting below!!

The Green Man of Essex, finally finished!!

4/29/2018

This painting started as a working example for the egg tempera medium, at a 'skill-swap day' with Tina Warren-https://www.facebook.com/Alphabition/
using a trace drawing from the one day workshop I tutored back in July 2016 at the
https://www.facebook.com/RhodesArtsComplex/

...And finally this..

'Venus' head portrait from 2012

1/29/2018

In conjunction with the up and coming Egg tempera workshop at the Rhodes Art Complex in Bishops Stortford UK:
https://rhodesartscomplex.ticketsolve.com/shows/873585267
This post has a 3 page pdf leaflet attached to it to download. About the 'Venus' head I painted back in 2012. It is aimed at anyone who would like to try the painting with the egg tempera medium as something different!!

venus_with_blue_eyes_in_stages_3pg_leaflet.pdf
File Size:	11708 kb
File Type:	pdf

Shadow Addition to 'Fayum Barbara Portrait'

12/30/2017

Oops! I have been so focused on the chin, cheeks and eyes, I forgot the shadow under the chin!!!! This I have now rectified.

'Fayum Barbara Portrait' revised Dec. 2017

12/29/2017

The original portrait was painted during the 'Pompeii Exhibition' at The British Museum in 2013. I wanted to update this painting to be entered in the local art exhibition 'Harlow Open 18'.

This time, I wanted the portrait to look more realistic instead of the first stylised version. I took photos of Barbara and used those as reference.

The photos above were taken by Caroline Lawrence, author of 'The Roman Mysteries'. www.romanmysteries.com

Below, these photos show the change over time from the stylised features to the more realistic version. I did scratch back the the chin and mouth and eyes to the gesso.

I also worked on the tunic and necklace too!

The finished painting below.

'The Roman Potter' 50th Birthday present

10/12/2017

I haven't posted in a while due to a very busy re-enactment season this summer. I've started paintings at shows....

So here below is a series of 'The Roman Potter' in progression. This is a Birthday present for a friend of mine a local museum curator who loves Roman History especially pottery and jewellery.

Finally the finished painting, all done in egg tempera of course!! A4 size 14.8 x 21cm.

February 19th, 2017

2/19/2017

I have come back to the 'Pallas Athena' painting I finished last summer because I wanted to add imitation gold leaf to the dress to enhance the overall feeling of the subject.
The photo above (top left) show the gold leaf sheets and the size used to stick the thin areas down. Bottom left photos shows the leaf trimmed and lined in, while the dress fringe on the right has yet to be done! It's not easy to capture the grandeur of the gold leaf effect in these photos, the same goes for the short video at the bottom of the post.

I added a lit candle to emerge between the separated curtains.

Pink Anenome flower in egg tempera as a gift or present!

10/9/2016

The flower is from my garden. I wanted to create a painting with depth and simplicity. It's size is 10.5 x 14.8cm (A6) postcard size.

Below is a series of photos showing the painting in stages.

The top left photo is the silverpoint drawing followed by the successive stages of the background colours which changed in tone while the painting progressed with the flower itself! Finally to presenting the painting in its frame. I added an inner slip frame to lead the eye into the flower and give the whole piece more bulk because of the small size.

Simon Barnes

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