Lessons from the Pharaoh's Tomb, Part Two Cleopatra's Garden, shown above, evolved over a period of time with a "cultural blending" of ideas. My artistic license is used liberally throughout the process with many differing objects from various cultures in the composition. The "garden" is from imagination depicting favorite flowers and found … [Read more...] about Cleopatra’s Garden
Historical Pigments
More Mummy Tales
Many followers of this blog often ask if I had ever read anything about a pigment called, mummy yellow, or mummy brown. Well, I have, and this is probably the most bizarre and creepy pigment story yet. In her book, Colors, Anne Verichon says that in ancient Egypt mummy yellow was sacred because it was made from real mummies. In the embalming … [Read more...] about More Mummy Tales
Irresistible
The combination of malachite with azurite makes the most luscious pigment, and I just can't resist using lots of it. This detail shows a small jar in one of the new paintings in the Part ll project. … [Read more...] about Irresistible
Details Please
This detail of the same painting shows a chunk of malachite similar to those found in the Egyptian rooms at the Smithsonian. I thought it fitting to portray the mineral as the ancients would have found it before it was ground into a pigment. … [Read more...] about Details Please
From the Vizier’s Studio
This detail of one of the finished Part ll Project paintings shows how the vizier's paintbox might have looked in his studio. The colors in the box, red iron oxide, malachite, yellow, and black were all used in my painting just has he most likely would have used. Writings below the box are on papyrus. … [Read more...] about From the Vizier’s Studio
The Vizier’s Paints
Paint Box of Vizier Amenemope Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18 (1540-1296 BC), Reign of Amenhotep II, c. 1427-1401 BC. Boxwood with inscription inlaid in Egyptian blue, 3.6 x 2.2 x 21.0 cm. © The Cleveland Museum of Art Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.680 Image Courtesy of Cleveland Museum of Art. This … [Read more...] about The Vizier’s Paints