Detail of the largest painting in the series: Lessons from the Pharaoh’s Tomb, coming September 1, Lawrence Gallery, Portland, Oregon.
About 10 of the 12 paintings are coming to fruition at this point. As mentioned before this pigment project has been a challenge because of the enormity of the historical period and the scarcity of information about the use of pigments. Greens are probably the most problematic. Malachite has been the one I turn to most often, but it is difficult to get a dark rich shadowy green. I often rely on the old stand by of yellow ochre and black with an addition of some Egyptian blue to create just the right green for leaves, other foliage, and objects.
Ancient Egyptian Materials, by A. Lucas, has been an invaluable resource for this project. He states that the green pigment used in this period was produced with copper, both from the natural malachite and an artificial blue-green, Egyptian green frit. Many samples have been found in tomb paintings from the Fourth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty sixth Dynasties.
Shown here is a detail from the largest painting in my series, measuring 22×28, and is a “cultural blendings” idea where tulips, lotus, plums, and an Egyptian perfume bottle have been incorporated into the composition.