Blocking In

I considered using paint. I did use some coloured gesso to solidify some areas; it looks pure white but it isn’t. Then I decided I would block in with tissue paper. I have a lovely variety of colours and tonal values in the same colour combinations that Lewis used in his under painting. The challenge came in adjusting the image I had chosen with the tonal values already present. The bridge spanned some water. In the photo some of the water was light but very little, certainly not enough to respect the lighter areas laid down in the under painting. So…. I jumped into being artist, took control of the image and changed things. It just has to be believable that is all. I wanted to relate the sky to the water and the sunlit patches on the trunk of the tree to the right. Out came the gold. Real gold. So much fun. So, the blocking in is finished, the gold has been carefully positioned. Now, what has to be adjusted to relate to the original colours and tonal values so that the panels around me relate? That requires an image of the original panel…. Did I keep that? Thank God for computers!