Boxes 3, Oval
Already, this series of boxes is trending away from color. The feline is in a very dark purple with brown tones. A Paracas parrot adorns the bottom of the box in the same dark purple.. The long, low landscape that formed itself on the box lid shows THE BEST OF CASEIN WASH TECHNIQUE, namely, a tendency for a human figure to emerge. Milk somehow evokes the texture of flesh in a manner not available with plain watercolor, which is dissolved in gum Arabic or similar medium. Milk proteins move paint around in their own special way.
#1 Mountainside (black and white)
This first video introduces casein wash technique by panning through a range of possible landscape effects. You feel you’re on the surface of an alien planet. Shiva Ivory black pigment, as produced by Richeson Art, contains resins that delay drying and prevent spoilage. Casein powder mixed with lime or borax may last only a week or so--longer in the refrig--but the medium will be more waterproof. Let's take advantage of the tendency of Shiva ivory black to stay soft. Let's run water over it like rain running down a mountainside.
This vegetable icon begins with a field of true lime casein in terre verte. Some Shiva casein is mixed in with the lime medium, which should make it less brittle. Nevertheless, it flaked a bit in drying. Lime casein medium works great on fresco. It's what the Romans used for adding expensive colors like blue and red over the top of a fresco. The garlic were going to seed, so I added one to this painting, creating a Two of Wands image with the seed pod leading the eye out to the open-ended field. The next veggie icon will be Baby Beet.
Baby Beet
European icon painters used a red ground under their gilding. For this vegetable icon, Icelandic Snaefelsjoekull Red starts a journey from Rainbow Chard to Badget Blaze beet. The red ground is an experiment in homemade borax casein medium. The ground stands up to a lot of over-painting. With commercial paints, the ground would probably not prove as wonderfully tough and sturdy. https//www.naturalpigments.com/artist-materials/tempera-emulsion-
A full cheddar size box was the last of the season. Casein texture forms the design both on the top and bottom without other adornment. I had practiced up a Mayan figure, seen in the video. But, in the end, I decided that hue would not elevate the landscapes. The strip of wood holding the lid panels together was of excellent quality. It needed nothing. The lid was a bear to complete. Suddenly, an intricate texture appears in the video, which was only hinted at in the scene before it. What you do not see is my doing everything but throwing the lid up like a pizza dough. At one point, I may have said: “you are really making me sing for my supper here!” There was no way to film that sort of dance. Do not accuse me of adding “moli” to the alchemy, that mystical, unattainable ingredient. I did what you saw. Casein texture work has not been compatible for me with overt brush strokes. So, I use a very fine liner brush to jostle things around, bringing the landscape to a point where the eye will complete it. But bold brushwork and intricate casein texture might be astounding. Let’s hold that thought!
Winter Figs
In this episode, Ingrid Williams makes "casein" paint with soy protein isolate instead of casein powder. The recipe is 2 to 1: protein to borax. To test the sturdiness of the soy paint, a study of winter figs is then added in Shiva casein. It holds up nicely, but the soy paint is not creamy and gluey. Further research reveals that lye (NAOH) is typically used in soy glue. Too strong for the casual studio--and it would eat your brushes.