With the mass tones applied I can begin to apply other colours and create images.
Egg tempera is unique in the way an image is created. Rather than creating with a neutral tone and then applying shadows, tempera painting works best when a dark mass tone is applied and highlighting layers are added. While the best defence for working this way is the effect of the paint colour, I have a small, personal enjoyment in applying light to create my images.
Painting the animals in this icon has been a lot of fun for me, too. Since the pigments used to create this work all come from within 100 miles of the Cambridge Center for the Arts, I decided that the animals depicted should also come from within that region. This also means that I have gotten to include in this icon many of my favourite animals, ones that I have watched and encountered since my childhood.