Preparatory work:

I began the preparation for the print by creating a square grid system on a print out of the Ghent Altarpiece as my reference for making a more detailed colour study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I followed this by creating a watercolour study of the image, and in the process simplified some of the detail of the original. Perhaps reflecting on this now is the point where I lost a little definition which might have been beneficial for the final print. But I found creating a colour study of the detail of the whole image gave me a base to work from when breaking it down into different tonal studies.

I took the watercolour sketch as my base when making pencil drawings of each tonal layer. I then used these pencil drawings as my base when tracing the different blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Choosing a subject:

For this part of the course a focus on the method of chiaroscuro requires choosing an image or painting from the Renaissance period for study. To ‘find a subject containing a figure or figures based on either a Renaissance painting or a photograph you have taken yourself’, I began by visiting my local library. I found three books of interest on the Renaissance period and specific artists within that movement. They were as follows;

1. Renaissance, by Christopher Masters
2. Botticelli by Susan Legouix
3.  Van Eyck The Complete Works by Amanda Simpson

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