Margret E Short Fine Arts Blog

Sneak Peeks from the Pharaohs

Well, it's time for the big reveal of a few of the initial works completed in the last weeks using  colors from the pharaoh's tombs. As mentioned before this pigment project has been more of a challenge than the Dutch themed one. The most important issue is there are fewer colors and even fewer vibrant ones. 

This detail below is from the Painting #1 in the Egyptian series and is small, measuring 10x8 inches. This decision was a calculated and meant to be a method of getting the feel of the pigments themselves. This is much easier to accomplish on a small format. 

 

The color in the upper left corner is a combination of Egyptian blue and azurite both of which were used often dating from about 2500 BC. I used it to depict an alabaster jar purchased while in Egypt. According to Anne Varichon in her book, Colors, the Egyptians were the first to use azurite in painting. To artists today it is also known as blue verditer, bice, and Mountain blue.

This pigment is a natural carbonate of copper and is found all over the world along with malachite. It is reliable for permanence and is moderately toxic so care should be taken while handling. I found it somewhat difficult to work with as the texture is gritty, though the color quite beautiful.

 

Above is a somewhat blurry image I took in the temple at Dendura showing a wall decorated with blue pigment.This is most likely azurite or Egyptian blue and was the color most prevalent in many of the tombs and temples we toured.

Well, it's time for the big reveal of a few of the initial works completed in the last weeks using  colors from the pharaoh's tombs. As mentioned before this pigment project has been more of a challenge than the Dutch themed one. The most important issue is there are fewer colors and even fewer vibrant ones. 

This detail below is from the Painting #1 in the Egyptian series and is small, measuring 10x8 inches. This decision was a calculated and meant to be a method of getting the feel of the pigments themselves. This is much easier to accomplish on a small format. 

 

The color in the upper left corner is a combination of Egyptian blue and azurite both of which were used often dating from about 2500 BC. I used it to depict an alabaster jar purchased while in Egypt. According to Anne Varichon in her book, Colors, the Egyptians were the first to use azurite in painting. To artists today it is also known as blue verditer, bice, and Mountain blue.

This pigment is a natural carbonate of copper and is found all over the world along with malachite. It is reliable for permanence and is moderately toxic so care should be taken while handling. I found it somewhat difficult to work with as the texture is gritty, though the color quite beautiful.

 

Above is a somewhat blurry image I took in the temple at Dendura showing a wall decorated with blue pigment.This is most likely azurite or Egyptian blue and was the color most prevalent in many of the tombs and temples we toured.

Ready for the Afterlife

Linen played an important role in mummification and the process was diverse, changing throughout the centuries. After the body and its important parts were prepared, it was wrapped with many layers of linen in varying ways. In the early period each limb, finger, and toe was wrapped individually, coated in resin, and moulded in plaster. During the final steps, lifelike colors were painted over the face. As many as 40 layers of linen have been found on some mummies.

The innards were preserved separately and were an important part of the process. Each organ was carefully dried in salt, wrapped in linen, and placed inside canopic jars then finally canopic chests.

These jars are available all over the markets in Egypt today and are a popular tourist commodity. There are 4 designs each representing animal heads which are the 4 sons of Horus, the Hawk headed god of order.

Image Source

Because the sole purpose of mummification is to preserve the person for eternal afterlife, each canopic jar protects a specific body part. The intestines are protected by the falcon head, the stomach by the jackal, the ape protects the lungs, and the human head the liver.

One thing of note the modern jars found in the markets today are void of any important contents, at least I did not see any.

Other sources: The Ancient Egyptians for Dummies by Charlotte Booth

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

I read an interesting tidbit in the Parade Magazine, Sunday Oregonian, April 19, 2009 in the Ask Marilyn column. A reader asked about carbon dating cave paintings made with paint composed of minerals. Marilyn replied that carbon dating can determine the age of artifacts made of organic matter such as cloth, bone, and wood. If a painting was done in charcoal it could be dated because the charcoal was made from charred bones or maybe tree limbs.

However paints made from minerals such as azurite, cinnabar, or lapis cannot be dated with carbon dating techniques because there are no organic components. But Marilyn mentions if an artifact is made of both rock and wood then the wood could be dated which might determine the age of the object. She also goes on to say that dating archaeological artifacts is a very complex problem but is of great importance to historians.

Going Upriver

The Nile has always played an integral role in the lives of Egyptians, and the ancients had a unique way of interpreting stories of the river. It is the longest river in the world flowing 6,741 kilometers, 4187 miles, from the eastern interior to the Mediterranean Sea. The sources are Lake Victoria in Uganda and Lake Tana, in Ethiopia. The most interesting feature is it flows south to north, and as it approaches the sea it fans out into a series of marshy canals called the Delta.

If you can visualize the river flowing in this manner it becomes logical that the ancient Egyptians saw this as Upper Egypt (up River) which is the southern region and Lower Egypt (down river) the northern section. It is thought this idea began in the pre-dynastic period ranging from 5500 BC to 3100 BC. Throughout this time two distinct cultures formed. Sometime around 3100 BC the two regions began to unify under the reign of King Narmer's dynasty 0.

Still today the Nile is described as Upper (south) and Lower (north). The current population of Egypt is 82,000,000 and 98% live along the river.

 

Off the bow of our boat, January 2009.

 

Cruising the Nile, January 2009.

Irresistibly Bizarro, All Things Egyptian

 

With special permission from Dan Piraro

www.bizarrocomic.blogspot.com

Red Iron Oxide

Red iron oxide pigment mixed with linseed oil.

 

A detail of my most recent project painting using red iron oxide.

Temple wall at Edfu showing traces of probable red iron oxide.

I will be using and researching this pigment in the coming days.

  

The Mushroom Factor

Have you ever had the experience where you are doing a project or looking up a topic or a word and you find it so interesting and complex that it takes ten times longer than you expected. I call this the "Mushroom Factor" because the time involved grows and multiplies like a springtime fungus in an Oregon rain forest.

All research components of this Egyptian pigment project are fertile mushrooms mainly because of the monumental expanse of history, 5000 years approximately. Doing research for my Dutch 17th century pigment project did not feel as overwhelming because the Golden Age spanned a mere 150 years, and I had a previous base knowledge of this era. But Egypt is a different issue. Everything seems new, unfamiliar, and immense, not only the pigments and art but also the myths, gods, goddesses, pharaohs, and events which spanned so many centuries.  

The problem is each topic is enormously interesting and I spend vast amounts of time reading about a certain god which leads to another dynasty or another fable or a twist on the previous story. For instance, did you know there were seven Cleopatras? Prior to this project, this fact was unknown to me. The famous one from the movies was the seventh and last.

I'm sure I have a forest full of rapidly propagating mushrooms. What are your personal experiences with those pesky fungi?

Lotus Buds

 

The lotus flower image in ancient Egypt is legendary and is seen all over the temples and tombs. Initially, I feared I would not be able to utilize this splendid flower in my compositions  because I did not have an adequate image to use. Then I searched wikipedia and found several that will work perfectly. The most critical issue here is the image is released for public use.

The very humorous release statement says, "I the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies world wide." So I guess that includes me.

 

Above you can see the strange lotus seed head. After the seeds are removed from the head (below) they can be dried or used fresh in many exotic dishes around the world. In both the cuisine of China and Japan it is often made into a paste and used in cakes and desserts.

Pointy on Top

 

Courtesy: Dan Piraro, Bizarro

Bizarrocomic.blogspot.com

Join Us at the Market Show

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

I will be presenting a 30 minute talk about the Anatomy of a Painting using techniques and pigments set down by the masters from the 17th century Dutch. Pigments from the tombs and temples of Ancient Egypt will also be discussed.  Please join us.

PARKER FURNITURE PRESENTS

Timeless Style and Design, 10th Annual North Carolina Market Show,

Thursday, May 21, 2009, 10AM - 4PM, One day only and once a year

10375 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Beaverton, OR 97005, 503-644-0155

PRESENTATIONS

Thomas O'Brien, Merchant and Entrepreneur,  10AM & 12:30PM click here

Margret Short, Specializing in historical pigments, 11:30AM click here

Michael Allen Harrison, Concert, 1:30PM, In support of his Snowman Foundation click here

DEMONSTRATING THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Craig Bodmer, Hand Looming

John Kiryanoff, Faux finishes,  Wood veneering