The Panel

I gessoed and sanded and gessoed and sanded the panel, all very slowly and deliberately, like an apprentice in a Renaissance shop - and then I actually read the directions that came with the big jar of gesso I had ordered from Art-Boards. They suggested using a sponge brush to apply thin, thin layers of gesso, with light sandings in between. This proved to be much better than the relatively brutal coats I was slathering on, and then sanding for hours. And then to sand the initial coats I had the inspiration to use a Black and Decker Mouse Sander, and my preparation time went from 3 days to 2 hours. I wish I could go back in time and give Renaissance painting apprentices sponge brushes and Mouse Sanders. And iPods.

Once the panel was smooth as only sanded gesso can be, after about 7 coats, I painted it with a nice toned back ground, a few loose coats with a big brush of a very watery sienna and burnt sienna Golden™ acrylic, with a little Payne's Grey to pull back the

orange color.

The panel looked very beautiful when it was just the many coats of sanded gesso, and now especially beautiful covered with several transparent washes of the acrylic. As always, I wondered if my process was about taking inherently beautiful materials and turning them into awkward compositions. But banish doubts! We are charging forward.