SUBTLE TO HEAVY, BACKGROUNDS GIVE A "LIFT"

The previous page presented soft, evenly applied tempera and here we'll be a bit more demanding. Palette knives, bristle brushes, spattering and undercoats of gesso can provide a variety of base texture for final paintings.

The tip of a palette knife created stroked grooves with thin bases and high sides. Watercolors darken in the crevices and lighten on the lifted areas. The left close-up nicely displays the texture and effects.

The practice above was sponged first then other hues were spattered for the background.

The 2 backgrounds above show wide sweeps of tempera applied with the long length of a palette knife. It creates irregular patterns of scattered dune-like shapes.

The apple and grapes repeat wide spatula strokes as if defining table fabric as seen in the left practices.

In all examples, with neutral toned backgrounds, the layered hues become lower in values and the more they are blended, the more they become neutralized in intensity. This may take a little time to appreciate, especially if our preferences have tended toward pure hues with brighter and stronger color blends.