Egg Tempera IV – Inking

Egg tempera painting relies on there being a detailed under drawing in ink to paint over. So you transfer over from a cartoon (a preliminary drawing on paper) and then you ink onto the panel. I’m not the biggest fan out there of the detailed under drawing. And I last used ink/brush when I did a Chinese brush painting short course in the 90s. So this is new to me.

I transferred the picture over in a prior post.

I was able to get hold of some waterproof ink (EBAY I do love you). You can water down the ink when it’s not dried, which I did do by putting a few drop of ink into a tiny bowl of water – got the smallest teeniest brush I had, and I went over the faint drawing on the panel with the ink.

Panel and reference material:

Once the outline was in I hatched and cross hatched a lot. The next time I do this I will get a finer brush and use it sitting flat on a table, i found sitting at the easel a bit hard to do such tiny fine work. I have shocking eyesight and I can’t sit close enough to the painting an an easel.

Finished picture:

Inked outline on panel

inked cross hatching on tempera panel

Close up of hatching. It  is a bit random at this level with thickness of ink. I guess this is something I’m going to have to learn to control more.

close up showing ink and hatching on ada’s face

All the posts in this series:

Egg tempera I – preparing the panels

Egg tempera II – transferring the picture

Egg tempera III – Grinding the pigment

Egg tempera IV – inking and cross hatching

Egg tempera V – Underpainting

Egg tempara VI – laying down real colour

Egg tempera VII – finished Painting