Having completed the drapery study I needed to use it for reference beside the painting, so I scanned the drawing and put it onto my vertical monitor. Using the computer as an aid in the studio is the contemporary analogue to Renaissance painters using mirrors or the camera obscura. I love the vertical monitor because I can observe large pieces of the reference materials close to the canvas I’m working on. I think it’s pretty cool having modern computer equipment alongside truly old tools like fan brushes and maulsticks. Later this week I’ll be experimenting with a monitor arm that will allow me to move the screen around with ease. It’s an articulated device that’s going to look great on my old-fashioned easel.
Today working on the drapery went pretty well, working in wet white local ground with a Raw Umber to find the shadows. The contrast is a little too strong (I can see that even without using the black mirror) but this is not a big problem, being altered easily in subsequent layers.
