John Elcock

The boards are hand cut from top quality plywood and the surface prepared using multiple coats of gesso – a mixture of glue and chalk – applied hot onto a linen cloth pre-glued to the wood. The surface is allowed to dry for several days before being finely sanded.

The gold areas are formed by applying square sheets of 22ct gold to a tacky oil-based glue surface which has been painted to suit the design and allowed to dry; the excess gold is then brushed off to reveal the gilded form.

The next stage is painting. Tempera paint is hand-made; each colour is made as needed from pure pigments mixed with fresh egg yolk and water. The pigments for these works are a very limited palette of 5-6 colours derived from ground earth minerals, each of which is mixed with the fresh egg emulsion, and which, when dry and cured, will last indefinitely and not fade. Layers of colour are built up as in watercolour painting.

Once fully dry, the painting is sealed with multiple coats of an artists’ quality polymer varnish and inscribed to the rear.