"Stagecoach House" is an egg tempera painting of a historical building located in Madison, Georgia. The painting is owned by and resides at the James Madison Inn on Washington Street in downtown Madison. The actual image size of the completed work is 24" x 32" and is painted on traditional gesso birch panel.
Early stage of egg tempera painting–after preparing panel, drawing image, doing underpainting, I'm ready to work on colors.
Painting on the white portion of house in egg tempera. This is the first of many layers.
First coat of white paint on the house in "Stagecoach House" egg tempera is completed.
Work on sky as well as house chimneys and some foliage adding first color layers.
Some tree limbs as well as shadows are added along with more coats of paint on the house.
This is a painting stage that almost half done. I still need a lot of work on foliage, grass, hedges and trees to help frame the house in the painting.
In this close-up you can see the brushstrokes and textures in the paint. Egg tempera requires that the paint be in very thin layers with very little buildup.
In this close up detail you can see the details of the windows including the inside imagery. I always try and give the illusion of things going on in the shadow areas.
Another detail close up which can help define the structure of the corners and angles of a plain white house.
As we pull back again, you can see that with the trees in place, the house is becoming nicely framed in the picture.
Here I add some color into the foreground with Georgia clay pathways and some red flowers in the bushes.
Now I am beginning to have some real fun with the painting, adding testures and details in the grass, post, and beginnning to define the hedges.
You can see where I added wording to the little sign and the hedges are beginning to take shape.
In this close up detail you can again see the brush strokes which are like cross hatching in egg tempera paint. You can also see some of the earlier layers showing through the translucent paint.
Now you can see some life come into the hedges as well as more detail on the post.
Using my Windsor Newton Series 7 detailing brushes I prepare to add the finishing touches which will include a bluebird, a cat, and lastly, my signature.
Here is the final framed painting hanging in the James Madison Inn in Madison, Georgia.
All Artwork and Text Copyright 1974-2007 Peter Muzyka and Vanishing Rural Georgia Art
Peter Muzyka's art explores the relationship that we have with our environment. His work includes egg tempera paintings, oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, and photography.
