Mechanical Sea
Hand-painted original artwork created to pair with the release of Mechanical Sea, an EP composed and produced by Eldon Loblein, AKA The Gilder.
Sketch
I knew I wanted to combine elements of water and machinery; I was drawn to the design and inner workings of clocks and wristwatches. Multiple ideas were sketched out before landing on this specific composition. This version was later scaled and transferred to a wood panel.
Gilding
The piece combines 23kt gold and sterling silver leaf, applied before the oil. Traditional gilding uses red clay bole, which I imitated with a modern variant, giving the foil more body and texture.
Painting
I borrowed from traditional layering techniques to build up values in the background, using the warm tones of raw umber to compliment the later cool layers of sky and water. I chose to marry the silver to the tones of the water by glazing blue oil directly on top of specific sections of sterling silver.
Photography
Multiple attempts were made to photograph the detailed texture in the foil; ultimately the piece required focused light aimed across the surface of the painting, making the tiny details and imperfections in the gold shine through.
