I'm not getting hung up on any of these things. WHen i ask questions it is not because i am allowing them to get in my way, it is because i wish to know everything about everything for my own personal benefit.
No the song is not hip-hop. geeeshh... how do you get hip hop out of polka? Anyways, i can't sing it for you because you can't hear me. So were safe on that point.
Soooo, i found myself awhile ago inheriting 300k of silica sand and thought i should give it a shot in my intonaco just to see what happens. I found it incredibly difficult to mix in the lime in the first place. After awhile though i finally got it into some sort of buttery consistancy. It was also incredibly difficult to trowel onto the panel. If i had arms of steel that may have helped, but as it is im skinny and gangely(sp?) and found it quite difficult. But i got it on. Unfortunately by this time it was very late and i ended up falling asleep just before i was to begin painting. So i didn't get to see how the colors adhered. But when i woke up in the morning it was cracked as though i didn't put any sand in it at all almost... well..now as i look at it, not that bad, but pretty bad. i mixed it at a 1:1 ratio, and to tell you the truth i wouldn't want to have to put more silica in it because it just would have been crazy to try and mix in. There are some nice qualities to it though. Its very white, very creamy and nice to work with once you get it moving, and it has a nice sheen and a nice feel to it. Much different then just using river sand. I think i will stick with what i have been doing all along because it works, but im glad i gave silica a try. I have a big bag of 'limestone screenings'as well. Do you know if that can be used for anything beneficial? Also something i inherited.

As for the sistine, i understand that many of the large cracks, like the ones running vertically through the creation of adam are most likely from structural problems, but i was refering to the more subtle cracks. The little tiny ones that run through the whole painting that you can see when you look closely. They are even all over the botticell's and ghirliandio's etc.. on the second tier. So you say those are from to wet of a mix? So were they always there? the day after the artist painted, did he walk into the chapel and see what we see now in regards to the hairline cracks (almost like the crackle effect paint shops market), or did they come later on in the aging process. I know you don't know everything in the world, i guess what im wondering is, was this something the artist knew would happen, or did intenionally because it was an effect that was desired, or are they the product of time or mistakes in the plaster mixture? ANyways, ultimately it doesn't really matter. Im just being inquisitive. Where are you by the way Gary? Hope everything is good with you. I have many more questions.. little by little. Have fun! Keep painting.

R