dear gary,

very funny about the ice skating and beer and banjo thing!

ok... so i am impatient!!! yes i want to learn it all right away....
but in all sincerity, thank you. your advice is very well taken and tommorrow i am trying another one so i will try some of what you are saying....not on the mesh yet but next time i will try that.

what i tried on the one i did yesterday is actually on the right track and pretty close to a lot of what you are saying...it is a copy of a piece of a mural from the Ajanta caves in India.

there are a few things i'm not clear on, like how wet can i apply the pigment during the various stages of the plaster drying. are there "rules" in regards to this. this is my major question at the moment. i was inclined to do a lot of pretty heavy washes at the beginning while the plaster was still wet, but couldn't tell if the plaster was too wet when i started, if making it wetter was detrimental, how the ammount of pigment i was applying would read as it dried, etc.

also, my thought is that one should start with washes and then proceed to shading and details as it dries, is this correct and are there periods of waiting for the plaster to absorb in between...being a bit impatient and enthusiastic, i was kind of doing everything at the same time. i also couldn't really tell if it was drying or not, etc. etc!!!

aside from that, i love the idea of the layers showing through and how to treat the edges. one of the things that is very exciting to me about this medium is how much it seems you can play with the layers in terms of antiquing. i have been concentrating for a while on creating reproduction antique thangkas (tibetan painted scrolls) on fine canvas with mineral pigments. i really do try to express the aged quality and the ancient feeling of originals in a refined way, but this fresco thing really hits it so much more easily and effectively and really resonates with my own sensiblilty and vision.

the idea of selling them...well part of the pressure in learning this quickly is the whole nepali project i mentioned earlier. the person who heads up that business is very ambitious and with a big vision for incorporating frescos into his business, wanting me to forge ahead with that, and also wanting me to start with a 6' x 4' piece and have it done by january for a show in san francisco to see if people would be interested.... well i am not ruling out the possibilty, and that is why i'm pushing to learn with a bit more urgency.

so my motto for the time is...do and learn as much as i can, while keeping on top of my other projects... and enjoy it completely while i'm doing it!

anyway, thank you again for your ongoing support...i will keep you posted and will undoubtedly keep the stack of questions high....
and next time you have a beer... think of me!

very sincerely,
karla