Koo Schadler
Koo Schadler is an American painter known for egg tempera, metalpoint drawings, works on prepared paper and rigid panels, and teaching traditional methods.
Painter
Fred Wessel
Fred Wessel is an American painter known for Renaissance-inspired egg-tempera portraits and still lifes on gessoed panels with gold leaf accents.
Fred Wessel quick facts
Wessel’s quick facts cover his egg-tempera practice, prepared panels, gilding, figurative subjects, and documented work as an art professor.
| Born | 1946 |
|---|---|
| Died | — |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | Contemporary Realism · Renaissance-inspired figurative painting |
| Practice | Egg tempera painting, printmaking, drawing, and painting instruction |
| Paint types | Egg tempera |
| Other materials | Gold, silver, and palladium leaf; silverpoint and India ink used for preparatory drawing |
| Painting surfaces | Gesso-prepared painting board · Plywood panels (sometimes covered with linen before traditional gesso) |
| Painting methods | Fine layered tempera strokes, green underpainting for flesh tones, silverpoint and ink underdrawing, and traditional water gilding |
| Common subjects | Portraits, figures, still lifes, flowers, constellations, Renaissance symbolism, and luminous metallic backgrounds |
| Known for | Reviving early Renaissance egg-tempera and gilding methods in contemporary figurative painting |
| Notable works | Becca (Sundial) · Tunic and Pearls · Contemplating Fibonacci’s Spiral |
Sources: Artist website: résumé and exhibitions, Artist website: Renaissance influences, Artist website: painting process, Artist website: Contemplating Fibonacci’s Spiral, Artists Network: egg tempera and gold leaf, Natural Pigments: Fred Wessel biography.
Paint types used by Fred Wessel
Wessel paints in egg tempera, building figurative images through fine layers on prepared gesso panels and adding gilding in selected works. in named works.
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Egg tempera
Wessel’s paintings are made in egg tempera, built through controlled, translucent layers on a prepared panel. His work appeared in the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts exhibition Eternal Beauty, devoted to his tempera paintings. Artist and technical sources document the binder and process, distinguishing his practice from oil and acrylic painting.
Sources: Artist website: résumé and exhibitions, Artist website: Renaissance influences, Artist website: painting process, Artist website: Contemplating Fibonacci’s Spiral, Artists Network: egg tempera and gold leaf, Natural Pigments: Fred Wessel biography.
Painting surfaces used by Fred Wessel
Collection entries identify painting board and plywood among Fred Wessel’s supports, with the examples below grounding each material in documented works.
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Painting Board
Wessel paints on gesso-prepared board, building a smooth, absorbent surface for carefully layered egg tempera. His artist documentation describes the board preparation as part of the painting process, not just a generic rigid support. The prepared panel allows the fine detail and controlled transitions characteristic of his work.
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Plywood
Wessel also prepares plywood panels, sometimes covering them with linen before applying traditional gesso. This construction creates a stable support with a woven surface beneath the ground. His documented process distinguishes plywood from the final painting surface and explains how the panel is prepared for egg tempera.
Sources: Artist website: résumé and exhibitions, Artist website: Renaissance influences, Artist website: painting process, Artist website: Contemplating Fibonacci’s Spiral, Artists Network: egg tempera and gold leaf.
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