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
Mavis Smith
Mavis Smith is an American painter known for luminous egg-tempera portraits built in translucent layers on gesso panels and atmospheric oil paintings.
Mavis Smith quick facts
Mavis Smith's egg-tempera process alternates thicker brushwork with translucent color washes on true gesso panels for detailed, luminous figures.
| Born | 1956 · Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | — |
| Nationality | American |
| Movements | — |
| Paint types | Egg tempera |
| Painting surfaces | True gesso panels · Canvas (oil paintings) |
| Painting methods | Alternating thicker tempera brush strokes and translucent washes, building many layers on gesso panels; larger oil-and-graphite compositions |
| Common subjects | Enigmatic figures, symbolic portraits, quiet domestic scenes, mysterious natural settings, and twisted branches |
| Other materials | Graphite combined with oil in the Thicket series; graphite is not classified here as paint |
| Notable works | Red Room · Paper Chain · Take Out |
Sources: James A. Michener Art Museum: first-person description of layered egg tempera on gesso, Artist website: biography, egg tempera and oil/graphite Thicket series, Gallery Henoch: birthplace, career and egg-tempera practice, Gallery Henoch: Red Room, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch: Paper Chain, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch / Artsy: Take Out, egg tempera on panel, and Gallery Henoch / Artsy: egg tempera and graphite on panel.
Paint types used by Mavis Smith
Mavis Smith uses egg tempera in layered figurative paintings; the examples below connect this medium to specific works and describe its visual role.
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Egg tempera
Smith builds paintings in egg tempera over gesso, applying thin layers to a rigid panel. Red Room (2013) is documented as egg tempera on panel, and her process notes identify egg yolk as the binder. The prepared ground and careful layering support her detailed imagery and controlled color.
Sources: James A. Michener Art Museum: first-person description of layered egg tempera on gesso, Artist website: biography, egg tempera and oil/graphite Thicket series, Gallery Henoch: birthplace, career and egg-tempera practice, Gallery Henoch: Red Room, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch: Paper Chain, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch / Artsy: Take Out, egg tempera on panel, and Gallery Henoch / Artsy: egg tempera and graphite on panel.
Painting surfaces used by Mavis Smith
Mavis Smith's documented works use painting board, canvas; examples distinguish the painted surface from its support or object in each cited work.
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Painting Board
Smith paints on true gesso panels for egg-tempera works, preparing the absorbent ground before applying thin layers. The rigid support holds fine detail and carefully controlled color; it is a documented part of her process rather than a generic surface assumed for tempera.
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Canvas
Smith also makes oil paintings on canvas, including works from her Thicket series. These flexible supports belong to a separate part of her practice from the gessoed panels used for egg tempera, showing that she selects the surface in relation to the medium.
Sources: James A. Michener Art Museum: first-person description of layered egg tempera on gesso, Artist website: biography, egg tempera and oil/graphite Thicket series, Gallery Henoch: birthplace, career and egg-tempera practice, Gallery Henoch: Red Room, egg tempera on panel, Gallery Henoch: Paper Chain, egg tempera on panel.
Painters similar to Mavis Smith
Explore painters connected by carefully layered egg tempera, controlled figurative detail, symbolic subjects, and prepared rigid painting grounds.
Robert Vickrey
Robert Vickrey was a painter and illustrator known for egg-tempera works combining observation and symbolism, plus watercolor and gouache paintings.
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.