- April 19, 2024
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Daniel Ambrose uses egg tempera to create the effects he wants.
It’s an instant-gratification world. Faster is better for everything, from microwaves to computers.
But, Ormond Beach artist Daniel Ambrose sees the world differently. And it’s reflected in his luminous, ethereal paintings that are created with a time-consuming technique, which was invented in the 15th century Italian renaissance, called egg tempera.
“It’s a historic medium,” he said recently, while working in his studio at his home on the beachside. “It will still look fresh 500 years from now.”
He has had public studios in the past, but now paints exclusively for private collectors and galleries in Boca Grande, South Carolina, North Carolina and Maine. The price of his paintings has become higher than what the casual browser is looking to spend.
“I have 30 years into this,” he said.
His paintings hang in the Museum of Arts and Sciences, as well as other museums throughout the state. His corporate clients include the S. James Foxman Justice Center on Ridgewood Avenue, Daytona Beach International Airport, Volusia County Courthouse, Bank of America and Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center.
He has been a trustee of the Museum of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Toe River Arts Council in North Carolina and American Society of American Art.
Ambrose said craftsmanship is a big part of his work.
Egg tempera requires the artist to first prime a painting surface with gesso, a material often used by artists. With the required sanding and applying layers of gesso, it can take Ambrose a week to prepare a board for painting.
Then, egg yolks are mixed with earth pigments from all over the world. When painting, he uses small brushes to weave hundreds of translucent layers, creating a tapestry of subtle hues. The result is a painting that radiates luminosity.
“You work in the layers, and they start interacting,” he said. “You can make some parts glow and other parts that don’t glow. You can get results you can’t get with any other medium.”
Ambrose says a painting can take months or even years, and he usually has several going at one time.
To relieve the intense concentration demanded by painting a tempera, he said works in oil, paints plein air studies and constantly draws in his sketch book.
Egg tempera has had a resurgence of interest occasionally through the years. One modern artist who used it was Andrew Wyeth. But, Ambrose said there are very few practitioners today.
Ambrose, who is self-taught, was born and raised in the area, where he developed a love of nature. He first travelled around the world painting wildlife. Then, after one trip, he returned home and was looking out on the Tomoka River.
“I just wanted to paint that beautiful morning light on the river,” he said. “It’s all about the light.”
He found egg tempera to be a medium that achieved the effect he wanted.
“I couldn’t get the look with any other medium,” he said. “I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like.”
Ambrose teaches workshops in both plein air and egg tempora. Visit danielambrose.com.
