Materials and Process

These paintings are built on fine Flemish linen mounted to panel and prepared with multiple layers of traditional gesso. The surface is developed through egg tempera, underpainting and thin oil passages, allowing light to move through the image rather than rest only on its surface.

Informed by IJpeij’s background in molecular chemistry and his sustained study of Old Master technique, the works are approached as constructed objects: image, support, ground, paint surface and frame forming a single material whole.

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A practice rooted in Old Master discipline and material intelligence

Before devoting himself fully to painting, Edwin IJpeij worked as an inventor in molecular chemistry. That analytical way of thinking remains present in the studio, where each work is approached not only as an image, but as a constructed object.

Support, ground, underpainting, paint surface and frame are considered in relation to one another. Each stage is developed with attention to material compatibility, optical depth and long-term stability.

Support and ground

The paintings are built on panel, often with fine Flemish linen mounted to the surface. The support is sealed and prepared with multiple layers of traditional gesso, creating a smooth, absorbent ground capable of receiving the slower construction of egg tempera and oil.

This ground is not merely technical. It determines how light enters the surface, how detail can be held, and how the image may develop over time.

Underpainting and colour

The image is first established through drawing and underpainting. In egg tempera, the structure of light, shadow and volume is carefully set before the slower passages of oil are introduced.

Colour is then built gradually through thin layers, allowing light to move through the paint film rather than remain only on the surface. This layered method gives the work its clarity, stillness and controlled luminosity.

Pigments and permanence

In earlier years, IJpeij studied and worked with historic pigments such as lead white, genuine Naples yellow and vermilion. Drawing on his background in chemistry, he later developed safer contemporary pigment combinations that evoke the optical character of these traditional materials while avoiding their toxicity and certain long-term material risks.

The result is a painting surface with depth, clarity and luminosity: one that acknowledges the material intelligence of Old Master painting while meeting contemporary expectations of safety, durability and technical care.