St. Elias - painting the background

I have painted this background with cinnabar - an extraordinarily brilliant pigment - made translucent with pumice. The cinnabar, which contains mercury, must be handled carefully. Cinnabar is course and must be ground smooth with a pestle. Due to its unusual properties, it must be mixed with denatured alcohol before it is mixed with the egg.

The background requires about six layers, applied in opposing directions: vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and so on. Note that I painted the color right over the gilding, from which it is easily removed later with egg and water.