back to blogMy time for painting is very limited so when I do get a couple of days completely free I like to scale up and let loose on a large pieces of Arches paper.
I tend to stick to the very bright base colours of Chinese Orange from Sennelier and a bright pink from Wallace Seymour or from Michael Harding.
With the larger scale I add more interest by adding more texture using marble dust (Calcium Carbonate). I currently use two types of marble dust, medium and course and I mix them into a mix of cold wax and an oil colour of my choosing.
I then place some print paper over the painting and use a brayer to pull off any excess.
Another technique I use to add texture and interest is scrunched up tissue paper. This is particularly good for revealing some of the colours underneath. The results can be pretty random so you have to just go with the flow and see what you get.
At this point I start adding in some additional colours.
One of the difficulties I find with working on a flat surface is it gives you a false impression of perspectives, your painting may look absolutely fine looking down from an angle but once it is face on then you find that things don't quite sit together and perspective and depth is all off. Just by placing the painting on the floor it gives me enough distance to see what is working and what isn't.
There's a lot of texture in this painting and a lot of different colours.
Here you can see the pink layer coming through.
You can also see where I've added in some pigment for texture and for highlights.
I'm not really sure where the inspiration for this painting came from other than the dark autumnal colours; it isn't a scene that I recognise. Sometimes a painting just comes about because of the colours that I want to use and I was really wanting to create a large scale imposing clouds scene.
So the dramatic skies require a dramatic title... As if the day would have done with us, wash us all out to sea...
As if the day would have done with us, wash us all out to sea: oil and cold wax, with pigment on Arches paper, double mounted and board backed. Frames are bespoke and are made by a local company, Artworks, who are also a member of the Fine Art Trade Guild.
Frame size: 84 x 63 cm
Frame type: Dark grey, soft wood and glazed
