Alla Prima

American figurative master DAVID SHEVLINO reveals how he gets stunning results while painting wet-in-wet – and shows you how to avoid your bright colours getting muddy

WHAT IS ALLA PRIMA?

Alla prima is also known as “direct” painting and refers to a wet-into-wet method of using oils and acrylics in which the picture is basically completed in one sitting while entirely wet. It is the opposite of “indirect” painting, whereby the paint surface is built up in layers with each layer being allowed to dry before the subsequent one is applied.

Alla prima is a more modern way of working, whereas most of the painting done before the 17th century could be described as indirect.

WHY PAINT DIRECT?

My direct painting method first developed when I left art school in 1984. After graduation, I no longer had access to live models – and was too poor to hire them. Although I liked working from still life subjects in the studio, I also began exploring painting en plein air. This is how I began painting wet into wet. Although I no longer paint outdoors, the experience taught me a lot about spontaneity and capturing a fleeting moment in a limited amount of time. As anyone who has painted en plein air knows,

you can’t be too precious or fussy about your subject and light changing by the minute. As far as I was concerned, I had a limited window in which I could get down the essential elements of colour, forms, light and shadow to capture the specific quality of a given scene.

Not only did I adapt my painting style to the demands of working outdoors, but I began to embrace it as a way of painting with spontaneity and freshness. I didn’t paint this way exclusively, but it became one of several tools in my toolbox.