Painting en plein air for me is all about trying to capture the spirit of a scene, sensing the atmosphere, colours, smells and sounds. The light plays a huge part of it for me, therefore I limit my painting time to one to two hours with very few additions done later in the studio – and only if really necessary. Sometimes this could even be as simple as cropping the scene to make a stronger composition.
Often my chosen medium is oils as I love the textural qualities and openness of the paint – that ability to add touches of paint into the existing texture.
I generally paint smaller sizes on location, anywhere between 8x10” and 16x16”, and usually on boards rather than stretched canvas, as boards are lighter, more rigid and the light doesn’t shine through as it often does with canvas. From these studies, I can then develop a scene into a larger studio painting in any media.
When working on location, I usually take a photo of the scene before I start, and again after I have finished as well. This is my insurance against events happening like the light changing, the object moving, me being moved on, or, as once happened, a huge juggernaut blocking out the entire scene whilst the driver was on a break.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Summer 2020-Ausgabe von Artists & Illustrators.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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Still life IN 3 HOURS
Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Shane Berkery
The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio
The Working Artist
Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Hands
LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
BRING THE drama
Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration