Your latest body of work feels like a departure from the precise realism of your 2010 exhibition at London’s National Gallery. What prompted the change?
I see it more as a development from those urban landscapes shown at the National Gallery. My understanding of being an artist has always been underpinned with a relentless questioning and a desire to get nearer to the truth. A snapshot taken in 2010 and one taken now would suggest a huge shift, but it would be more accurate to say that there has been a steady progression.
One of the problems was a common assumption that the paintings were photorealist. I knew that I had to make my work more explicit in intent. My spatial and temporal concerns are certainly more obvious now.
The exhibition catalogue includes a drawing for Dante via Bank. Could you tell us a little about this planning stage?
It might be misleading to see the drawing as a planning stage. Or it might be better to see the drawing as having two purposes. Most of my paintings begin with a heavilyworked drawing, so in that sense, they act as a preparatory study, but I also regard them as absolute works in their own right. I can work on a drawing for days, way beyond what would be needed for the bare bones to begin a painting.
How many drafts and redrafts does a typical composition go through?
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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
