The Wiltshire-based painter and Brotherhood of Ruralists member reveals his techniques.
Can you tell us about the unusual building your studio is in?
The studio was originally an old Quaker Meeting House, built in 1700. It was derelict for a long time and, when the area was redeveloped, they didn’t know what do with it, so they offered it to a local artist. I bought it from him about 15 years ago and, with the help of friends and the architect MJ Long, transformed it into a studio and living space.
Was having a combined living and working space dictated by the nature of the building?
I’ve always lived and worked in the same space. When I got my first teaching position at the art school in Bristol in 1966, I lived and painted and slept in one room. It was the same in other places later. It suits me to live and work like that: you never switch off, you’re always on the lookout for something. Everything is integrated in this one space.
Does that arrangement affect your working routine?
Yes, it does. My usual routine is that I get up at 7am, and I’m ready to paint by 9am. I find it hard to make a start later, one gets too easily distracted doing other things.
You are primarily a landscape painter. How much time do you actually spend in the studio?
Denne historien er fra May 2019-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
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Denne historien er fra May 2019-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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
