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Like a duck, dabbling in the water...
Pencil: This is where it all started - a
wooden spoon - drawn in pencil. This was the result of reading the
first 40 pages of a book called 'Drawing with the Right Side of your
Brain'. Growing up in a house of artists and craftsmen, I knew I did
not possess 'real' talent - the kind of gift that makes some people
draw all the time (well - I doodled a lot in school), producing
masterpieces at the age of 16. My revelation came at around age 30,
when the method of recording the shapes of the respective lights and
darks (and the tones inbetween) on a piece of paper - as described
in 'Drawing with...' - became something I felt I could do. I went on
to learn a bit about Chinese brush painting.
Chinese Ink Painting: Formerly known as
Chinese Brush Painting. Taught mainly by Maggie Cross during weekend
courses in Petworth, discovering the joy of active strokes and
painting flowers. Jenny Scott played a large role in my own
self-belief. Surveying one of my paintings during a weekend course
at her studio, she said, 'I would be happy with that, even up to a
year ago...' High praise indeed from one of her artistic calibre.
Watercolour: Mostly Pen and Wash.
Artist's quality paints on acid-free paper, most usually
Bockingford or Arches. Favourite paints are the Russian St
Petersburg pan paints, which I love for their granulation and
beautiful complex colours. Maries Paints from China are next in
line, with wonderful reds for flowers, and bright malachites, blues
and yellows and earth pigments. They also granulate, giving the
effect of depth of tone not found in paints relying on dyes. Other
paints I use are Maimeri and W&N artist's quality.
Alkyd Oils: These are oil paints with an
alkyd resin added which enables them to dry almost overnight, on
acid free conservation quality map board. The ones I use are made by
W&N, the Griffin Alkyd Oils are mixable with oil and turpentine and
while they paint like standard oils, they do not allow for much
moving about over a long session, as they set pretty quickly and are
touch dry after a number of hours. They work best with an immediate
style which is then left alone to set over night.
Acrylics: On either acid free 140lb
(300gsm) watercolour paper or acid free conservation quality map
board. These are bright in colour, can be slapped on with childish
abandon, or thinned right down and used as watercolour washes.
Because they dry so quickly, a thinned down wash often has wonderful
textured effects, nicely shown in the sideway applied wash on the
curtains of this
aceo.
Aceo Art: small, affordable, and very collectable.
At 2.5" x 3.5" in size, ACEO paintings are very easy to store
while not in view and fit into standard sized index card storage
systems. They are displayed in easy-change art frames, stood on
miniature easels, and mounted in window frames for the wall. Aceo
can be any media, including collage, and ceramics, so long as
the size constraints are adhered to.
Other Formats:
Anything that is not aceo in size. This includes miniature art (e.g.
square art = 4"x4"), paintings done on canvas, card, board,
watercolour paper and oil paper.
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