Canvas and Paint Process 2

The next step is to create the support that I shall be using, I like painting on a smooth surface so I will use either a wooden block or board. I use a good quality mounting board which I can cut to size and then gesso.
Most of the time, nearly always I suppose, I use black gesso primer. I think that using black helps with the intensity of colour that I am always after, it lets me see where I have been lazy and not used enough paint (yes that happens a lot) it also helps you to move towards the light as you paint.
So the primer is applied, usually about four or five coats and sanded down between each coat, this gives a really good painting surface. I try to do quite a lot of supports at once, have a priming day. I put the primer onto a lid of a jam jar and then screw the jar on top when it is not in use, this keeps it usable for a long time.

When the support is ready I transfer the line drawing onto the black surface using white chalk then

start to fill in all the areas that are very light. This stage is when you can begin to see how the painting will work tonally before the colour comes along to confuse things!

But soon the colours begin to sing and shout to me and I have to dive in. As the rusty red hull is quite an important part of the painting I will get this blocked in first. Although this is a very early stage of the painting it is important to me to remember the direction of surfaces and try to reflect that in the application of the paint. So the strokes of the brush describe the shape of the objects as well, this is just one of my foibles, not law, nothing is law as far as I am concerned, you just work out the way you like to work. For example the only black I ever use is the gesso primer, the dark areas on my paintings are all made of colours, but that is my personal rule.

The paints that I use are Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Paint made by Winsor and Newton

I like them because they dry fast but not impossibly fast like acrylic does. They have all the properties of oil paints, smell, workability etc and can be mixed with oil paints too. I am an impatient and fast working artist, I want results and I want them fast so these paints are perfect for me. All the rules of oils apply, fat over lean etc. I love them.

Canvas and Paint Process 1

To start at the very beginning I pull on my boots, grab my little camera, my little pack of moleskine sketchbook, tiny paint box and water brushes, then a scrappy sketchbook and something to draw with in my pocket and the dog.
Then we set off down the lane to the sea...
The first thing I do when I have arrived at my destination is to take a little time just to look and listen, I am not here to make the finished painting but rather to try and absorb as much information that I can. After my zen like standing and staring I get the scrappy sketchbook out. It is a collection of rubbish scraps of paper and cardboard, it is designed so that I really don't care about it at all, so that I will never be precious about any drawing in it, they will never go anywhere or be shown to anyone (ha ha, here I am doing just that!) The point of this sketchbook is exercise, like stretching before a run, warming up.

Here are a couple of the warm ups, I left the rest on the boat the other day so I cant show them all to you. This should give you an idea of what I am talking about. In doing these I am also realising what it is that I particularly like about what I am looking at.

Light, line, shadow and texture.

After that I will take a huge bunch of snaps, not photographs, just snaps which will help with colours and other information.

If I have time and it is not too cold I might get out my Moleskine sketchbook and do a much longer sketch like this: "Masking Tape"

After all that I go home and work out my painting plan, the size and a very detailed line drawing. It feels like this is the longest part of the whole thing but it is necessary because I want to be certain that everything is just right and I want it all locked firmly in my mind!

The next post will be about preparing the support and beginning the painting.

Canvas and Paint

Canvas and Paint.
Oil on gesso board
15cm x 30cm or 6inches x 12 inches.

I am drawn to the boat yard, the abstract shapes of rope and chain, shadow and light and all those different surfaces and textures. Early on a Sunday morning, when all good folk are still enjoying a cup of tea in bed, it is the most peaceful place to sit and draw, just the sound of gently lapping water and the birds waking up.
Now, I have documented the progress of this painting and over the next few days I will make an attempt to explain my working process. I may not get through the whole thing in one post, it may be spread out over a few days and of course my fellow watery artists may be posting their watermarks in between, but, I can promise that over the next few days I will tell you... The how, the why and a bit of waffle along the way.
So tune in to Watermarks to catch all the thrilling installments!
Oh yes, I really want to know what you think of this painting as I may try and get it into a dreaded jury chosen art exhibition, what do you think?

Islands of Britain

Last July I spent a week on the Small Isle of Eigg, south of Skye. While we were there, the weather was rather temperamental and the islanders were getting rather excited by the prospect of a film crew arriving. The crew arrived duly with Martin Clunes to film on the island has part of Clunes's forthcoming series of Islands of Britain.

How lucky to catch the programme tonight after a day long of rather boring computer chores. How lucky also to catch exactly that episode that included Eigg. The crew stayed for four days, and while we never saw them filming all the talk across the island revolved around them and their staging of an impromtu bonfire on the beach. Unfortunately, it kept raining evening after evening, which didn't stop them though as you will see.

It's funny to see people from the week again - the guy from Glasgow with his front teeth missing, that German family who went swimming when it was freezing cold, and the piper who was very excited by Clunes's presence.

I don't know how these videos, catch-ups and various links will work if you try and access them from outside the UK - so apologies if they don't work. I also don't know how many episodes there are, but this is the bumpf for the first one:

• Martin Clunes's Islands of Britain, Episode One
• and the general STV website here

This was a sketch from the one day of sunshine - you will recognise that day straight away in the programme...

Singing Sands, Eigg
Pastel on Board, 35x25cm

PS:
Ach... looks as if STV/ITV doesn't even do proper 'watch it again' - the full programme suddenly reverted to a 2min preview... apologies for that

Antony Gormley - Another Place

I've been sent a link to this video on Yahoo which was posted this week. This is what the author says about it.

This is one of the six final videos I am currently working on in my last year of Contemporary Lens Media at Lincoln University. It is a wordless documentary about Antony Gormley's "Another Place" at Crosby beach, near Liverpool. In this piece I have combined visuals, sounds and music to allow the viewer to use their imaginations, enabling them to decide on what these figures are about. Music by Dan Whitfield. Filmed and Produced by Frances Twiddy.

For those interested in Antony Gormley's work you can find out more in Antony Gormley - Resources for Art Lovers. You can see photographs on Flickr here Flickr - "Another Place" by Antony Gormley

Rain, rain, go away...

Wish you could capture those ripples of raindrops on water?
Well, Yorkshire was there to assist you today.



I've been in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, for the opening of my solo show at the Calder Gallery (which runs until 24th May if anyone is in the area). A little bit of sketching but also some rain and drizzle as I walked along the canal today.

So the Wavemechanics project is officially expanded into water surface photos of bodies of water other than the Thames. While it does rain in London of course it's rare that two things will happen at the same time: 1. I'll go out in the rain and 2. The tide is high enough for me to get near enough the water to photograph drop ripples.

As always, these photos are free to use for your own artwork under the Creative Commons license. You can find all the photos at the Wavemechnics Flickr page.

Studio Boat Afloat

Here she is, all spruced up and ready to go. New comfortable cushions, all waterproofed, new lino on the floor (wine corks image!) Lots of storage space for essentials, drawing materials, coffee, wine, warm clothes, maps, books and dog food. (yes, the art hound is being trained in seaworthy behaviour.)

Lots of jolly useful rope, some warm sleeping things for overnight stops,

That is the inside sorted. Here she is on her mooring, at the mouth of the very lovely Carn Creek, round the corner from Helford River. This is yesterday evening, we set off for her first little trip out to sea.

The paintwork is looking splendid and as we approach...

She turns slowly on the mooring and look, here she is

In all her glory... Spindrift, the studio boat.

All aboard and out to sea (I haven't finished the deck paint, but I will, on a good low tide, on a sunny day) Off we go... with me at the tiller, the sun behind us, all is well with the world.

And here is the wide open sea, with Falmouth glinting in the sunshine and a big sky.

I am so excited, Cornwall is beautiful from the sea. I am itching to get going and today, prompted by Vivien's blog post about the new bigger Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks, I took delivery of one A4 and one A3. They will be filled with sea, sky, sun and cliffs. Gulls, basking sharks, blue whales, Captain Nemo and Blackbeard...

A watery post script:

Here is the first sketch in the new large moleskine, it is 24 inches by 8 inches or 60 cm by 20 cm. Lovely thick paper that doesn't buckle no matter how wet it gets. This is the mouth of the river Helford, to see more detail you might have to visit my blog here. As you can see last night was a beautiful evening. Tonight it is grey, cold, wet and windy but so dedicated am I to understanding this thing called water that I have taken up the sport of gig rowing. Hugely enjoyable even in the bad weather. I did get a bit wetter than usual as the loyal dog Coco, my faithful art hound, decided, as her mistress rowed off into the stormy sea, that, rather than stay on the beach with all the other people, she would swim for as long as it would take and follow us! We were quite far out too, a boat goes fast with six people rowing! I had to haul her on board, soaking wet, a bit frightened and weighing a ton. She sat happily under my seat as we rowed about, a very good, absurdly loyal, wet art hound!