Paintings and Painting

This is a photo of The Billabong which was painted in acrylic on a canvas board. I am influenced a little by Salvador Dali although I do not claim to emulate his works or his style and my observations of the Australian Outback.

My friend and mentor, Bob Collins, suggested that I look at the use of yellow as a background for my work and as a result I chose to use yellow ochre and base my color choice on that.

His wisdom also dictated that I convention usually avoids the use of black and white so I have deliberately chosen to use both in my work. He also informs me that using canvas boards is also frowned upon by our English artists, so, I use them if not exclusively but because they are useful.

My normal method of preparation is to first apply a coat of Gesso with a tint of ochre and let that dry for a day or two before applying the base color. As acrylics are water soluble the choice is to water them down or apply straight from the tube or pot. In this picture I applied the paint watered down enough to make it pliable and mixed some white with it to tone it down a little, and covered it with two coats on two consecutive days. Next I then used ochre, lighter yellows and cadmium yellow, white and red to outline the desert and the rocks. The Ayers rock shape was painted in brown and red straight from the tube and applied one color on top of the other as the fancy took me.

The sun was made up of heavy applications of titanium white and light yellow in circles to blend in with each other that created a sense of hot, powerful sunlight that eliminated all shadows except the suggestion of reflections in the water.

The details of trees, intended to be stark and sparse as it is a picture of the harsh outback, cling to the rocks and offer life as supplied by the water.

The incidentals such as the trees and rocks were painted with diluted color to give a soft contrast to the stark desert. The yellow ochre shows through the painting and changes the depth and tone of the color added. I have to say I was pleased with the result.

Why have I chosen to talk about my painting?

The reason is simple - as a mature person interested in all things I had decided to take up water color painting and asked my fellow poet Bob Collins who is also a local character and recognised artist on the Isle of Sheppey to give me some instruction. Bob has a unique style and I like his work very much so I was happy when he agreed to take me under his wing. I started on water colors and like all beginners found them hard but satisfying. Some of the paintings I produced were 'all right' but when I discovered acrylic I found a way of expressing myself in a less restricted medium and began to explore. Now I am happy to go back to water colors having learned to appreciate how color can be manipulated. I am more disciplined, more capable of seeing the form of a picture and able to develop my own style without getting bogged down with convention and yet enjoy the way water colors can take shape. I have begun to understand the pleasures of painting and appreciate the versatility of water colors as well as the flexibility of acrylics.

So, I want to share with you the pleasure of creativity and to encourage others to take up a hobby doing something they have never done before.

In addition, when I get going for real I will explore the vast amount of knowledge and talent out there in the real world and pass on what I have learned.