Method and studies
Accurate colour and tone are important to me. Detail and compositional information is often derived from digital images on the laptop and colour printouts. Colour, light and general feel come from ‘on the spot’ studies, normally done in oil on small MDF boards, prepainted with a rough acrylic sketch. This enables me to work quickly, recording relevant colour and tonal information. The painting is then created in the studio using all the sources of information I have acquired i.e. oil studies, laptop images, exploratory sketches and colour prints.
Examples of studies
A laptop image can be explored in Photoshop. Converting the image to grayscale can be helpful when comparing tonal values across an image, which in turn can be compared to observed values within the studies and sketches.
Drawing upon different sources of information and cross-referencing one with another helps to maintain control of colour and tone which enable me to mix and apply paint with confidence, the painting will then hopefully develop in a coherent and pleasing manner.