Last years, most painted...

At the end of a year, I like to look back and review the paintings I've completed over the past 12 months. One thing I like to do just for fun, is reflect on what my favorite 'muse' was? In other words, what object did I find myself painting most? I even broaden this question to see which flowers I painted most that year?

So, my 2009 most treasured object was...

So for me this vase proved to be my most treasured possession. It was purchased in the summer, from a 'budget-antique type' shop, while I was vacationing back in Britain. I just fell in love with the simple organic curves of it's form and the wonderful crisp leaf and stem designs on it's sides.

Here are just a couple of example paintings I completed using the vase -

And the 2009 most painted flower was....

It actually turned out to be a close run competition with a number of flowers all coming pretty close, but in the end 'the Lilly' squeaked across the finishing line first. Which if I'm honest, is a surprise, because I can struggle a little with them and tend to think I prefer painting Irises or tulips, (which it should be noted have been previous award winners). Just goes to show you never can tell.

..and here are just a few examples of this years Lilies....

Painting on wood panel

The preparing of a wood surface to paint on.

For me this task can be a bit of a chore, but it is a very important stage to get right, and one I like to do myself; from the selection of the wood, all the way through to creating the painting surface (known as the ground). I tend to paint on Maple or Oak, both are hardwoods and have fine grains with few knots, thus good surfaces to work on.

Sometimes I'm asked why paint on wood rather than canvas, for me the answer is simple. I do paint on both, but much of my work is on wood. Wood provides a nice hard surface unlike canvas which gives a bounce when painted on, this effects how you can paint on the surface. You can see this with crisper edges and lines in my paintings on wood, and softer edges on canvas.

An additional point is that the texture of the two surfaces can also be very different. Canvas has a very regular texture on it from the cloths weave; with wood however a number of coats of an Acrylic based paint (gesso) are need to seal the wood, these can be brushed on to create a textured irregular effect, that I find to be a more pleasing under surface to the painting.

As a side note, many of the paintings that have survived the best from previous centuries are painted on wood panels. So perhaps that also speaks to a good painting practice, though I feel these days with proper care, both supports hold up pretty well.

This painting was completed on a wood board with a heavy textural 'ground' (painting base). For the ground the paint is thickened to add defined brush marks and sand was added to give a stippling effect; the result gives a lot of energy and excitement to the painting.
detail (example of textural effect)

Mini Masterpieces

Visit my facebook page Angus Wilson Studio to see more of my latest small works at a competitive price!

A painting through the Stages

Here's one of my paintings through it's stages to completion with a brief description of the process involved.

Like much of my work it has been painted on wood which has been primed with a gesso ground (a base layer of acrylic paint). I allow the several coats of gesso to create a random brush worked texture, this ultimately give the final painting extra depth and interest on close inspection.

*

Stage 1 - Really this shows stage 2, the first stage would be marking in the outlines in this case with a mixture of cadmium red and burnt umber. The next stage as shown above is then to wash on color, knocking away the white canvas/board. On starting a painting I have a pretty clear idea of the final colors I want, so will either paint compliment colors underneath or secondary colors.

Care needs to be taken at this stage not to make a color tonally to saturated, since it will obviously effect greatly the luminosity of later stages of paint.

*

Stage 2 - Here some of the color has been placed in loosely on some objects such as the oranges and some areas of the background. But most attention and painting effort has been given to the Peonies. Since the flowers were the key to this painting I wanted to tackle them first. Additionally they're really the most complex part of the painting so required most work to get right.

*

Stage 3 - Other broad areas are boldly painted in. Notice how in the red cloth I have intentionally let the purple undertones shine through, this adds depth to the final painting.

*

Stage 4 - Mostly there now. All areas have been painted and there's only small areas to refine. The flowers in the back right need to be resolved, careful decisions are made on how refined and detailed to complete them. I try to remember to keep them subdued and loose since the focus should be on the foreground.

*

The Complete painting - This proved an unusual work for me, since there was little adjustment in the painting. It's common for me to rethink and evolve a painting as I work on it; usually this means changing the color of something away from my original color plan to enhance the final work. Sometimes it requires something more drastic. This painting however remained consistent through it's entire process.