DEMONSTRATION

Mount Fuji

STAGE ONE

I began by making a light charcoal sketch over the primed surface to establish the composition. At this stage, working from a photograph, I made adjustments to the composition to achieve a good balance, often adhering to a ration of equal foreground and background planes and a thin strip of middle ground

STAGE TWO

I blocked in the main tonal areas with varying quantities of black, to establish a key for further layers

STAGE THREE

Working on the line of trees in the middle ground, I laid a layer of beeswax over a dark ground then used a sharp tool to scratch lines into the wax, which I then filled with a light plaster mixture. I wiped off the excess to reveal the lovely filigree pattern of bare branches

STAGE FOUR

I introduced a gradation of colour in the sky, starting from the first layer of plain grey. Notice also the pronounced texture in the hill in the middle distance. This is sand trapped in resin, now made clearly visible with another layer of sepia-coloured plaster mixture. I also added details to the mountain’s rocky surface and reflections on the water in the foreground, all using pigments mixed with plaster

FINISHED PAINTING

Mount Fuji, mixed media on panel, 48348in (1223122cm). Finally I created an effect of snow on the peak of the mountain with a thin layer of pure white plaster and added luminosity and aerial perspective by a final coating of iridescent colours – golden in the sky and blue against the mountainside