interest in the St Ives colony of artists that I studied for my dissertation. All these experiences from a five-year-old through to my young adult life have shaped who I have become as a professional artist and I believe that this is true of anybody, whether you’re an artist or not. At university my lecturer was very keen to guide me down the root of abstraction so I started to explore the work of JMW Turner, Patrick Heron, Peter Lanyon, Jackson Pollock, David Tress, Joanne Eardley as well as Kurt Jackson. When
I left university and moved over to the UAE after a couple of years of training as a teacher, I took with me the knowledge and appreciation that I had acquired, and started to paint unspoilt beaches along Abu Dhabi Island, trying to document the beauty and organic qualities before the bulldozers moved in to build five-star hotels.
I think if I was to have a retrospective of my work it would be incredibly varied in terms of style but the one consistent thread running through the work would be landscape painting. The media would be incredibly diverse as I was using oil paint, household paint and enamel paint at university and painting on large six-foot canvases, inspired by Turner and Constable, whereas in Abu Dhabi I developed an interest in using watercolour, acrylic and soft pastels on handmade cotton rag paper, for ease of transporting pieces from the beach to the studio as I was painting plein air. Back in the UK, I would describe myself as a studio painter as all of my
work is completed in my garden studio and I often develop paintings from photographs that have been taken of places visited on holiday or as part of my daily and weekly routine. I would describe my style as modern impressionism with expressive tendencies as I like to apply oil paint liberally, to evoke an emotional connection with the landscape. I love the Impressionists, especially Monet and Sisley but at the same time I also like to refer back to the Abstract Expressionists; Rothko, De Kooning and Pollock who have inspired me greatly over the years. In answer to the original question, your style is developed over time, based on your experiences and interests as a child that then grow into passions, shaped by your education and awareness of other artists. If an artist is ever asked if they have been influenced by other artists and they reply no, they are lying as all artists are influenced by other artists, that is why we have art movements and why the history of art is so fascinating.
What if you are struggling to develop a style of your own?
If you are struggling to develop your style I would recommend that you visit as many galleries and exhibitions as possible and surround yourself with art. By doing so you will develop your own appetite for what you like and dislike. Once you have identified the genre of art that you enjoy, such as portraiture, landscape or still life, you can then start to create responses, experimenting with a range of different media. You may wish to start by producing copies of artists’ work, which is a great way to boost self-esteem and confidence. Try to observe some tendencies in the marks that you use, the way you apply the paint, particular colours you gravitate towards and subjects that you prefer to respond to. All these observations will eventually form your artistic style, paricularly when combined with repeated visits to museums or galleries, looking through art books, searching Instagram and discovering artists whose work inspires you.
Our artistic style might become similar to other artists’ work but it will never be exactly the same; as with handwriting, creating artwork is so personal and unique that no two people could ever produce identical paintings. Eventually over time your own artistic voice will develop.
STAGE ONE
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I started by applying three layers of homemade chalk ground gesso to the plywood panels by mixing one part each of hide glue solution, whiting, and zinc white. This can be achieved by blending the dry pigments together in a plastic bowl and then adding a small amount of the warmed glue solution, removing any lumps before adding more solution. I allowed the gesso to stand before using and in the mean time wiped alcohol liberally over the smooth side and edges, then let them dry.
Once dry, I applied the warm gesso in one direction, allowed it to dry, then applied another layer in the opposite direction. For the final layer I added some fine pumice powder, which provides additional tooth when applying the diluent and oil paint to prevent the medium running. Some artists prefer to smooth the surface using fine sandpaper but I prefer a coarse surface as I want the brushmarks to be visible. I always like to have a painting on the wall in my studio to remind me of my artistic style in case I get stuck during the painting process
REFERENCE PHOTOGRAPH
This is the view looking opposite Holy Trinity Church in Stratford Upon Avon where I have fished all my life. It’s a very personal place of mine, which evokes all sorts of memories. Rebecca and I were on a walk with our Border Collie puppy last September when the weather was perfect and the reflections made for an interesting composition. I didn’t print out the image but instead referred to it on my phone as the quality of the image is better on a screen than a printed image. I also find that by not referring to the image as frequently there is less of a tendency to be over-concerned with the detail. You can also change the image to monotone so that you can identify the range of tones within the painting more easily
STAGE TWO
I use a limited palette of colours as I find that I can mix most colours, with the exception of some violets, using only seven colours. I always use Wallace Seymour oil paints as they are manufactured in the UK using the finest cold-pressed linseed oil and pigments with no binders present, which means the colours resonate on the surface instead of looking dull and lifeless. I squeezed the colours out onto my palette in no particluar order and added the Coco Bello diluent and Coco Bello painting medium to the dipper before I started to paint. I had a palette knife and an old sock or kitchen roll on hand to scrape off the excess paint and to clean the palette
STAGE FOUR
I continued to build up the composition focusing on the main points of interest, such as the trees and reflections. Once I have got into the painting, I begin to identify features that I would like to draw the viewers’ attention to using sudden explosions of colour through expressive marks. In this case my interest was the tree to the right of the church, which I painted with a lighter zingy green made by mixing cobalt blue with cadmium yellow lemon
STAGE FIVE
At this stage it was important to clean my brushes thoroughly as I would be switching from greens to blues to start adding the sky and water. I had a large pot of water and Coco Bello soap on hand to clean and recondition my brushes. The soap is plant-based, solvent free with olive oil and is ideal for cleaning hands and brushes and it smells wonderful as well
STAGE THREE
I always begin by looking carefully at the image to double check that I am confiden t that the composition will achieve a successful painting. There are a couple of ways I do this by checking that there is a focal point with varying range of values. In this case the reflec tions in the water guide the viewer towards Holy Trinity Church, which is slightly concealed by the overhanging willows. It is time well spent to make sure that you have chosen the correct image to work from. Starting to paint, I looked for the darkest tones firstandplott ed those points out with loose marks using a combination of ultramarine, cadmium red, cadmium yellow lemon and burnt umber to achieve almost black. I used the diluent at this stage and applied the paint thinly to record the basic composition
STAGE SIX
I mixed the blues for the sky and water, using only cobalt blue (hue) with the addition of titanium white, and adding a small amount of diluent to the paint to allow it to flow over the semi-rough gesso surface. As the ground was pure white with the addition of zinc pigment, I left some areas to suggest the clouds reflecting in the water. At this point I included a lighter range of greens within the tress and reflections using cadmium yellow lemon combined with ultramarine and a small amount of titanium white
STAGE SEVEN
Reviewing the painting in the morning I felt that the range of greens was slightly lacking in terms of variety of hue and value. I therefore started to introduce some mid greens to create balance and more interest. When I took part in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year in 2021, Kate Bryant the art critic and presenter looked at my painting and encouraged me to deconstruct. I have often wondered what she meant. I think she was suggesting that I simplify the painting by including only the most important marks. Here you can see I started to build up more visible thicker marks using a size 10 flat-head hog hair brush
STAGE EIGHT
Approaching the final stages of the painting is the most important and often challenging stage as you can overwork to the point where the energy and originality become blurred. If I do get to a point where I am not sure about the success of a section or the overall composition I will often leave it and refer back to one of my previous paintings that fulfilled my vision as a painter. Autumn Walk (page 55) is my benchmark painting. It was completed last year and was selected for the annual Royal Birmingham Society of Artists prize exhibition. I really like the autumnal colour scheme and expressive mark-making in the foreground. It is a view of the River Avon looking towards the lock that is opposite Holy Trinity Church in Stratford Upon Avon. I feel that the impressionistic and expressive qualities are combining in harmony to create balance, energy and originality. If you are finding it difficult to develop your artistic style it is always worth referring back to build your confidence and gain direction in your work