Monday 1 May 2017

Exeter Art Society - Artist Demonstration

Had a great time painting a Belted Galloway Cow at Exeter Art Society the other night, thanks to everyone who came along!
Here's the finished painting (above) that I did for the demo, this Belted Galloway cow was created using Atelier Acrylics over the top of dried conventional acrylics, one of my favourite techniques.
Everyone at Exeter Art Society made me feel very welcome and there was lots of insightful (and humourous :-) ) discussion during the demo. The photos here (above) are: top left: setting up for the evening, as I painted, my progress was projected onto the screen; mid left: people starting to arrive, there were about 37 people in attendance; bottom left: an audience member grabs a pic of the finished painting; right: micro exhibition and laptop slideshow for the half-time break.
Recently discovered this mixed media paper (above) and it's great to paint on especially after sealing the surface with a coat of acrylic.
To start, I did some very quick and very loose line drawings (above) where I don't worry at all about the results, it's a good way to warm up before moving on to the main picture.
These patches of colour (above) were used to demonstrate the unique properties of the Atelier Acrylics. The paint on the left is conventional acrylic, the patch on the right is Atelier interactive. Initially, they both looked identical and, once dry, I asked each person in the audience to feel that both patches of paint were dry. Once everyone was satisfied, I sprayed both with water and demonstrated that the patch of conventional acrylic was completely waterproof by rubbing a brush over the top. However, when a brush was used on the Interactive paint it was reactivated and was easy to move around on the paper (this makes for much easier blending than conventional acrylics allow).
Above: A close-up of the cow head, I used the Atelier Acrylics to define the details and created some blended effects / soft edges on different parts of the animal.
Really enjoyed the evening, thanks to everyone who helped me pack everything away. Check out Exeter Art Society's website here.