20 Artists&Illustrators
ABOVE Claire Failes,
Early Morning in
Winter on the Ash
Path, acrylic on
watercolour paper,
4 3 x 27c mClaire Failes
As a painter who avoids painting en plein air due to having
a style which, to use the artist’s own words, is “so slow the
seasons would change”, the fast-drying time of acrylic paint
was once a source of dismay for Claire Failes. However,
after discovering the more forgiving nature of Golden Heavy
Body acrylics, she discovered a different side to the
medium. “I used to hate acrylics as they were difficult to
manoeuvre, but the buttery consistency is very appealing
and suits the way I work. By applying layers of thin paint,
I can build up my painting into fine detail.”
It was a frosty morning when Claire first set to work on
Early Morning in Winter on the Ash Path, choosing a spot in
a village that she had lived in when she first moved to
Gloucestershire. “Drawing has always been the basis of my
work, so I started with a sketch,” she explains. “I was
interested in the frost still clinging to the grass and I felt itwould be a challenge to paint. I also thought the pink sky
in the background would create a good contrast with the
branches of the surrounding trees.”
After scanning her sketch onto a computer, the artist
enlarged the drawing to the size she wanted for her
painting and printed it out to lay over a lightbox before
placing a sheet of Arches HP watercolour paper on top and
drawing over it. She then stretched the watercolour paper
onto a board and began painting, working in layers from
dark to light, waiting a day in between each one to allow
the paint ample time to dry.
The key to a successful studio painting? “Loads of
brushes,” says Claire. “I don’t buy expensive ones as acrylic
can be pretty tough on them, but I do find it hard to throw
any away, as worn brushes can be useful for painting grass
and other textures.”
http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/Claire-FailesFresh Paint
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