44 Artists Magazine December 2019
This approach also allows the painting
to breathe and gives the artist room
to go back and make adjustments.
Meanwhile, the lighter areas of the
painting are built to a greater opacity
to make the forms feel more solid.
The artist keeps a puddle of Liquin on
his palette, which he adds in modest
amounts to make the paint more
brushable. He also uses Liquin to “oil
up” the surface at various stages of the
painting, a maneuver that keeps the
paint surface consistent and helps to
retain a sense of depth in the shadows.
Like all painters, Frederick must
decide when to stop painting. “I play
this little game where I ask myself the
following question: “Knowing what
you know, is there any way you can
make this painting better?” he says.
“If the answer is ‘yes,’ then I carry on.
If the answer is ‘no,’ then the painting
is finished.” He then completes the
surface with a matte varnish. “My
paintings often feature a lot of darker
passages, so a shiny varnish wouldn’t
work as well,” he says.Creating the Narrative
The power of Frederick’s strategy is
on full display in Night After (top), in
which a small yellow house is pictured
in winter twilight. A band of pale yel-
low lingers in the sky, while a string of
yellow lights surrounds the door and
one window of the house. Against this
grouping of yellows, the somber grays
and violets of the snowy landscape act
as a perfect foil. While the composi-
tion is largely symmetrical, the artist
has balanced various asymmetries.
A boat is parked off to the left, while
a large tree stands on the right. The
space opens into the distance on bothTOP
Night After
oil on linen, 40x40BOTTOM
Takeout
oil on linen, 36x36OPPOSITE
Police
oil on linen, 36x36