ABOVE Alison
Finch, Garlic Rope,
watercolour on
paper, 38x48cmAlison Finch
A childhood passion for drawing proved invaluable when, as
a teenager, Alison Finch decided to move into fashion and
textile design. Gaining an eye for strong images, colour
mixes, pattern and contemporary art spurred on her
designs as she studied at Harrow College of Art.
As a nature lover and appreciator of plants, botanical
subjects were an obvious choice for Alison, who has used
floral designs heavily throughout her fashion design career.
Though she admits the precise and detailed nature of her
botanical painting does sometimes require a tonic in the
form of the looser images she creates for the scarves she
sells online through her company, Oakley Finch.
Working in watercolour, she enjoys the alchemy of the
medium when working wet-in-wet, and that althoughmistakes are easily made, she is getting better and better
at correcting them. “Waiting for layers to dry is essential
to keep the clarity of colour,” she reveals. “Keeping the
painting light and fresh is always a challenge.”
Inspiration struck for Garlic Rope after discovering the
Isle of Wight Garlic Company at a Royal Horticultural
Society show. She chose to capture the paper-like quality
of the garlic rope in this compositionally simple painting,
focusing on the subtle colours and tones of the subject
to add complexity.
Painting wet-in-wet, she worked in individual layers from
light to dark, allowing each to dry. Alison painted veins and
added other details with a drybrush technique to create
the texture of the plaited string.
http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/alisonfinchFresh Paint
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