20 Artists&Illustrators
Fresh Paint
ABOVE David
Whitehead,
Flooded Path near
Kettleshulme,
watercolour on
paper, 30x20cmDavid Whitehead
Since overhearing his work described as “watercolour with
balls”, Portfolio Plus member David Whitehead has adopted
the remark as his own creative mantra. Now the self-taught
artist, who took up painting after early retirement, brings
it to mind whenever he’s out capturing the remote British
landscapes he has always been drawn to.
It’s this “sense of connection” that David aims to replicate
in his watercolours. “I always try to capture how it felt to be
in that place at that time,” he says. “And I love painting
outdoors. For me, when you stand in the middle of a field
and get stuck into an artwork, the world ceases to exist.”
The watercolourist finessed his style by watching art
tutorial DVDs and cites 20th-century watercolourists James
Fletcher-Watson and Edward Wesson as his two biggest
influences. Yet the best tip he’s ever received came from
fellow artist and friend Andrew Pitt. “I work with the most
difficult medium, in the most difficult circumstances,”
explains David, “but after Andrew told me it’s all in the
control of the water, I haven’t looked back.”
The focus of Flooded Path near Kettleshulme was an oak
tree David saw while walking in the Peak District near hishome. He had time for a quick
sketch before having to retreat
to his car to avoid a heavy
downpour. Here, while the
scene was still fresh in his
mind, he made another
sketch using fibre-tip pens.
A few days later, David
completed the picture in a
90-minute sitting using his ink
sketch as a guide. He started by
painting the sky and foreground,
followed by the distant trees,
near hedgerow and broken
fences. Finally, he perfected the tree that had inspired
the painting. Another key aim for the artist is to recreate
“the glow” that attracted him to the medium. With Flooded
Path near Kettleshulme, he says this has been achieved
in “the light, transparent washes in the sky, distant trees,
fields and puddles, contrasted with the dark washes in
the oak tree and hedges.”
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