18 artistMay 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
IN CONVERSATION
technique, some of my paintings take
weeks, others a year.’
Restricted palette
Michael mainly uses oils but other
media include bitumen, PVA, acrylics
and emulsion. ‘I don't have favourite
brands; it doesn’t matter what I use as
one to the other as I produce quite a lot
of series paintings, developing several
from the same image or sketch. I spend
about an hour mixing all my colours and
then start throwing them around on the
canvas. After ten years of using these
techniques I know how much paint can
go down for one layer. If too much paint
goes down it can ruin the painting so
the balance has to be right. Then I leave
it to one side to dry before I build the
next layer. Each layer takes a matter of
moments unless I believe it's the last
layer, when I keep painting until I'm
happy with it. No drawing, no planning
of the composition, just attack!’Inspired by creativity
‘I am conscious that my work needs
to evolve. It's my way of thinking that
evolves the most, the painting just
tries to keep up. I don't push to evolve
practically however, I just let it get
there by itself. I think, for me, it's the
most natural way for my work to evolve,
there's no rush and I am happy with
this.’p Cap d’Antibes, vers Nice No. 2, oil and
acrylic on canvas, 65 3 86¾in (165 3 220cm).
‘This took about eight months of layering and
tilting the canvas aggressively, building up
interesting textures and feeling as though a
new stage of painting the sea was dawning
for me.’u Black Ven No. 2,
oil and acrylic on
canvas, 59¾ 3 59¾in
(152 3 152cm).
I have been living in
the South of France
for three years and
wanted to paint grey,
muddy colours. This
was inspired by the
Jurassic coast beach
near to where I grew
u p .’
long as the colours are strong. I often
use Winsor & Newton oil paints, but
usually go to B&Q for the rest. I use
only four colours: ultramarine, crimson,
cerulean blue, lemon yellow and
titanium white. Brushes are just a tool
for me to mix the paint. I quite often
get frustrated looking for a big brush,
so I sometimes use my studio broom to
paint with.
‘My paintings can be any size. The only
issue with going larger than 2.5m is that
the canvas dips a lot with the weight of
the wet paint. This messes up my flow
and alters the painting, which really
gets to me. I normally work on about
five canvases at a time, moving from