Make the drawings on a concertina-
like sketchbook. You can make one
by folding a large strip of paper into
sections. Use materials that allow
you to make a quick, immediate line,
so something like graphite, charcoal,
coloured pencils or black ink with
brush. Think about how you
abbreviate each drawing as you
search out the model’s form with
line, tone and mark making.
A final drawing challenge to help
you work in a more abstracted way
involves drawing with a brush
attached to the end of a stick. Tape a
large length of lining paper to the floor
(approximately two metres wide) and
attach a brush to the end of a long
stick. Dampen the paper with a
water spray bottle.
Dip the brush in a black drawing
ink and begin to draw your subject.
Allow the lines to bleed organically in
the damp paper. Keep spraying the
drawings with water to allow less
control over the work. Add white
acrylic for highlights if necessary and
mop up any excess water with a
paper towel or rag.
Drawing with a long stick takes
away the element of total control and
allows you to become more
expressive and less analytical, while
still revealing the presence of the
human form.6
KEEP THINGS FLUID
From these initial studies you
should have a bank of resource
imagery to draw upon that you can
use as starting points to further
develop and explore abstract
figurative paintings.
Consider working wet-in-wet. Add a
thick initial layer of Titanium White (or
yellow-tinted white) to your canvas or
board. This creates a buttery,
painterly surface into which you can
work, with new colours mixing with
the white to create a secondary tone.
Spray the paper with water from a
spray bottle as you want the surface
to be fluid and open to quick
responses. If it becomes too flooded,
take another piece of paper and place
it on top to print off some of the
excess – often the print is more
exciting than the original. You can
also use a window cleaner’s
squeegee or a piece of card to drag
across the surface of your painting,pulling the paint in the style of
Gerhard Richter.7
WORK ON
MULTIPLE PIECES
The act of making a painting is
important: one decision leads to
another as the work becomes
realised. I tend to develop 6-10
paintings in the same session, maybe
working on each for only five minutes
at a time before moving onto the next
to keep the mark making fresh.
This period is all about process,
method and materials. Fully engage
with your paintings looking to define
bold forms against line, texture andtone. Try to always be responsive to
the painting and where it’s taking you- avoid over-working anything. Draw
out the subject by using what’s at
hand: brushes, charcoal, rags, and
even fingers.
You will find there are periods
when certain paintings go off on an
unexpected tangent. This can be
challenging, and you may experience
doubts. Don’t give up though. These
trickier works may turn out to be the
best ones in the end.
Chris’s next course, Intuitive Painting –
Process and Imagination, runs from
12-14 June at West Dean College,
Chichester. http://www.thebarongilvan.com
ABOVE Candle Wax
Depostion, oil on
canvas, 85x65cm