Artists_amp_amp_Illustrators__July_2016_

64 Artists & Illustrators

The light in the landscape changes quickly – how can I

keep things consistent across the entire painting?

Find a comfortable size to work on that will allow rapid

re-painting; too big and you won’t keep up with changes,

too small and you’ll feel clumsy and cramped. A lot of the

legwork is done on the palette. Have a big enough surface

to mix on and don’t be too mean with the amount of colour

you squeeze out. Try to preserve the puddles of colour as

they develop on the palette, mix family groups of colour to

dip into and adjust as the scene before you changes. Don’t

telescope your vision into small events but instead keep a

wide angle view using your peripheral vision. This way, you’ll

stay aware of how the whole view changes and will have a

better chance of responding quickly.

I’ve never painted en plein air before. What are the easiest

times and subjects to tackle fi rst?

When I left art school I taught full time for some years,

however I still painted every day by having my gear in the

back of my car and grabbing whatever time I could on my

drive to and from work. I didn’t realise it at the time but

often I’d be painting in the half-light of morning or evening

when things tend to be simpler in terms of tone and colour.

When painting landscape, one is often tempted to try to do

it all, resulting in paintings that are overstretched with too

many confl icting points of focus. Just keep it simple.

Can it help to use a limited palette?

My own palette has settled down to about 12 colours,

which I always lay out in the same order so that if I’m

painting into darkness, my memory and experience of how

What’s your advice for painting contre-jour?What’s your advice for painting contre-jour?

Having painted looking towards the sun for Having painted looking towards the sun for

years I know there are pitfalls. There’s a years I know there are pitfalls. There’s a

tendency to assume everything is black and tendency to assume everything is black and

white with great contrast. The opposite is white with great contrast. The opposite is

often the case with adjacent lights and darks often the case with adjacent lights and darks

being closer in tone than one might think. being closer in tone than one might think.

BOTTOM RIGHT

Queuing for Chips,

West Bay, oil on

board, 30x102cm

63 Your Questions_Pikesley.indd 64 10/05/2016 14:24