ABOVE Darren Reid,
Pacific Avenue,
acrylic on panel,
30x21cm
RIGHT AND BELOW
Darren’s fingers
indicate the scale
and detail involved
in Pacific Avenue
scratch, using various photographs
as references or sometimes I'll have
produced a small drawing first to
work out the basic composition
before redrawing.
I’ll lightly sketch the composition
out before refining the drawing –
there’s a bit of maths involved with
the perspectives and scaling things
up but there’s no mechanical means.
Sometimes the drawings can take
around a week to complete on the
larger more complicated paintings.Does a smooth support help when
painting such small details?
Yes, it does. I don’t have a favourite
type though – I’ve painted on various
canvases, birch panels and so on.
Currently I’m experimenting withaluminium panels which I’m quite
enjoying. No matter what surface I’m
painting on, I always prepare it first
with gesso.What brushes do you use?
Ah brushes, the most common
question I get asked! I think people
think professional artists are aware
of some magical brushes that aren’t
available to the general public!
I really don’t favour any particular
brushes, I use about 10 different
brands – the most common are
probably Winsor & Newton Galeria
and Omega.
A lot of the smaller brushes, size 0
and smaller, don’t last very long so to
be honest I get the cheapest ones
I can as I go through them very
quickly, sometimes a brush may
only last a couple of days.Do you use paint mediums?
I don’t use any mediums, it’s just
the paint from the tube and I mix the
colours as I go along.
Acrylic paint is really only usable
for 20 or 30 minutes, so it helps to
develop techniques for working quickly
and planning out areas I’m going to
paint that day.Progress photos show you painting
complete sections in one go. What
are the benefits for working that way?
I’m self-taught so I’m not sure if my
method is the “correct” way to go
about things but it’s the technique
I developed. I tend to like to complete
areas as I go along, I see each small
section of the painting as a painting
in itself. I also think every element
is important, whether it’s the main
subject in a painting or a road surface,
a tree, wheelie bin, it's all as important
as everything else.How do you ensure that colours
painted on different days are
balanced across the whole canvas?