78 March 2020 http://www.painters-online.co.uk
PaintersOnline editor’s choice
Meet this month’s editor’s choice winner from our PaintersOnline gallery
R
ichard Suckling painted Winter
Light, Sennen on a cold winter’s
day with rain threatening. ‘In
situations like this speed is the
key to capturing the essence of the scene’,
he writes, ‘consequently the picture is
not big. Sennen Cove is a short drive
from where I live, so is a favourite haunt
of mine for plein air pastel painting and
as subject matter for larger studio works.
Golden sands and turquoise seas make it
a perfect all-year location, but for me it isp Richard Suckling Winter Light, Sennen, pastel, 10½ 3 10½in (26.6 3 26.6cm)TAin the winter that I seem to produce my
best paintings, when the light is sharper
without that summer haze and the sea
tends to be more lively.
‘I began by establishing the big shapes
with a dark pastel pencil, then blocked
in the darks using a very deep, almost
black, indigo blue. From there I worked
from dark to light keeping my marks as
big as possible until near the end where
just a few little flourishes were needed
to complete the picture. Walking away atjust the right time is always tricky but I
felt I had captured the feel of the day so
stopped before it became over worked.’
Richard is represented by galleries
in the West Country and most recently
by Claremont Contemporary Art in
Sevenoaks, Kent. He writes, teaches and
demonstrates on the subject of pastel
painting. To upload your own images to
our online gallery, with an opportunity of
being selected as the editor’s choice, visit
http://www.painters-online.co.uk