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Each month laterlife.com presents a feature from either The Artist
or its sister publication, Leisure Painter.
Art masterclass
from The Artist, the monthly magazine for amateur
and semi-professional painters, giving practical instruction in
painting and drawing in watercolour, pastels and oils, as well as
news of art events, exhibitions and competitions open to leisure
artists;
www.theartistmagazine.co.uk
This month: an Art Masterclass featured in the current
edition of The Artist, the magazine for amateur and
semi-professional painters.
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Fresh-picked flowers
in oils
Wild flowers and bunches
picked from her garden provide
constant inspiration for Anne
Cotterill, and she paints them
to capture their individual characteristics
 Wild
Roses, oil board,
12x10in. (30.5x25.5cm) |
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Anne
Cotterill is one of the most accomplished painters of flower
subjects in the UK today. Her paintings are distinguished by their
sensitive use of colour, the vitality of the paint handling, and
the skilful way that she manages to capture the character of
different flowers. Without doubt they are painted by someone with
a real passion for the subject matter, and it is not surprising to
discover that flowers have always been her main source of
inspiration. “The continuing
motivation,” she says, “comes from the immense variety of flowers,
especially wild flowers, which give a non-stop display practically
right through the year.” |
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White
Wild Violets,
oil on
board,
5x53/4in.
(12.5x14.5cm) |
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Inspiration, that inner excitement, is the essential starting
point for every painting, Anne believes. “Whatever the subject
matter, it is absolutely necessary to be enthused by what is there
and have a strong desire to paint it. Maybe this is why I am not
interested in commissions, for the initial idea must come from
something that has attracted and moved me. But I suppose it
doesn’t take much to get me excited about flowers and I am sure I
will never run out of ideas!
“I paint all types of flowers. I am fortunate to live in a part of
the country that has a wonderful variety of wild flowers in the
hedgerows, lanes and meadows. And I also have a large, rambling
garden with roses, lilies and countless other flowers. Paintings
are also sometimes inspired by flowers that people have given me,
or I may buy certain varieties to paint, but mostly I enjoy
painting the flowers that I have picked freshly myself.”
Having decided on a selection of flowers to paint, Anne sets them
up in her studio, choosing a vase or container that will
complement the colour and nature of the arrangement. However, the
flowers are not arranged in a formal manner.
“I normally place the flowers in their pot the day before I start
painting, to allow them to settle. Essentially, they arrange
themselves and usually when I return the next day they look just
right. If not, I make adjustments or perhaps try a different
container – I have literally hundreds to choose from.
“The lighting is another important factor, and for me it must be
natural light.
I work seated, with the board fixed in a fairly
upright position on an easel, and usually with the light coming
from a large window on my left, although I do vary this approach
by using other windows and positions in my studio. Artificial
light changes the colours, I feel, and sharpens the shadows too
much.
“There are various tables, chairs and stools in my studio that I
can place the flowers on, depending on the viewpoint I want.
Generally they are positioned about three feet from me, at eye
level or just below, thought for large lowers or a big bunch I am
farther away from the subject. While I am not a botanical artist,
I still find it important tot be accurate as regards numbers and
shapes of petals, sepals and so on. I aim for a good likeness of
that is
there, and try to add something to that, particularly the
sense of light and movement in the flowers. |
Extensive palette
“I paint exclusively in oils. What I especially like about this
medium are the textures and glowing colours that can be achieved,
the way that you can move the paint about and develop different
effects, and of course the fact that you can alter things and
rework areas.
However, particularly with flowers, you have to be careful not to
overwork the colours; they must always look fresh, so I clean the
brushes frequently. I paint on hardboard, which is carefully
prepared with three thin coats of size followed by a further three
coats in oil-based flat white primer. Then the surface is sanded
to produce a finish that is not shiny, but has a nice ‘bite’. One
of the advantages of hardboard is that you can cut it to any size
and shape you require.”
Anne works from an extensive selection of colours. Her basic
palette includes titanium white, cadmium yellow pale and cadmium
yellow deep, Indian yellow, yellow ochre, raw sienna, burnt
sienna, alizarin crimson, scarlet lake, cadmium scarlet, permanent
rose, ultramarine, cerulean, cobalt blue, Prussian blue, Prussian
green, sap green, terre verte, viridian, mauve, violet, magenta
and permanent magenta. She never uses colour straight from the
tube; all her colours are mixed, using brushes rather than a
palette knife.
She prefers Winsor & Newton Artists’ oil colours, because these
have the right consistency and oil content for the way she likes
to work. Consequently there is no need to add any linseed oil or
other medium to the mix. For brushes, she chooses Pro Arte Acrylix,
which she finds are softer than hog brushes, have more spring, and
are hardwearing. |
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Primroses,
oil on board,
12x10in.
(30.5x25.5cm)
Spring
Flowers, oil on board, 131/2x111/2in. (34x29cm)
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The painting process
Some flowers last quite well when picked and arranged in a vase,
others soon open up, shed petals or wilt. “And all flowers change
to some extent,” Anne comments. “they never just sit still in the
pot! Therefore it is often necessary to work quickly, and always
the painting process must respond to the particular nature of the
flowers as well as respecting the qualities and potential of the
medium being used. Each new painting requires a slightly different
approach.
“I normally start by covering the entire board with a
neutral-coloured wash. This is usually made from a mix of burnt
sienna, ultramarine and a touch of white, or it can be more of a
purple colour, but always thinned with a lot of turpentine. It is
applied with a wide brush.
“Then, for the lightest parts of the flowers, I use a turpsy rag
to rub through the ground colour to the white surface beneath and,
now working with a brush, I add the main darks. I keep to thin
paint throughout this first stage, which probably only takes about
ten minutes, and my aim is to suggest the general look and
composition of the painting and begin to get everything moving.
“Having considered the basic tonal values, I start on the flowers,
usually beginning with an area that I really want to pick out and
treasure. For instance, if there are a couple of flowers that look
wonderful together I paint those straight away, although not to an
entirely finished state. Then I perhaps move on to the surrounding
two or three flowers, and so on. The aim on the first day is to
capture the sense of the whole bunch of flowers, leaving the
detail to later. At the end of the day I put the flowers in a
cool, dark place, to help preserve them.
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Poppies, oil on board, 18x14in. (46x35.5cm)
Michaelmas
Daisies,
oil on board,
161/2x153/4in. (42x40cm)
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“While I paint I am constantly looking at the relationship of
one flower to another, as well as the way that they cast
shadows. All the time it is a matter of comparing light to
dark. In a way it is like painting a landscape – you look
through some dark leaves and there is a bright light beyond.
It is this play of lights and darks that gives a sense of the
roundness and form of the subject. Generally I exaggerate
these contrasts."
The background colour
“My response is more instinctive as
the painting progresses and I focus
in turn on the parts that attract and interest me. Of course,
it is equally necessary to react to things that
might be suggested by the painting itself. At this stage I
also begin to
pay more attention to the background than how it relates to
the flowers. In some areas I may
use the background colour to delineate the flowers or, in
contrast, sometimes it is very effective to ‘lose’ the flowers
into a soft-toned background. Mostly I
like a fairly neutral colour, so as not to compete with the
flowers.
“Essentially I use the traditional
‘fat over lean’ approach, finishing
with the principal lights, which are
the most impasto areas. In fact,
I
usually work on the pot and the foreground last of all, making
the foreground fairly positive, to help
place the flowers in a context. Occasionally, the ellipses on
the
pot cause me some problems, and
to check their accuracy I use a mirror. If you face away from
the painting
and view it as a mirror image, this
will show up anything that needs attention. It is also
useful to turn the painting
upside-down and check the look
of things that way.
“In some paintings, after finishing
the pot I add a few leaves or flowers drooping across it, to
unite pot and flowers. And something else I occasionally do,
to capture the moment as it were, is to paint one
or two drops of water on a leaf somewhere or running down the
side
of the pot. This enhances the sense
of freshness and vitality that I want
to convey in the painting.
“Over the many years that I have
been painting flowers, I have
learned that there is a limit to how much you can discipline
them.
They have their own ideas and they obviously play a vital part
in determining the success or
otherwise of the painting!
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Pink Clover, oil on board,
18x14in. (46x35.5cm)
Buttercups in a Silver Coffee Pot,
oil on
board, 151/2x111/2in.
(39.5x29cm)
Sweet
Peas, 14x12in. (35.5x30.5cm)
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laterlife interest
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