Posted on December 12, 2019
Rockpooling, acrylic and oil on canvas
I can’t take too much credit for the composition of this one which was originally photographed on the Cornish coast, one of my favourite places! I like the dribble of seawater coming off the net on the left. Its a good dribble. This was another painting that I began in acrylics and finished in oil paint, and its a method I am going to return to. My dilemma is that there is nothing more pleasurable than pushing oil paint around a painting surface and acrylics lack this quality as they dry so quickly. I learned how to paint using oil paints and still feel acrylics are not the most natural method for me. They are dry before you know it and I have always found this difficult to manage. But then building them up slowly in layers has other advantages. When I was younger I wanted to draw like Giacometti and used biros and gouache paint to build up meshes of lines and daubs, and that is echoed in how I have been glazing acrylic paint when I use it. Because I don’t want to commit too much as the paint won’t let me manipulate it before it dries, I use thin layers of acrylic to slowly render the form.
I have mentioned I find this similar to carving. Inverted carving, as it is adding and not taking away. But each line or glaze of paint serves to refine and tighten the drawing, but unlike carving the mistakes add to the whole effect and in the end strengthen the drawing. When I carve stone every ‘mark’ with the chisel has to count. Every cut moves the sculpture closer to completion.
Posted on November 24, 2016
First glaze done. Took about 90 minutes. I’ll adjust the colours and drawing as I go on #portrait #art #painting #oilpainting #glaze #grisaille #underpainting #contemporaryart #realism
Posted on November 15, 2016
Grisaille underpainting finished for another portrait. Ready for a glaze very soon. #devon #portraitpainting #glazing #underpainting #contemporaryart #art #portrait #oilpainting #oiloncanvas #painting
Posted on November 14, 2016
//www.instagram.com/p/BMzGPrlD5C6/embed/
Glazing over the grisaille. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the flashy production values. Full video at mattharveyart.com #grisaille #portrait #art #oilpainting #contemporaryart #underpainting #glazing #portraitpainting #devon
Posted on November 8, 2016
This clearly shows the before and after versions of this portrait. Painted in oils the first glaze transforms the grisaille underpainting
Before and after #rosycheeks #babyboy #stars #oilpainting #portraitart #portraitpainting #grisaille #underpainting #glazing