For the past few weeks I’ve been preoccupied with drawing. Pencil studies of birds mostly and some sketches for future compositions. I find I have to draw up watercolour compositions – it is a medium which is not easy to change once you have started. Others though like to live dangerously by laying wet washes and extracting a ghost image from them – does Turner come to mind? Of course he had a good eye and could draw better than most of us.
Acrylic is a friendly medium which offers much more freedom. I began this on a hardboard panel prepared with an even base coat of dark brown/green. I composed ‘on the hoof’ putting down markers to place the ducks and making small adjustments to position as the work developed.
I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics. They have a nice creamy consistency. I thin with a matt medium and a little water if I want to glaze over passages. When working quickly and freely the short drying time is an advantage. There is still much to do before I can say; “I’m happy with that” – my favourite quote from Alwyn Crawshaw.
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