Fresh Paint

WAYNE’S TOP TIP

“I use a lot of Alkyd medium, diluted with solvent, depending on how fluid I need the paint”

RIGHT Wayne Attwood, The Fetch of a Wave is Defined by the Distance Travelled, oil on canvas, 101x101cm

Fresh Paint

Inspiring new artworks, straight off the easel

Wayne Attwood

When we last caught up with artist Wayne Attwood, he’d been reacquainting himself with his native Birmingham in paint; quite the shift after seven years sailing the Mediterranean on board a 35-foot yacht. He’s since been elected president of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) and embarked on a series that he’s calling Ghosts of the Memory of Feeling. These larger, more ambiguous figurative pieces play with themes of nostalgia and human relationships, which has given them added resonance this year. “I started this series quite a while before lockdown, but it was pointed out to me recently how many of the paintings depict people connecting: hugging, kissing, and so on,” he explains. “Not being able to physically connect with our friends and family has added an unintended dimension to the work.”

As one might expect from an RBSA president, Wayne is a big believer in the need to experience paintings in the flesh and his new larger canvases are a reaction to art being increasingly consumed via small phone screens. The Fetch of a Wave is Defined by the Distance Travelled, for example, measures a metre square and has changed the way that he applies the paint. “Larger canvases allow me to work freely, keeping the active paint layer alive without being forced to tighten up,” he says. “I also want the integrity of the paint passages and intersecting marks to remain distinct, even when viewed at a distance in a gallery or home.”

While The Fetch of a Wave… appears to have a fresh, alla prima finish, this contemplative painter actually spends plenty of time deciding which elements need to retain sharpness or be knocked back. He manipulates oils with various implements, ranging from traditional brushes through to old credit cards, squeegees and grouting tools. “Improvisation is fundamental to my process,” he stresses.

With a suggestive finish such as this, it is hard to avoid overworking things. Wayne says it takes confidence to know when to say enough is enough. “I don’t particularly consider my works ultimately ‘finished’ anyway – they either get exhibited and sold, or I just stop applying paint,” he says. “When a painting comes back from an exhibition and sits in the studio for a while, I will quite often add new layers or rework areas.”

A great artist’s work truly is never done. www.wayneattwood.com

Richa Vora

Evoking the rich, vibrant and colourful atmosphere of an Indian festival in a painting of a quaint London lane may sound like a rather incongruous ambition. Yet Portfolio Plus member Richa Vora has deftly merged these two seemingly opposed worlds in her recent oil painting, Gail’s.

On a hot July day walking through north London, the artist was struck by how similar the harsh sunlight, dark shadows and bustling, narrow streets of Hampstead were to those found in her native Kolhapur. She duly set out to capture this rare moment.

Richa began her painting by laying down a neutralcoloured wash and blocking in the main masses with a big bold brush. She then worked alla prima, using energetic brushstrokes to bring the paint surface to life.

“I find the details that were done fast and with a few touches of paint are the most lively and artistic,” she says. “In this particular painting, it was quite bland and flat until I added in the people sitting outside the bakery.”

The London-based artist has studied at Southwark’s Art Academy and usually finishes her paintings in a few hours, finalising the composition at the last possible moment. This leaves her room for some “spontaneous ABOVE Richa Vora, decisions”, yet a lot of planning is still involved in every Gail’s, oil on finished painting. “I do lots of black-and-white and canvas, 51x41cm three-tone colour sketches before I start to help me understand temperature and value.”

Such preparation pays off. Whether she’s capturing the Every month, one of our Fresh Paint harsh light of a midday sun, the artists is chosen from Portfolio Plus, shadowy folds of an unmade our online, art-for-sale portal. For your bed sheet or a strong direct chance to feature in a forthcoming light hitting a life model’s face, issue, sign up for your own personalised the play of light in Richa’s art Portfolio Plus page today. You can also: is incredibly arresting, • Showcase, share and sell unlimited

“The secret lies in the middle artworks commission free tones,” she reveals. “When you • Get your work seen across Artists & have harsh sunlight and very Illustrators’ social media channels dark shadows, if you get your • Submit art to our online exhibitions middle tones correct, the • Enjoy exclusive discounts and more luminosity always comes.” Sign up in minutes at www.artistsand www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/ illustrators.co.uk/register richcompose