My painting process

Tools & materials

Brushes - not really my thing, I don't like the lines they leave in the paint

Catalyst wedge - love it, nice and smooth

Old credit cards - perfect

Palette knife - just slather it on

Wooden skewer - great for drawing into wet paint

Big fat pencil - creates a lovely soft line

Wooden panels - love the feel of working on something sturdy

Canvas - learning to appreciate it, gradually

Paper - great for painting over the edges so little paintings look part of something bigger

Paint - mainly Liquitex acrylic and Cryla, a bit of Golden fluid acrylic and some Sennellier

Collage - new favourite thing, bits of painted paper all over the studio

FAQ

What sort of paint do you use?

I use acrylic paint from Jackson’s. Mainly nice, thick Cryla by Dalor Rowney but also some Liquitex softbody and fluid paint from Golden that’s almost as thin as ink. I also use Jackson’s own brand Zinc White which is just luscious!

What sort of paper do you use?

I use a variety of paper from Canson Figueras to Seawhite watercolour or acrylic paper. I like larger sheets as I feel that I can be more experimental and freer to try new things.

Where do you get your canvases from?

I order my canvases from Jackson’s as they are great quality with good solid frames. The canvas itself is tight and a little bouncy. I prefer the box canvases as they can be hung as they are or framed if you prefer.

What sort of tools do you use to apply the paint?

This could be a very long list as I love trying new tools. However I mainly use a catalyst wedge from Princeton, an old loyalty card from Monsoon, a range of metal and plastic palette knives, wooden skewers, a Graphit-Kreide pencil and a precision bottle for ink or fluid paint.

I rarely use brushes as I don’t like the marks they make and I hate cleaning them.

Do you just paint?

No, I love collage or mixed media as well. I like to make my own collage papers but have recently added a few pieces of sewing pattern tissue to some work as it adds a strong graphic line to my looser marks. So far my collage work has been quite small but I am hoping to scale up soon.

Mono prints

I use a gelli plate to create mono prints on tissue paper using dried plants and seed heads. The tissue allows me to see through the layers when I add them to mixed media artworks and to create a sense of history in my work.

Where do you get your inspiration?

I am inspired by the colours and textures of the coast however I don’t want to paint realistic landscapes. There are so many artists who can do that better than me.

My aim is to develop a visual language of marks and colours that allows me to paint the feeling of walking along the seashore of a windy day or the sound of shingle being tumbled by the waves.

It’s going to be a long process but I am enjoying the journey.