APRIL 6TH - TERRY HARRISON - EASY ACRYLICS
Our Chair, Eve Tappenden, opened the meeting with some announcements in connection with our forthcoming trip to the Watercolour Exhibition at Tate Britain and went on to seek the opinion of the membership on future acquisitions for our book and DVD library. Usage of our present stock of books and DVDs has diminished so views were also sought on the options open to us for their disposal. Eve then introduced Mr.Terry Harrison, to discuss and demonstrate “Easy Acrylics”.
Terry started by describing his materials and explaining that his preferred painting surface was a ready primed box canvas and that he always started his painting process by applying a thin colour wash, which completely covered the white surface of the canvas. The fast drying properties of acrylic paints did not seem to present any problems, in fact Terry speeded up the drying at some stages by using an electric hair dryer. However, it was noted that his brushes were rinsed in water after each spell of use and that his palette was of the stay-wet design.
The first demonstration painting was to be of a bluebell wood with a stream so the appropriate colour washes for the sky, foliage, and the stream were applied. When the wash had dried, Terry started to build up the colours using a stippling technique to achieve the required surface texture. For this he used a round, stiff-bristled brush which could hold a good charge of paint between its bristles and had been designed for this application. When he had completed the main masses of colour, Terry changed to a half-rigger brush to paint in the shapes of the trees and other features before changing again to a rigger brush for the more detailed passages. Having earlier decided the direction of the lighting, Terry concentrated on putting in the refinements of shadows and highlights before finally stippling in the banks of bluebells.
The second painting was of an area of water flanked by trees. This subject enabled Terry to demonstrate his treatment of recession, ripples and reflections, and subtleties of shadows, highlights and backlighting. The main area of in the foreground was backed by a large bank of trees and, on the right, the water extended around the trees and into the distance where its banks were again lined with trees. Having laid his initial wash, Terry stippled in his areas of colour. As he progressed, he explained how his choice of colours enabled him to make the distant features recede and make the foreground features more prominent. When developing the shapes of the trees, their shapes and colours were mirrored into the water’s surface to accurately depict the reflections. The subject was backlit by a bright sky so the details of the trees were sharply outlined against the sky. The shadows and highlights were finalised and the water surface enlivened with some ripples to complete another very successful painting.
This was a most informative presentation, delivered with much humour and was greatly appreciated by the audience.
David Price
