Nick Andrew - contemporary landscape painting

N I C K A N D R E W
contemporary landscape painting - process 1

			My home and studio is next to the River Wylye in South Wiltshire. The river and its surrounding landscape is my primary subject. I find it constantly fascinating and compelling. I am drawn to the movement and the patterns in the river flow and in the surrounding vegetation. I’m captivated by the light and colours which change dramatically from one moment to the next, from day to day and season to season. I paint in the studio, working from a range of sources: sketchbooks, photos, previous paintings and my own visual memories of the subject. This allows me much more freedom in putting together an idea for a painting and capturing transitory effects. Sometimes I will work out the arrangement of the composition and its format in my sketchbook. But more often, I work out the idea directly onto the canvas. I find the direct approach more exciting as it is also less predictable. The first few stages are carried out with the canvas on the studio floor. In this way, painting is a much freer and more physical activity!

			I wet the canvas thoroughly using a water spray, then transparent colour is flooded rapidly onto the surface using a large decorators’ brush to establish the principle ‘blocks’ of the painting. I often use oranges, reds and yellows at this stage, which will give underlying warmth to the painting. PREVIOUS STAGE NEXT STAGE