What would you say is your artistic ethos?
To make sure that it is yourself that you are trying to impress, to keep trying to improve with each piece, and to stretch yourself beyond what you thought you were capable like of doing.
What has been the most challenging piece you have worked on to date?
A portrait I did of my father, exhibited at the BP portrait award in 2013, was challenging for several reasons. Firstly, because technically it was incredibly intricate to capture all the aspects of the tiny wave of the check jacket he was wearing. I could see that pattern in my sleep for days if not weeks! Also, because it isn’t until you paint each millimeter of your parent’s face that you realize how many memories are entwined into each one.
You begin with a charcoal sketch then develop a monochrome Grisaille underpainting until you’re ready to build color. When and why did you begin using this technique?
I’ve always loved Ingres and when I saw his Grisaille for La Grande Odalisque around 2005. I was fascinated by the idea of trying that process and I found it gave me a way to create the eggshell smooth texture that I love to see in the paint surface along with a much more delicate muted pallet and way to build up intricate detail. It creates a foundation under the paint layers that’s impossible to recreate in any other way. More recently, I have wanted to bring more colour and drama and work on a larger scale so I have been working the underpainting layers less as my palette changes.
How many paintings do you work on at a time when you are not preparing for an exhibition?
It’s actually been several years since I’ve had a period of time when I wasn’t preparing for an exhibition, but I’ve always liked to work on at least 4 or 5 pieces at a time. It stops me from focusing too much on any one piece and distorting any problems out of proportion. It also keeps me productive, and I like the way it allows me to apply the lessons I’m learning into one piece quickly over to another.
Why oil on aluminum panel?
In 2004, I was commissioned to paint a portrait for a family living in Burma where the humidity was 85 percent. I needed to find a painting support that could resist being damaged by those levels of humidity, so I spoke with the conservation department at the Tate, who regularly use aluminum composite panel to mount their photographic collection because it so stable and archival. I initially mounted linen on the panels but soon found I really enjoyed working on it without the linen.
Because readers love the specifics… what is your go-to brand of oil paint? Glaze? Varnish?
I use a combination of oil paint brands including Old Holland, M Graham, Gamblin, and Michael Harding. They each produce specific colours that I prefer. Over the years, I have amassed a huge collection of different brands but those are my favorites. I really like the range of glaze and mediums that Gamblin produces, as an inveterate experimenter I love that you can mix each of them together to adapt them to your own preference much of which avoids solvents that react very badly to turpentine.
Do you have any studio rituals?
Starting with coffee, I listen to radio six pretty much all day but I have an almost Pavlovian response to listening to the previous night’s episode of the Archers as I lay out my palette and get ready to start work.