Preferred Mediums and Surfaces

Here is a list of the different mediums and surfaces I work in and on.

Oil – on stretched canvas or canvas board
Oil is a very old and trusted medium. It takes a while for it to dry, but when it’s completed, you can’t beat the results. I mainly work on canvas, but have done oils on hardboard (MDF) too. There are hardly any limits to the size in the surfaces that are available. If I can’t obtain one, I’ll make it myself using the best quality linen, stretcher board timber and Gesso primer.

Acrylic – On stretched canvas, canvas board, quality card or paper
A relatively new medium and so versatile. You can render the painting to look like a watercolour, or apply it thickly like oil paint. The results are equally pleasing to the eye. The beauty of this medium is that it dries so fast that I can create a painting in a quarter the time it takes me to do the same in oils.

Watercolour – High quality Bockingford paper
Another favourite of mine. This is probably the most expressive and flexible medium one can work with. You can apply it opaquely or as a wash, using the colours with sponge and brush alike, it’s possible to capture the most intricate of detail and colour.

Pastel – Bockingford paper or Illustrators card
Sometimes referred to as “Chalk” drawings. It’s possible to rub and blend the colours to achieve the desired results. I particularly like working in this when I’m doing winter scenes.

Pen and Ink Wash – Bockingford paper
Similar effect as watercolours, but using the pen to highlight details and enhance the image details where necessary. I normally work in black indian ink for this, but have done coloured ink line and wash before now. Unfortunately no examples available.

Pencil and Charcoal – Bockingford paper or card
Not quite so popular these days, but I do a lot of pencil sketching, but mainly as the starting point for the other mediums outlined above. Charcoal is easy to work with and one can get a good, effective result when it is used on high quality card or bockingford watercolour paper. Unfortunately no examples available.

Scraper Board – own surface
This medium is fairly rare to obtain outside of the UK. It can be purchased in large or small card sheets. These are covered in a fine chalk type coating, which in turn is covered with a high quality coat of Indian Ink. I use fine nib scraper tools to create an etching or engraving effect. I simply scratch off the black coating and reveal a fine, white under view. In the past I have used this medium to do both landscapes and wildlife; particularly birds. It is also possible to “fill” the revealed white with coloured indian inks.