NEWTON St Cyres Art Club were pleased to welcome Phil Creek for a demonstration on the theme of Landscape in Acrylic on October 30.

We were happy to welcome Phil again and watch him demonstrate his painting technique. He has been painting since he was 16, and is planning a retrospective exhibition for next year.

He used a photo for reference (a view of autumn trees, fields, hedges, a gateway and a winding road) and a lot of artistic licence in his interpretation.

Beginning with an Ampersand gesso board painted with a very dark mix of acrylic paint as a base, he first painted the negative spaces ie. the sky, leaving the dark background as tree trunks and branches.

From here he worked slowly towards the foreground, building a sense of distance. As the painting progressed he worked on both light and dark areas, and all parts of the composition.

It is clear that he thinks very carefully about any mark he makes, and applies paint with purpose, not moving it around, and not applying more wet paint in that place until it has dried. Thus layers of thin paint can be applied, which affect each other.

He used one large (1.5 inch) flat brush for almost all the painting, holding it at different angles and with varying pressure, to produce a wide range of marks.

The result was a semi-impressionist, lively view, full of light and interest. It was a real pleasure to watch him work.

Jenny Hallam