Hot on the Beach, watercolour on rice paper, 271⁄2x193⁄4in (70x50cm)
My style of art is traditional tonal realist impressionism. This may sound like a lot of words put together -– and I could add more such as romantic, moody, misty, contrasty – but art is a complex thing and very personal so you will only like what you like. Impressionism, tonalism and romanticism can be described as follows: Impressionism is the art of optical analysis; it depicts what the brain registers through the eye, unenhanced by prior knowledge, emotion or memory. Colour and light are equally important. Tonalism is the reliance on browns, whites and blacks rather than colour, and a graduation of these dark and light tones into three or four tones from lightest to darkest. There is a preference for painting in the light of mornings and evenings and evaluating work through half-closed eyes (squinting) and distance. Tonalists use large palettes, large brushes and minimal brushstrokes. Romanticism means painting with individual imagination, emotion, sensitivity, originality, inspiration, personality and intuition. There is often a story behind the painting. This is especially important to me and fits beautifully alongside tonalism and impressionism.
Correct proportions