E-shot artical for TAPC (The artists publishing company Ltd)

I was asked to write a short article for the e-magazine I thought I might share it with you.

 

"You Can Have Some of Mine" by Mark Croucher (Sincere apologies go to Mark for using an incorrect surname in the introduction to the e-newsletter)

 

I have, for as long as I can remember, been interested in creative pastimes. It is only recently that I have discovered the joy of oil painting.

Like many people I had come to a point when I questioned what I was doing with my life. In a rut, my daughter suggested that I visit the Holy Biscuit (www.holybiscuit.org) a contemporary art gallery in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Here I discovered a painting for fun group run by Kim Todd, once a week at the venue, and I went along for a look. The impact on my life has been truly life changing.

I purchased my first set of oil paints within a week of joining the group and have not looked back since. Over time I have found myself drawn towards subject matter which are full of character and images with a story to tell.

You Can Have Some of Mine reflects my desire to create a narrative in my work. I tackled the painting in a number of stages.

The first stage involved making preliminary sketches and a small watercolour to check for colour harmony.  Having established this, I selected a 51cm x 41cm canvas board for the painting.

Utilising the fast drying qualities of acrylic paint, I sketched out the outline of the figures and established the tonal values.

I use Winsor & Newton water-mixable oils as these are the paints used in the ‘Painting for fun’ sessions, at the moment the paints serve well enough.

I began by painting the sky as I felt that this enabled me to establish the mood of the painting. I wanted a sky full of energy with just a hint of rain (a typical British summer!)

When I paint I take frequent photographs of the canvas, these provide me with a degree of detachment which allows me to make objective judgements on the progress of the work.

After examining the photo’s I decided to add the fish and chips hut as I felt it developed the narrative.

I learned a great deal in producing this picture, technically I know the skills that I still wish to develop, I have enjoyed injecting humour into my painting and, on completion, I had a dozen or more projects in my head.

If you would like to see more of my paintings you can do so on my website mcroucher23.wix.com/cannypainting

See more of Mark's work in the gallery by clicking here.

You can also view the work of Mark and others from the ‘Painting for Fun’ group at the annual exhibition during the last two weeks of August at the Holy Biscuit.