The Sussex Weald - Acrylic on canvas (120 x 100cm)

 

I love it when the sun comes out. I can paint freely and happily - without having to watch paint dry! This is largely why I work in acrylics, as I like to juxtapose very thin washes with thicker gestural strokes. I build up many layers of wash to obtain a complexity of colour and will continue doing, in stages throughout the paintings journey.

 

I used to work in a very similar way in oils - but it was such a slow process and was often almost high on the turpy fumes! Not so great. Acrylics are so much more sophisticated now and dry to much better finish. I favour Golden and W&N, but I also use good old System 3 to build up the surface. Actually I quite like the fact that you can see the colour in the tub at a glance - saves me rummaging for too long.