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South Wirral Art Society - Demonstration 9/11/10. - David T Wilson - Stick and Wash.

 

David is local to the Wirral and has made a name for himself as a marine artist working in acrylics, but tonight we were treated to a demonstration in Stick n’ Wash ! Inspired by the art of the artist Edward Wesson who used old ice lolly sticks, David has been tempted into his garden, found a twig, sharpened it and used acrylic ink to make art.

Why a stick?

Well here are a few reasons why a stick might be the ideal drawing tool;

·         Cheap and plentiful!

·         Makes you draw with less control, and sometimes ‘happy accidents’ add to pictures.

·         You can make unusual, distinctive marks and loosen up your style.

·         Can hold a significant amount of ink.

·         Can be used point on or side on to give different effects.

·         Forces you to be quick to capture the moment.

·         Stops you being too hung up on details.

David started by sharpening his twig to refine the tip and to remove the old ink. Then he started drawing. The paper was a heavy (120/140lb) water colour paper. He used an acrylic waterproof ink – Antelope Brown. As he was starting with a seaside scene with buildings he started with a vertical and horizontal line to fix his position and starting point. He worked quickly sketching the building outlines and putting in all the shaded/dark areas. Brown is not as harsh as black and gave a subtle line. Once the drawing was finished he then ‘coloured in’ the picture with a watercolour wash. This is where the waterproof ink comes into its own. He used a limited palette of ultramarine, cobalt blue, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow and red, permanent red, light red and vermillion. In 45 minutes we had a finished painting – blink and you missed it! He was not joking about speed.

 

 

Portrait of a pig!

This was the subject of the next picture. He used the same approach but this time with no vertical or horizontal lines the nose became the focal point. If you didn’t like pigs at the start of this you would be guaranteed to love them by the end. He produced a picture of a delightful creature with real character. I still like bacon butties though! Sorry.

Thanks David a great evening, with an equally great demonstrator. David is both interesting and talented and we look forward to his return in January.

Peter Appleton - Secretary.

NB I have not included all the photographs I took on the night but if you want copies just let me know and I can send copies on to you.