still-life practical

discover art digital 15FREE subscribe today to receive year-round inspiration for all practising artistsCLICK HERE http://discover-art.co.uk/subscribe/

The stillness of still-lifeIlove my studio. It is only a short bike ride

from home, but when I am there I am in adifferent world. It is part of an old punt-

building workshop, a pretty big space with ahigh ceiling and a large window overlooking apark. There is a mezzanine floor, which is veryuseful for storage and leaves the main studiofloor free for working.

Being an old building, it is not insulated and hasno heating, apart from the sunlight through thewindow, so the first thing I do each day when I getup in the winter is put on several layers of clothing.Thick socks and boots are essential, as is a smallscarf and hat. I now have a portable oil-filledradiator so that gets switched on as soon as I arrivein the morning.

I make my own canvases from linen that I buy inlarge quantities on a roll. After the linen is nailedonto the stretcher pieces, it has to be primed. Thefirst two coats are melted size, made from rabbit-skin glue. In the winter this takes longer to dry andsets in the pan more quickly so I have to boil thekettle a lot to soften it. Then I add titanium whitepigment mixed with an egg and oil and dilute withmore size for the next three or four coats. With allthe canvases laid out on the floor, I keep warmmoving around the studio. !

Sarah Spackman describes how thewinter encroaches on her still-lifepainting routine

Sarah Spackman, Conference,oil on linen, 30x35cm

practical still-life

16 discover art digitalFREE subscribe today to receive year-round inspiration for all practising artistsCLICK HERE http://discover-art.co.uk/subscribe/

! If a painting is worked on fora long time I like to let thepaint dry before addinganother layer on top so thatthe colours don’t muddy andmix on the canvas.

Focus on: Three Oranges“My paintings are about looking at objects and transforming them through observation”

Sarah Spackman, oil on linen, 30x35cm

My palette: titanium white,Naples yellow, lemon yellow,

cadmium yellow, yellow ochre,raw sienna, burnt sienna,

cadmium red, alizarin crimson,viridian, cerulean blue, cobalt

blue, ultramarine and sometimesthe umbers

! I start painting with hog hair brushes. I like long flats, and thepaint gradually builds up in some areas, such as those aroundthe oranges as the drawing is adjusted. I also use a very finesable brush for redrawing. The paint!becomes thicker the moreadjust the colour. I am trying to make an honest assessment ofthe colours and tonal values in the set up before me.

As the colours for the oranges developed, I hadto keep evaluating the blue and also the othercolours around the orange to make sure that therelationships between them all was true. Thismeans repainting areas often – the main thing isto keep looking and if necessary redraw orrepaint to build the right relationships.

The paintingwas done bynatural lightand the blueof thebackground is a goodcomplemen-tary colour tothe orange.

I painted the shadows cast by the cup and oranges in the sameway I painted the rest of the painting; by looking at the specificcolour and trying to be as true to it as possible.

still-life practical

discover art digital 17FREE subscribe today to receive year-round inspiration for all practising artistsCLICK HERE http://discover-art.co.uk/subscribe/

I have several small tables inthe studio where I set up mystill-lifes. At the moment I amworking on small pictures with afew carefully chosen objects. Ihave different set-ups that Iconcentrate on at different timesof the day as the light movesround. In the winter the sun setsearly, so I also set up things to bepainted by electric light. I have acombination of daylight andordinary strip lights as well asseveral Anglepoise lamps fordirectional light. The light isalways constant; the shadowsand colours don’t change, so Ican work for as long as I need to.

I use different mediums, but

mainly oil paint. I paint everyday so I leave the paint out onthe palette, just cleaning off thecentral mixing area. The cooltemperatures in the wintermean that the paint may get alittle firmer, but it stays wetenough to work with and mixingcolours vigorously with a paletteknife is another way to keepwarm. I find that the paintingsthemselves can take longer todry though.

The primer I make creates avery clean white surface and Ialways mix colours with a paletteknife to keep the mixes as cleanand true as possible. I usetitanium white, Naples yellow,

lemon yellow, cadmium yellow,yellow ochre, raw sienna, burntsienna, cadmium red, alizarincrimson, viridian, cerulean blue,cobalt blue, ultramarine andsometimes the umbers, andthese are always laid out on mypalette. Although I mix colourwith a palette knife, I apply thepaint to the canvas with a varietyof brushes, large and small.

I love the quietness of thestudio, and in the winter if itsnows outside, the reflectedlight and stillness in the room isfantastic. Wrapped up in mywarm clothes, for me it is theperfect space for concentrating,thinking and painting. !

BiographySarah Spackman exhibits with Josie Eastwood FineArt, Winchester, the New Ashgate Gallery,Farnham, Llewellyn Alexander, London, theCampden Gallery, Chipping Campden, and theJerram Gallery, Sherborne, Dorset. She teachespart-time at Sunningwell School of Art, Oxon, andwill be appearing at Art in Action, Waterperry,Oxfordshire, from 16-19 July. Details of her Art inAction courses from 3-6 September can be foundat www.artinaction.org.uk/art-courses. See moreof her work at www.sarahspackman.com.

Top left: Sarah Spackman, Delicate Balance, oilon board, 15x17cm

Left: Sarah Spackman, Orange Study, oil onlinen, 35x40cm