Experimental Coasts in Mixed Media E-Book

Mike Bernard

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 116

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Acclaimed mixed-media artist Mike Bernard has been at the forefront of collage painting for decades and his work has a sought-after vitality. He brings his latest guidance, ideas and techniques on a subject about which he is passionate: coastal painting. From his home near the Devon coast, he and co author (art writer) Susie Hodge, cover all aspects of mixed media painting. From considering composition and looking for contrasts to reducing elements for greater impact (and even moving towards abstraction). From working with limited palettes to including imaginary colours to a painting. From collaging with torn magazines, tin foil, plastic, newsprint to combining inks, oil pastels, PVA, acrylic and watercolours. From playing with proportion to create mood to using thick and thin oils for effect. And, of course, how to capture the mood and atmosphere of coastal life, from quiet stretches to busy harbours around the world.  The authors include several step-by-step projects to demonstrate techniques plus a series of experimental exercises helps the reader try something new. A masterclass from a popular artist with stunning artwork of coasts from around the globe. 

Leseprobe

EXPERIMENTAL COASTS IN MIXED MEDIA

Manarola, Cinque Terre

Mixed media, 46 x 61cm (18 x 24in)

Bright colours create a sense of warmth and result in a lively painting.

EXPERIMENTAL COASTS IN MIXED MEDIA

Mike Bernard and Susie Hodge

Contents

Foreword

Developing a style

1Before You Paint

Motivation

Inspiration

Location

Focal point and other considerations

Colour and contrast

Identification of shapes and pattern

Simplification

Investigation

Experimental exercises

2Palette: Materials and Combining Media

Honing things down

Materials and tools

Paints and palettes

Collage

Releasing the inner child

Trialling and investigation

Experimental exercise

Modification

Pattern

Project – Riomaggiore

3Creative Techniques

Sketching and photography

Experimental exercise

Intuition and confidence

Repetition

Starting with collage

Achieving spontaneity

Using collage effectively

Interaction of collage materials

Being adventurous

A free technique

Project – Devon Beach

4Atmosphere and Mood

Colour and light

Experimental exercises

Evoking mood

Contrast and viewpoint

Design

Thick and thin paint

Applying paint inventively

Texture and underpainting

Project – Polperro

5Going Further – Towards Abstraction

Progression

Some practical advice

Imagination

When things go wrong

Experimentation

Index

Foreword

Mike Bernard is renowned for his rich and varied interpretations of lively coastal scenes in mixed media that blend figurative representations with some abstraction, using a combination of collage, acrylics, inks and pastel. Mike has experimented with media, colour, techniques and imagery for several years and his unique, dynamic and colourful style has evolved out of his constant experimentation, inherent talent and experience.

A member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour since 1997, Mike is especially stimulated by light, space and particularly by the country and coast around his home in Devon as well as by Cornwall, Italy and the south of France. Inspired by his surroundings, his painting process is a continuous push-pull between subject matter and pattern, reality and abstraction, always keeping things free and flexible.

‘I enjoy the way textures, shapes, colour and “happy accidents” steer the direction of my paintings,’ he says. ‘What attracts me most is the pattern of buildings, boats and similar features in a scene. I build a painting by putting in blocks of colour to develop a pattern which is pleasing to my eye, in colours which are harmonious, bringing in feelings of spontaneity, freshness and freedom.’

Born in Dover, Kent, Mike trained fairly locally at Medway College of Art and the West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, followed by postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy Schools in London. Since then, he has exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the Mall Galleries, Royal Festival Hall and many other galleries in the UK and abroad. He has also received awards and prizes for his paintings, including the Stowells Trophy, the Elizabeth Greenshields Fellowship, Silver Longboat Award, the Laing Award and the Kingsmead Gallery Award. He now lives and works in North Devon, having moved there in 2008 from his previous home in Hampshire. From here, Mike will take over the story.

Susie Hodge, 2020

Mike Bernard in his studio.

Italian Fishing Village

Mixed media, 71 x 71cm (28 x 28in)

Compositions that lead the viewer to look through something are always appealing.

The first step is often a simplified sketch made on the spot in front of the scene before returning to the studio.

Cornish Fishing Village

Mixed media, 91 x 122cm (36 x 48in)

Selection and simplification result in abstracted images of real places.

Developing a style

Growing up, I had two advantages that helped me to become an artist. Firstly, I had an older brother who was already at art college when I was at primary school. He inspired me to follow in his footsteps, and knowing from his experience about the path though art school made things easier for me. Also, believing that I could have a career in art made it an exciting prospect. My other advantage was that art was the only school subject I was good at! At secondary school, I had two art teachers who encouraged me and helped me get my O and A levels so that I could get into art college. I went to Medway College of Art and a major turning point came as I neared my final year; the staff encouraged me to do fine art rather than graphics as my brother had done. I had thought I would follow him and perhaps could get a job in illustration; I couldn’t think how I would earn a living as a fine artist. But I took their advice and have never looked back.

Kentish Harbour

Mixed media, 51 x 102cm (20 x 40in)

Bright colours that don’t necessarily follow nature help to make this painting vibrant and arresting.

Throughout my seven years at art school from 1974, I was considered quite a conventional painter, attempting to paint landscapes much as I saw them. I found it difficult to invent or create my own vision – it was ‘safer’ to paint regular, straightforward views. But, on reflection, I do think that landscape, seascape and townscape paintings should be more thought-provoking; and should create a sense of each place while also generating interest, excitement and impact. Every artist should have his or her own personal form of expression or style. However, I’ve learned through my own development and through teaching art that one of the trickiest factors when learning to draw and paint is to find one’s own original approach. It was only when I left college and began to teach amateur painters that my own work began to radically change and develop. Because most of my students lacked confidence and were fearful of the white paper in front of them, I encouraged them to experiment with techniques and media. Then, as I watched them, I became excited by the results they were achieving, and I too began to experiment with my own work. It released a ‘new me’. I became looser and my work became more abstract and textural. I was able to capture the essence of a scene without getting bogged down by details.

Low Tide, Mousehole

Mixed media, 51 x 51cm (20 x 20in)

Sometimes I introduce an abstract quality to my paintings by reducing elements and flattening the appearance of a place by simplifying tonal contrasts.

Most artists become proficient by learning the basics. Accuracy, perspective, tone, shape and colour are among the main fundamental skills, and as competence in these areas develops, so does a measure of confidence, but often it is difficult to break away from conventional painting styles and approaches; attaining individuality can be challenging. From the moment we pick up a pencil or paintbrush, we all naturally have our own personal approach, and rather than suppress this, it should be expanded upon through investigation and a certain amount of risk-taking. Risks are always worthwhile. Even if you are not completely happy with some of the art you produce as you work through ideas, you will discover something fresh, such as exciting new processes and pathways, or colours you particularly enjoy, textures that work well or ways of reducing details to convey the essence of a scene. So allow yourself to explore and experiment; plunge right in; make a mess and mistakes, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

However, I’m not advocating that you move into complete abstraction. I always encourage everyone to work with the aim of creating a recognisable likeness of their subject. From that, you can build on creating a more personal expression, which can be generated through the use of a range of materials and techniques. I believe that the best paintings are the least complex; those that allow viewers to use their imaginations when looking at them. With this in mind, I generally avoid including too many details and I also restrict my palette of colours. Although I use a range of media, even this is fairly limited for each painting. I find that by confining my colours, materials and details in this way, I can experiment with greater freedom of expression.

From the moment you start a painting, you can influence its final outcome. My advice is not to prepare too much and not to have too fixed an idea of what you want for your end result. As I saw with my students, I understand how daunting the white of the paper may seem before you begin, and overcoming this anxiety is one of the first things I will show you in the following pages. But before you even start putting marks on your paper or other work surface, the beginning of any painting is inspiration. What I mean here is that you need to see a place and want to express what you see. To be enthused and motivated by something in front of you. This might be a location, or it might just as easily be the light or the weather, the colours or the shapes. And although you might be selecting a particular place to depict, don’t allow its exact appearance to overshadow your procedure; don’t worry whether or not you are going to get a true likeness. I hope that my fairly spontaneous, free approach will also inspire you to work quite unreservedly and to experiment, and from this, that you build your own style, gain confidence, increase your creative enjoyment and convey your personality.

My highly textured semi-abstract paintings are built up with collage and acrylics, sometimes also in places with watercolour, oils, ink and oil pastels. Whatever the view, whether it’s Venice or Polperro, my work is full of colour, character and vitality, and I always aim to capture the atmosphere of each location. The ways I do this are explained in this book.

Passage Street, Fowey

Mixed media, 40 x 61cm (15½ x 24in)

Looking through the buildings to the water, the predominant colours of cream and pale blue are livened up with pink and orange and anchored with black and grey.

Before You Paint

Faced with a sheet of white paper, plain canvas, card or another surface, it’s natural for most of us to be at least a little daunted. Beginning a painting is one of the hardest parts of the whole process of creating art, and when you’re about to start, paintbrush in hand, it’s easy to stall, to believe that you have nothing new to express, no original ideas. But believe me, there is always something original inside each of us, and always ways that we can motivate ourselves and reinterpret what we see. In this book, I show you many of the ways in which I work, and that will hopefully give you ideas and the momentum to create a fresh approach to painting for yourself.

Over my career, I have explored a multitude of ideas, methods and materials. At times, I also felt that I was grasping for ideas that never came. But by exploring and experimenting, I eventually found an approach that I’m happy with, that I can work with instinctively and continually, knowing that I will never repeat myself. I’ll always be able to create original paintings and, yes, they may all have a familiar style, but each one will be different. Because I’m always exploring and experimenting, I never tire of the way I work or the paintings I produce. I hope that after you have read this book, you will feel the same about your own art.

Harbour Lights, Salcome

Mixed media, 61 x 76cm (24 x 30in)

Drama is created with deep Prussian blue contrasted with white and bright colours. Small details and reflections are added with fine ink lines.

Morning Light, Axmouth Harbour

Mixed media, 40 x 56cm (16 x 22in)

Colours and textures need to work within a painting, but also independently to create areas of interest across the composition.

Motivation

So how do you motivate yourself? I motivate myself every day by painting what I love. I set myself challenges – I don’t allow the white paper (or card) to overpower me! I also discipline myself, persevere – never give up – and, above all, I believe in myself. It’s not always easy and some days are more difficult than others, often for no apparent reason, but every time I complete a painting, or one is going well, I feel a great sense of fulfilment and pleasure. Within these pages, I hope that I can convince you to also challenge the norm as I do, to find ways of expressing yourself without labouring over it, and to believe in yourself. Hopefully, this book will give you the tools, knowledge and confidence to experiment and explore subjects and techniques that appeal to you in order to create some fantastic art of your own. All you need is a determination to work through any doubts you may have, to appraise and evaluate experiments that you may feel haven’t worked, and to push on with those that have, exploring and experimenting as you go.

Painting and drawing always take time and perseverance to get right, and self-discipline is needed for this. Often things become easier as you keep working; one rather pleasing painting will motivate you to try another and, even if this doesn’t work, you will keep on trying out ideas until they work for you more regularly. We all have off-days or produce paintings that haven’t worked out as we intended, but if things aren’t working well, don’t despair; you will have better days. Similarly, if a painting isn’t going too well, put it aside, start another or leave things completely for a day or more and come back to it at a later date. You will be amazed at how much more objective you can be when you look at your work with fresh eyes. More on this later (see here).