Artist Clare Dean invites you into a vibrant celebration of summer with this textured acrylic meadow scene, inspired by walks in her sister’s garden. Using both brushes and palette knives, Clare shows how to build depth and movement through layers of colour, guiding you step by step to a finished piece bursting with life.
I am primarily a mixed media artist, trying anything and everything. Painting for me is about experimenting and finding something that gives pleasure. I particularly like the impression of texture in work and am inspired by nature and my love of the garden.
I sketched out a plan of the painting with a water-soluble pencil, using cross hatching and adding water to the darkest areas. I decided I wanted some sky so added this into the top right area.
The painting has been done on a canvas board but can be done on a stretched canvas. I like a bit of texture in the canvas as it helps give the illusion of texture in the plants. I usually paint a coloured background for my meadows using Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red of equal parts, with double the quantity of White to get a light orange background, using 2” brush. I will often scratch back into work and this will then reveal the orange below. Allow to dry. Then spray the canvas lightly and rub with a paper towel to remove excess water. Mix up and lay down the darkest areas using Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna for the dark tones, applying with the palette knife, gliding it over the damp surface. If you are happier with brushes it will work equally as well. Allow to dry.
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