This is the sort of landscape subject I love: a lazy summer afternoon with sunlight filtering through the trees. This was painted in Acrylic on a support of tissue paper mounted on to a piece of mountboard with PVA glue. This base is wonderful to paint on being both extremely durable but sympathetic and absorbent to the paint. I make a quick watercolour sketch or drawing, usually with a biro, on the spot. On returning to the studio, I work these and the photographs I have taken into a finished painting.
I believe very strongly that you should always paint what you know or have experienced. This scene is one I pass every day as it is only yards from my front door and I have painted it in all seasons and lights. This was painted in acrylic on canvas but I have painted it in watercolour and mixed media. Subjects like this are deceptively simple in content but require a certain amount of drawing skills such as in the angle of the lane and the open gate and knowledge of colour to convey light and shade and atmospheric effects.
This is an example of a ‘found’ still life, of which I paint many; a table at the end of a meal, an eclectic collection of objects randomly thrown together or an interesting light on everyday scenes can inspire me to paint. This was started in acrylic ink and finished in water-soluble crayon.
A highly atmospheric subject such as this calls for a wet-in-wet approach similar to traditional watercolour, only this time I used acrylic ink which has the advantage of being brighter in colour and absolutely waterproof when dry. The definition of the trees was painted with water-soluble wax crayons which are an invaluable sketching tool as well as useful for more finished work. The paper used was 300gsm, hot-pressed.
Course dates
10 July - 17 July 2010
Liz Seward Relfe was born into an artistic and theatrical family in 1943 and, since then Liz has been painting and drawing all her life. She spent an unconventional childhood living in St. James’s Palace, where her father was a member of the Royal Household. After studying art to ‘A’ level at school, she worked for four years at the Natural History Museum in London where her duties included illustrating the publications and lectures of zoologists researching there. This was followed by several years of part time study at various colleges and with a number of eminent artists including Edward Wesson.
After qualifying as an Adult Education tutor in 1979 Liz followed a successful career teaching weekly classes in drawing, watercolours, and mixed media for Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire County Councils from which she retired in 2003. She now concentrates on a busy schedule demonstrating to Art Societies throughout the country and teaching residential courses at Dedham Hall near Colchester, Earnley Concourse in Sussex, and other centres. She has also contributed to several books including The Artists’ Sketchbook and Watercolour Plus and writes regular articles for The Artist magazine. In addition, Liz is a well known authority on artists’ materials and has demonstrated for most of the major manufacturers.
During a career spanning more than 30 years Liz has taken part in numerous exhibitions, both solo and with other artists, in galleries and other venues throughout the country. As a result her work is held in private and public collections (Surrey Heath Museum, Chertsey Museum) at home and worldwide. In London, she exhibits regularly at Mall Galleries with the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and The Society of Women Artists to which she gained elected membership in 1993. In addition she is a full member of the Society of Floral Painters with whom she exhibits twice a year. An active and committed member of many local Art Societies, she has recently been elected President of the Arun Art Society. She has a widespread reputation for still life, floral, and landscape paintings (many of which have been regularly reproduced as greetings cards and prints by major companies) and has won a number of prestigious awards at local and national level. Her main inspirations are light, colour, and the heathland landscape around her home in Lightwater, Surrey.
You can see Liz’s work on her web site, www.sewardart.co.uk
