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From early childhood I have always had a pencil in my hand, drawing anything that caught my attention.
After leaving college I worked for a time breeding and training show horses where I would enjoy sketching and
painting the scenery and horses in their environment.
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Over time this led to many commissions and in 1994 I took the decision to move back to Darlington, my home town,
to become a painter. Working predominately in watercolour, the outstanding natural beauty of the countryside in my home area of Northern England
is a great source of inspiration, particulary the Yorkshire Dales and the Yorkshire coastline.
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However, horses have been a constant part of my life and as such are the focal subject of my painting.
Not far away is Middleham, the main racehorse training centre of Northern England, where I love to sketch and observe the horses in their daily
routine, and regular trips to the many local racecourses always creates new ideas and enthusiam. Since my first solo exhibition in 1998 my paintings have been included in many group exhibitions,
winning prizes for detail and realism, including the Silver Longboat Art Competition and Dover Prize.
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Being a self taught
artist lets you experiment and create through your own mind, not by what you have been told. That makes it a truly original
piece of art. I hope you enjoy looking at my paintings as much as I enjoy creating them.
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There are very few things we can do well without practice, and drawing and painting are no exception. Some people may be more adept than
others but I feel everyone has the ability to produce a creditable painting, it just takes a little time and persistence. Watching artist's
dvd's or reading books can be educational, although I have met many people who try to follow instructions from a book far too strictly rather
than finding their own artist within. What might work for one person can seem impossible to another, or just not give the effect you're after.
Therefore experimenting with the paint and brushes, just to get the feel of what they can do, is the first vital step to accomplishing a
well painted picture.
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With trial and error you will eventually find your own style and way of painting. This is how I came to the conclusion my satisfaction lay in producing realism; depicting a subject as it appears in actuality, without distortion
or stylisation. Having said that, painting realism can be time consuming and does occasionally become mentally draining which is why I also enjoy
a more painterly approach at times. For a bit of contrast and variety I veer towards representational art, where the subject is less contoured
and detailed but still a very recognisable form.
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It is important you begin by painting a subject that really interests you, something that is very familiar is always easier to reproduce.
Take plenty of photographs and make sketches of your subject, then choose a select few to work from. Take time to draw out your picture
including detail, don't start to paint until you are completely happy with the drawing. If something is badly drawn, it won't work as a
realistic painting, no matter how well it's painted.
Learning how much or how little paint to have on the brush is another major factor. I find some people tend to be scared of the paint and
don't put enough on the brush, while others will have it far too wet and saturate the brush so they lose control of the paint. The latter
seems to be quite common when painting detail with watercolour, a little paint can go a long way. This is something that can't be taught as
such though .. it's feeling it for yourself.
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Using brushes that are too big or too small is something else to consider, make sure you have
plenty of range and if you find you're getting into difficulty think about whether changing brush size might help.
And finally .. take your time. There's no rule to say a picture has to be finished the day you start it, or even that week.
(Some of mine take months!)
Happy painting!
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" I've always loved drawings.. when you draw you look much more intensely at something."
~ Henry Moore
© COPYRIGHT 2007 All images Megan Burford
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