Manchester Town Hall Mini – Original Painting
About the Image.
Small Painting Struggles
Creating paintings this small presents a unique set of challenges. Masking fluid is a viscous material, and whilst it can be thinned, there are limits to how much you should do so. Too thin and it will be rendered useless. That means that the degree of detail I usually like to achieve is not possible in a painting of this scale. Too many lines would obliterate the page. Lines, too closely placed would block, the absorption of ink by the paper. In short, there will be nothing to see. With much less scope for complex architectural detail, the resulting painting is a more naive image.
There’s an impression of the town hall, its Gothic majesty and historic importance tantalsingly vague. Details can be filled in with the imagination. I know it’s four twenty pm but the right hand clock face could easily be read as ten to four pm.
The ice blue sky, contrasts with the golden orange, burnt sienna and umber of the stone clock tower. Suggestions of lavish carvings are created with the merest apology of a line. The building itself maybe a strong statement, but the painting apologises for its presence. It’s here, but it will stay quietly in its place, and yet this is no shrinking violet. You can’t ignore the warm colours, a metaphor for the warmth of the greeting Manchester folk will give you. The sense of pride in a much loved local landmark.
For there’s great pride in Manchester, in the old traditional sense, but also in the more recent adoption of the word to celebrate individuality in all its forms. Civic pride in the development of a city with big ambitions.
Creation: Masking fluid is painted onto watercolour paper to create an image. This is covered with a watercolour wash and covered with clingfilm. The film is removed and the picture is developed further using acrylic inks. Several layers are added, allowed to dry and eventually the masking is removed. Revealing the final picture.
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