Express Essence – Original Painting

The Daily Express building featured on my daily commute to school.

Usually the bus would be delayed at the traffic lights alongside. Throught the clear glass at the front of the building the Printing floor could be clearly seen. Its presses were giant machines with enormous rollers spinning in a blur. Long sheets of paper threaded their way through a complex arrangement and the onto various cutting and folding machines to produce the next newspaper.

Sitting at the front of the top deck I could see clearly into the windows. See behind the glass, watching the mass of printing presses ran paper at full speed. You saw glimpses of the next edition. Hot on the press. It was enthralling to watch, magical even. 

Recording the Past

I often wish I’d had a camera and taken some photographs. In the days pre-mobile phones the thought of carrying a camera around was the realm of professional photographers. Parents didn’t allow their children to carry expensive items to school on a daily basis. The most technical and expensive item I ever got was a watch. Mechanical wind up watch. Plus, taking photographs was a slow and expensive process. In our household photographs were taken rarely.

If you did take a photo it would be weeks before the film was finished and developed. Then there was the high probability that the result would turn out “Naff” to use the technical term.

The immediacy of digital images is a blessing.

Oh how I love them! We can instantly evaluate the image and modify our approach on the next attempt until we have a satisfactory result. There is no doubt there is skill in using film. I use photographs as a starting point

Ever wondered what Mixed Media is?

Simply put, watercolour is one medium, oil is a different one, ink yet another and so on. Mixed media is when you use two or more together. If you use acrylic paint and oil paint it is mixed media. You can add as many media as you like, even things like metal, threads, wood and other materials. I tend to stop at two or three but there’s no need to.

The mediums used are pencil, watercolour and acrylic ink. After battling with those curves for longer than I care to remember, I was keen to clear off the masking fluid. Afterwards I made the following notes for myself –

1. Paintings always take longer to dry than you expect – let them dry!
2. Always wait until the painting is dry before attempting to remove the masking fluid.

Words for any Mixed media Artist to live by.

Creation: Masking fluid is painted onto watercolour paper to create an image. This is covered with a watercolour wash and covered with clingfilm. The picture is further developed using acrylic inks once the film is removed. The masking is removed after several layers are added and allowed to dry. Revealing the final picture.