Step 1 – The Blank “Canvas”

For this commission I knew that I wanted to incorporate wood as the substrate to add another layer of meaning to the final piece. Given the nature of my painting process, which incorporates scrubbing and sanding the surface, the flexibility of canvas can create problems when it’s stretched far enough that the stabilizer bars behind the cloth come into contact with the canvas. The stabilizer bars can interfere by creating ghost images where paint builds up, or sanding removes too much of the surface compared to the rest of the painting, similar to how a brass rubbing creates an image when you rub the crayon on the paper.

Switching to panel was a novel experience for this piece, and will likely become my substrate of choice.

Step 2 – Plotting, Drilling and Palette Knifing

Due to the collaboration with the Epigenetics scientists, I knew from the beginning that this piece would contain a lot more explicit conceptual content than my regular style. Epigenetics is a new science that is exploring additional information systems that modify the expression of your genes. Essentially, it has reinvigorated the Lamarckian idea that individuals can acquire characteristics within a single lifetime that they can pass on to their offspring, not by modifying the information encoded in the DNA of their genes, but rather the pattern of how those genes are expressed— which ones are turned on, and which ones are turned off.

I wanted to incorporate a hidden message encoded using a binary notation, and wanted to be able to drill directly into the surface. Plotting out the position of the trees in the painting, and marking the message by drilling into the wood meant measuring and plotting the grid before beginning to apply the surface texture with palette knives. In this photo you can see the first texture layer, using a smooth-textured gloss that does not absorb paint very well and can be scrubbed to remove paint while the paint is still wet.

Step 3 – Continuing to layer textures

At this stage the textures were layered, continuing to use palette knives. The same smooth medium was used, and as I worked I redrilled the holes in the surface to make sure I didn’t lose them.

Step 4 – Planning for colour

At this point in the painting I finished up the textures. Two final layers of texture were applied using two different acrylic modelling pastes which have a greater ability to absorb pigments. Because of the difference between these modelling mediums compared with the original texture layers, I was able to plan for the maximum amount of detail in the colouring of the painting later.

As you can see, the textured nature of the surface creates details, even without colour, through the shadows that are cast by directional light. One of the things that people constantly remark about my work is the fact that as the light changes during the day, different details are revealed, giving moods to the landscapes just like in real life, which adds to the sense of realism.

Additional surface detail was achieved in the final layer by using water as a sculpting medium, as well as by using palette knives with grooved edges to hatch parallel lines into the bottom corners.

Step 5 – Carving, Drilling and Washing

Final fine details were added by carving into the surface of the surface using a Speedball Linoleum carving tool– essentially a very small chisel with a v-shaped head that is sharp enough to cut into the wood. The dark line in the middle of the painting represents a strand of DNA chromatin.

The “legend” towards the bottom was created with a combination of drilling and carving and provides a key to understanding how to decode the message. The small set or parallel lines with the smaller drill marks are a primer in how to count using binary math, showing the digits 1 through 10.

The initial colour layers were applied with a brush, and in some areas the initial paint was removed or blended by scrubbing with damp cotton rags. as you can see, the final texture layers absorbed more pigment than the background layers creating strong visual detail via contrast.

Step 6 – Beginning to glaze

At this stage the application of colour moves beyond the underpainting and is achieved by mixing transparent pigments such as iron oxides and pthalocyanine blue. By layering the various rust colours with the blues, green colours are created. For an explanation of why I paint with only transparent pigments and glazes you can check out an IGNITE talk I gave on the subject here.

Additional fine detail was created at this stage by selectively sanding the surface to reveal the white texture below.

Step 7 – Finishing and Varnishing

Several new layers of glaing were added to increase contrast and provide a greater variety of colour. Green pigment was used on the bottom and additional pthalocyanine blue at the top to reinforce the sky and earth dichotomy.

The strong white reflected highlights show that the bottom of the painting was varnished several times to smooth the surface and contrast against the matte upper half of the painting to create the illusion of the surface of the water. When you view the painting at an oblique angle, it creates a visually striking effect.

Surface Detail

This final image shows an up close detail view highlighting the various surface effects, combining all the processes – texturing, carving, drilling, sanding, glazing, scrubbing and varnishing that created the finished work.