Digital, Paint, Cut-out!

A couple of small Winchester studies to share with you. Another little cinema cutout and a shopfront study. It is something I like to do between larger canvases and commercial projects (if there’s time of course!). The smaller scale allows me to refresh things and focus on slightly different subjects. I started these two local architectural pieces over on the iPad, sketching out in Adobe Fresco. The digital side lets me play and adjust quickly without pressure on the outcome. That initial drawing can then be printed out into stiff acrylic paper and becomes the foundation for the painting. More familiar territory. But once paint and ink has been applied the image is cut-out using a scalpel and positioned within a theatrical box setup; which hopefully breaks away from the traditional.

Everyman Winchester Diorama

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First up is my illustration of the attractive redbrick building on Southgate Street that once served as a barracks chapel (You can still see the stone cross at the apex). If you’ve not had the pleasure it’s a very comfortable two-screen cinema. The schedule is a mix of popular releases and arthouse flicks, sprinkled with special events such as live shows from the National Theatre or opera from The Met in New York. It was previously known as ‘The Screen’ and now rebranded for Everyman Cinemas. They used to hold exhibitions here and I had a little showcase of my own in my first years living in Winchester. It’s a lovely building but tricky to find an angle on; as the front aspect of the architecture and its portico doesn’t face the road.

Warren & Son Cut-out

Next is the historic shop facade at 85 High Street in Winchester. Warren and Son has been established at the address since 1859. It features distinctive blue candy stripe awnings. I also love the beautiful sculpted pen and quill sign. This one was much more of a drawing than a painting as the colour of the brickwork is very subtle.

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Both of these studies are original acrylic and ink paintings on paper, presented in a 25 x 25cm box frame. I’ve cut-out the artwork, raised it from the background and set them both within a box frame for dramatic effect.

I mentioned these studies are helpful between projects… so currently going on in the studio is a larger commission of Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil. There’s also more commercial illustrations for Yarty that I’ll be able to share with you soon. You can follow updates with facebook, twitter, instagram or here on the studio blog.