Alex and Friend - Acrylic on canvas , 20 x 16 ins


Three photos, the boy, the dog and a separate photo of the boy's eyes, were used to roughly block out the composition in pencil. Squaring up was used to aid the basic drawing.
The main areas of darker tones were painted in thin ultramarine blue.

More ultramarine and some white were used to build up the range of tones. Not too much attention was paid at this stage to precise drawing. The broad tonal values across the painting were the main focus.

Accuracy of drawing was pursued using smaller brushes and a more careful approach, but still using just the same two colours.The aim was to get the tonal values sorted before the problems of colour were thought about.

The first transparent washes of other colours were added, cadmium orange, yellow ochre, crimson, vermilion.

More colours were washed in, as above but with some cerulean blue. The problem of the boy's eyes had to be addressed, since the main photo of the face had downcast eyes, which wasn't wanted by the client. It was decided to keep using this photo for a while and re-photograph the boy as soon as possible

As above, but with more layers of yellow and orange.

New photographs were taken, and the face was redrawn from one of them.Layers of each colour were built up further.

The dark background was not liked by the client and changed to medium blue. More work was done on all aspects of the painting.

The painting was worked to a higher level of finish using each colour and white, often with a small nylon brush. Finally, several layers of satin acrylic varnish were applied to the canvas and it was presented to and accepted by the client.

Tony Jackson studied painting at Bath Academy of Art, (1963-66). He then worked as an Art Teacher in secondary schools for 30 years, and was the Director of Expressive Arts at a school in Hemel Hempstead where he lives.

He took early retirement in 1996 to concentrate on his painting, the development of Adult Education classes in Art and Design, and painting demonstrations and workshops for art societies across the south of England.
His demonstrations and workshops on portraits, landscape, still life and studies of life in India are mostly about the use of acrylics and pastels. His technique can be summed up as “producing a tonal painting in blue and white which is turned into a full colour image with washes of primary colours”.

Most of Tony’s recent work has been naturalistic, featuring scenes of life in India, though recently he has done many abstract works and taken on a number of portrait commissions.He has exhibited in Hertfordshire, London and Calcutta.

Click on this link- See also these web pages at SAA (the Society of All Artists)
On the SAA page click on Tony Jackson

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

Sept 2006 Old Town Arts Centre, Hemel Hempstead,Abstract paintings and reliefs.

Sept, 2005 Woburn Abbey, Art Deco Fair, Abstract paintings and reliefs.

July 3 - 24, 2005 Old Town Arts Centre, Hemel Hempstead, Small paintings on the theme of India

June 22- July 22 2005 Gallery One Eleven, Berkhamsted.Abstract paintings and relief constructions.

May 28 - 30, 2005 Hertfordshire Art and Sculpture Fair, Artshed, Ware -Abstract work

Sept 2004 Exhibition at the artists home (Hertfordshire Open Studios scheme)

Feb 2004 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London - 40 paintings of West Bengal

Sept 2003 Exhibition at the artists home (Hertfordshire Open Studios scheme)

April 2002 Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta, India – 32 paintings of West Bengal