the studio
Process, in the order it happens.
What actually goes on between a stretched canvas and a crated painting.
- Sketch or source note. Photograph not yet supplied.
- Ground and preparation. Photograph not yet supplied.
- Working layers. Photograph not yet supplied.
- Surface detail. Photograph not yet supplied.
- Finished painting. Photograph not yet supplied.
- Packing. Photograph not yet supplied.
Replace this with the studio's own account and photography. The headings below map to the stages worth showing.
Ground
Linen is stretched, sized and given four thin grounds, each sanded back. This stage decides how the finished surface holds light, so it takes longer than it looks like it should.
Underpainting
The composition is established in a single earth tone. Almost none of this survives into the finished work, but everything that follows depends on it.
Oil and cold wax
The working layers. Oil is cut with cold wax medium to hold a mark without gloss, then scraped, reworked and left. A painting is usually touched on thirty or forty separate days.
Varnish and rest
Once the surface is stable it is varnished with a removable conservation varnish and left to sit in the studio for several weeks, in changing light, to be certain it is done.
Documentation
Each finished work is photographed against a neutral dark ground under controlled light, then scanned at high resolution. That scan is the master for every print and digital edition — the prints are made from the painting, not from a photograph of a photograph.
Crating
Originals are crated to order: a braced timber box, foam-lined, with the work face-mounted and a condition report photographed before the lid goes on.
The prints are made from the painting, not from a photograph of a photograph.