Chris Jones: Dutch Bantam in acrylic

The starting point

An excellent demonstration by Chris Jones this morning as he showed us the process he uses for painting poultry. Though when using oil paints he has to allow time for drying between stage he does add a medium to speed the drying process and is often able to continue the next day. Today he used heavy bodied acrylic paints on a heavy water colour paper that had been stretched and covered with a white gesso primer. He usually works on 6mm MDF board that has been primed on both sides so it doesn't pull out of shape or else on the back of acid-free mount board.

Before he came to us he had transferred an image from one of his drawings using carbon paper. He also had a couple of photos for reference.

A reference photo

He began by applying Mars Black to dark areas and gradually built up a tonal under-painting. The black is pervasive enough to still shows through colour applied over the top, especially in the initial colour layers that are more translucent than the heavier paint applied as detail is added.

For feather and fur he usually works with round synthetic watercolour brushes which he buys from Rosemary & Co. Most of the demonstration was done with a number 8 round. He finds that stay-wet palettes tend to dilute the paint so prefers to work with a tear-off dry palette and a wide range of pigments. The use of greys in the mix tends to unify the painting.

For more about Chris visit his website www.chrisjonesart.com

Black used for under-painting

Wildlife artist demonstrates in Ledbury

American Game by Chris Jones

Chris Jones, a professional wildlife artist, will be our demonstrator on Tuesday 5th September.

We meet from 9:45 to 12 noon in the Parish Hall behind Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in New Street. The charge is £3 for LAS members and £5 for non-members.

Chris formally trained as a natural history illustrator, before turning to wildlife painting. He is particularly known for his images of poultry breeds and in this demonstration he will use acrylics to paint a domestic hen or cockerel . He has travelled widely, from African plains to the rain forests of Borneo in search of subjects. Chris has exhibited across Britain, including at the Mall Galleries, London and the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol.