Painting techniques

MIXED MEDIA

Invariably, from 1980 onwards, paintings by Peter Andrew Jones were rendered in oil and acrylic using a technique extrapolated from that used by Jan Van Eyck and sometimes referred to as "the mixed technique". This was traditionally an interleaving of Tempera and Oil layers, perhaps using a resin based oil paint that would suck-in the oil to the Tempera layer and allow overpainting again with Oil allowing quick completion of pictures, especially useful to an illustrator who never missed a commercial deadline in 25 years and for which he was much relied upon by his clients and in certain markets, such as TV where deadlines can be extremely tight, this skill of meeting deadlines with a very flexible technique did much to keep his studio always busy.

In Peter's case the tempera was replaced by Acrylic, and in the very early weeks of his career, Plaka, a casein tempera, in order to make for a very robust painting, and one which would withstand the rigors of being transported to a publisher, then a photographer and even to the printer if need be, and back again. To this very day we have pictures from this era that have not altered in appearance at all, saying much for the physical longevity of his works.

He found ways to also paint in acrylic OVER the oil paint, a technique which is quite possible even if some Internet web page texts will say it cannot be done successfully.

In 1999 when he became self-published and ceased to create work for "other publishers" his technique began to broaden as a result of a deliberate policy ("I felt I'd "done my bit" for my clients so to speak and now it was my turn!") as he has been able to set his own deadlines and publishing schedules which allow for greater time periods in creating pictures if required. A typical painting of generous size may take, for example, up to a year to complete.

Currently his working methods for painting fall into the following categories >

Oil paintings - with a dash of acrylic here and there)

Watercolours - these are actually greatly thinned-down acrylic and kept in special reusable plastic tubes in a steel pencil box both of which he found in a "one pound shop" in Ealing Broadway in London and are probably originally intended for children or teenagers, not professional artists!

Tempera - yes, but as you'd expect if you've read this far, this is "a bit different" from the norm and still experimental at this time. Probably, it's nearest recognisable term would be "oil tempera" or "Tempera Grassa" though time will be the judge of this . . .

Airbrush - hardly ever, but now and then, when a picture calls for it, a bit of airbrush work creeps in to what is otherwise very much a classical technique.

Electronic (digital) imaging - there may possibly be more discussions in Internet art and photography forums about "photoshop" than anything else when it comes to the "but is it art?" issue. In Peter's case, after quite a concerted effort in mastering digital techniques he took a different view in that he is, and at the same is not, a "digital artist" - simply put, he is only interested in what the image is he is making and the point it is communicating. So, as with the airbrush, if electronic imaging is needed, in part or in whole, to get the point over, then he uses it, but probably it is most accurate to say that it is in the fusion of the two techniques that he excels. In the same way that he "interleaved" Tempera/Acrylic and oil, so he now can oscillate layers of "paint" in the same painting, from digital, to oil, and back again if need be.

"MAGIC MEDIUM"
Ah well, now you wouldn't expect we'd tell you all his secrets would you? Magic medium is a studio-made medium that defies accurate description but for what it's worth this is perhaps the best that can be said: Does it have the same properties as Maroger's medium (or the so-called "Jelly of Rubens)? Yes, but is it transparent like that? No. Is it self-;leveling like Stand Oil? Yes, but it doesn't "spider" around the edge or run if used too thickly. Is it thin and watery like the basic drying oils, Linseed, safflower and so-on? Yes, but it is slightly more viscous like walnut Oil than that. Does it dry of its own accord or does it have a metal drier in it? Well. It "sets up" like Maroger's so it can be immediately painted over but dries in a shot time "from the inside out" as well. In short - it is designed, by the Artist to behave exactly as he needs it. It's lean, but it's "chewy" it's leveling but it's workable and it is his own concoction.

"MAGIC PAINT"
Good old fashioned, thrashed-out in the studio oil paint. Handmade, tubed and made to demand. What makes this different though is that the Artist employs a "secondary and tertiary" colour wheel that retains the last parts of a tube and mixes it with another, thereby creating an endless array of coloured greys that, eventually, become indistinguishable. It creates a "harmonious colour system" that is the bedrock of his colour use.

"THE MAGIC BAG" - "WORKING METHODS "
Until we develop a "studio activity" part of this site a simplified description will have to suffice - he has a studio. It is located at the foot of the Long Mynd Hill in South Shropshire in the UK. It has been very carefully organised to facilitate the production needs of his publishing company, deeply involved in all its activities, paper making, book making, greeting card production, frame making and last but not least the paintings themselves of course. But that is just one part of what goes on in the creative day of this Artist.

Much is talked on the Web of "en plein aire" and this is, in part, what happens. Then again, it is often more like an Art School project, that of "outside drawing". It works like this: He has a rucksack. It is a wonderful Barbour design but specially modified to allow him to paint "on the hoof" as he puts it. Or "in public" as others might. Largely this consists of placing himself in the most obvious places, a cafe, a bar, very obvious places, but in a way that is not high profile. It's the bag you see. It has a specially rigged box set inside that contains a highly rationalised studio. All that he needs. One box has everything from oil paint to watercolour in it and his drawing implements, even his metalpoint tools. Palette too. The whole thing, stripped right down rationalised so that it fits a plastic box. A second box has a "live" painting in it. The rucksack has evolved in shape to house these boxes as time has gone on and so this quite big, but thin, 2nd box houses a full piece of wood panel for his "medium sized works" as he puts it. A third box is a document box that is an "on he hoof office" accompanied by an iphone and a laptop. Using this approach enables him to "do a Martini" as he puts it - "any time, any place, anywhere" he likes and "nothing is off limits" to his creativity, which is how he wants it.

Sometime we might put some photos up here of "the magic box".

He also has a "magic jacket" but that's another story . . . . .

For the web spiders DEFINITIONS (including industry) sometimes used could well be >
 
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