On Tuesday 15 April at Centre 70 artist Rodney Kingston gave a live demo of painting a still life in oils.
We were treated to a lovely sequence of stages. Rodney started with the basics of decisions about composition & lighting. He took us through the gradual process of drawing with dilute dark umber on size 2 oxhair flat brush. Then he gradually blocked in, telling us of his analysis of shadow tones & how different light sources affect colour. His palette was vertical (what a good idea!) with small range of oil colour – dark ultramarine, burnt umber, raw sienna, cadmium yellow, cadmium red & titanium white. He reminded us to obtain black & dark tones with blue+brown. His brush technique was delicate & precise. He gradually blocked in, talking through his decisions about shadow & colour tones. He talked of making marks, building up to final thick paint marks, squinting eyes to assess tones. Finally he applied highlights – he considers these to be the smallest of marks, and best applied last, crucial to the definition of a 3-dimensional surface.
While he worked he told us of his approach to painting outdoors, coping with how light changes through the day, of painting portraits and his journey to becoming a professional artist. He brought along a selection of his finished work.
Rodney paints the vast majority of his work with the subject in front of him. Inspiration comes from everyday life – people, places, still life objects – and the challenge of translating three-dimensional subjects into a convincing two-dimensional oil painting. Rodney primarily works, demonstrates and teaches in oil but also completes portraiture work in liquid charcoal. Rodney studied art and design at Wimbledon School of Art, followed by a Graphic Design degree at Camberwell College of Arts. He is a full time professional artist, working just outside of London. He has been a contestant on both ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’ and ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’, televised by Sky Arts. Rodney has exhibited at the Mall Galleries with the Royal Society of Oil Painters and contributed articles to Leisure Painter magazine. He has won numerous other awards and led regular workshops and demonstrations since 2016. His website is at https://www.rodneykingston.com/
