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I apply the paint in a sustained effort to approximate the colour and space I see across a landscape. I work from colour crayon drawings done on the spot. My critical faculties tell me if I have hit upon a likeness which satisfies my subconscious memory of the place and occasion. I used to rely entirely on my first rendering of a passage of paint as being the safest bet. But recently I find I can redraft, repaint and modify inadequate passages. I don't seem concerned so much about the 'finish' and concentrate on getting the colour on to the picture by any means - washes, scrubbing, wiping off thick impasto etc. A critical eye based on experience tells me 'This is good enough' or 'This is adequate or wrong and must be changed'. The painting action is always absorbing and nerve wracking. I am glad when it is over. I am often surprised how unsatisfactory the whole is and just as often delighted at the achievement of a successful image that contains all I wanted to pass on about a scene. Nick Schlee |
I am always disappointed that the small reproductions of my large paintings seem to reduce the image to something neat, sharp, controlled, close to the photographic. But I know that this cohesion and clarity is pure chance. The brush strokes and different thicknesses of paint on the original are often casual and perhaps even careless.
Featured Work