Helen Elizabeth Kuumbi |Artist| Cornwall
Walking with the stones
Studio notes
On this page, I share the process behind creating the oil paintings in this project.
I do not always follow a set routine . The different stages can vary; sometimes this is planned and intentional, and other times responsive and experimental.
I find it valuable to document the progress of a painting. Sometimes I get unexpected results that I want to recreate, but also, when it does not work it helps me to see at what stage a painting went awry.
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Watchers of the Grave, Merrivale, Dartmoor
Gatekeepers of the West, Merrivale, Dartmoor
Longstone, Shoveldown, Dartmoor
Oil on canvas, 40x40cm
Before starting this painting, I worked out the composition in my sketchbook. I used this as my reference rather than a photo. This way I am working quickly from a clear, abstracted representation free of all the visual-noise. This makes the marks freer and looser.
I started with thin washes and a big brush to quickly draw in the key shapes. In this series I experimented with different mixes of washes which varied in hue and temperature. These reflected the warm/cool areas of the scene. This first layer still plays the role of the underpainting - i.e. it maps out the different zones of value– as well as temperature. I find that it is more tricky to judge value across different hues so this was something that I played close attention to.
For the next layer, I blocked in the main colour fields (paying attention to the underlying values). I prefer not to thoroughly mix the colours on the palette as I enjoy the variation within each block, I aim for subtle colour changes across a colour field rather than a flat plane. I made this paint layer relatively thin so that areas of the underpainting showed through. This creates textures and hidden shapes – I particularly like this effect in the sky.
Moving on, I start working more details and shapes into the sky. The sky underpins any landscape and informs the rest of the painting. I emphasised shapes, deepened shadows and use a dry brush to gently grow the clouds. I work from the darkest tones forwards and lighter, and work wet-into-wet.
Next, as the stone was the primary element of this painting I blocked in the underlying planes in a much more detailed way than rest of the painting.
I build up the details, variation and textures across the whole painting, but focused on the different areas and working in general from the sky towards the foreground. The underlying blocks informed the range of value and hues found in each area. I increase the sharpness, level of pattern and colour saturation as move from background to foreground to create a sense of depth.
Having worked across the whole painting, I turned my attention to the points of focus and primary interest. For the stone I use thick, oozy paint on a palette knife. As I was working I played with other areas of the painting as well. Following this the painting was left to dry a while and the next time I saw it was with fresh eyes.
I worked with large, flat and well-loaded brushes through most of the earlier processes. However, the changes made during the last stage used finer brushes, dry-brushing and glazing. I looked at the painting as whole to see where areas needed pushing back, or bringing forward. I glazed areas to deepen areas of shadow and colour, and dry brushed to bring forward areas of light. I added highlights and details.
I will keep tweaking this painting as sits in my studio whilst working on others artworks - I may spot that tiny change or see a new shape emerging.
Watchers of the Grave
Oil on canvas
The painting began in the landscape and evolved in my sketchbook. I sketched out the underpainting with a thin wash of burnt sienna and phthalo blue. Next, I blocked in the main colour fields with thin, fairly transparent layers of paint.
Looking back at this series of photographs, I noticed that I give more attention to the sky than any other elements in these early stages of painting. I feel that this part of the picture can be the ‘make or break’ area and is difficult to adjust in the later stages.
I worked the individual areas of the painting – from the background forwards. I remained within the colour fields and value zone assigned but create variation and pattern. After this I looked at the whole again – to see if the relationship between the different fields of colour work and if the values make sense across the whole painting.
I switched from brushes to palette knifes to create thick layers for the stones; creating contrast in terms of colour but also texture and detail. This sets the permanency of the stones apart from the softness of the landscape and sky.
I came back to this painting when the thick layers had dried enough for me to drag dry brushes across the surface – catching particles of orange and white like the sparkle of sun rays on the rocks crystals.
Gatekeepers of the west, Merrivale, Dartmoor
Oil on canvas, 60 x 84cm
The terminal stones of one of the double stone rows at Merrivale look west across the Tamar to the high moorlands in Cornwall where the granite rises again. The setting sun connects the two landscapes where traces of ancient culture remain.
I saw these two stones as figures; resilient, patient and watchful gatekeepers to the ritual complex. This painting was also about the relationship of the sky with the land.
The first wash was a quick copy of a sketch, getting the overall shapes of the stones and hills down. I blocked in the warm and cool colours of the sky because I wanted a ‘sweep’ of the setting sun.
I worked from the sky to the foreground blocking in the key shapes in the landscape. At this stage, I had intended to stick to ochre for the grassy areas, separating shapes by value and saturation rather than hue.
However, I changed my mind. It felt like the vertical stones needed horizontals, so I created bands of colour. I also wanted the landscape to appear be more luminous – lit up by the sun’s rays. The ochre provided a warm, unifying light to the landscape.
The changes are subtler at this stage; I added a thick textured layer to the stones and continued working across the painting, but with a focus on different areas to add detail and texture.
The painting had some time to dry before I returned to it. This made the whites and yellows more effective. I used dry brush and scumbling to gradually lighten some areas, and thick paint and palette brushes on others. I thought about the light across the whole painting and the interaction of the suns beams with the stones and landscape.
The painting had time to dry enough so that I could apply thin layers of glaze without mixing. Colours were deepened, shadows darkened and areas of contrast intensified.
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