ROI member Phillip James recalls the time when he was called in by a client to look at a problem they had with a watercolour portrait he has done of their children. The problem : "Our chidren have vanished! " . When Phillip saw the work he observrd that the face of the boy had almost completely disappeared. A supernatural event? Faulty paints? No,quite simply, the family had hung the picture in the conservatory and the sun had bleached out the colour.
Phillip was able to explain the fugitive nature of the medium, tinker with the boy's features and avoided giving a refund! With future watercolours, Phillip says , he will put a warning on the back.
On another occasion he was painting en plein air on the Sussex Downs on a very hot day. An unexpected gust of wind picked up the entire tripod easel and overturned the oil painting he had been working on all day. The picture was virually complete and landed face down in the field. Phillip was convinced the picture was ruined but his wife told him that, on the contrary, the stubble and grit adhering to the paint made it a better picture! Phillip doesn't say if he has adapated this technique for future work.
Phillip's paintings is wonderfully atmospheric and painterly in style. Here are some examples of recent work, from him.
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