Akin to the weather over recent weeks, today’s Arty Afternoon has a decidedly spring-like feel to it, as artist Angela Corben is guiding us through how to paint a heavenly host of daffodils!
To watch and follow along, please click on the ‘Play’ button below
Acrylic paints are Angela’s material of choice, not only because they allow her to create particularly bright colours, but also because they’re wonderfully forgiving. With the paint drying quickly, there’s nothing to stop you rapidly revisiting parts of your painting and perfecting the details however you wish.
Along with sharing her top tips for making your piece as vibrant as possible, Angela also introduces everyone to her favoured techniques and offers recommendations regarding the best materials to use too.
Her step-by-step video calmly illustrates her relaxing creative process, emphasising just how much can be achieved by stroking paint onto the canvas with ever so slight contact. Angela’s gentle brushwork is not only meditative to watch, but also offers everyone an easy way to capture the natural highlights and movement of the plant and its petals in particular.
It’s all about being “fun and free” as Angela says, allowing the uplifting flow of capturing these stunning spring blooms to take you wherever you want to go.
Nature has always been a source of inspiration to Angela and as a child she spent hours exploring the Salisbury countryside, drawing animals, flowers and illustrating her own short stories.
Following the call of the wild, she pursued a Fine Art painting degree at Northbrook College in Worthing and graduated in 1998. Angela then went on to gain a PGCE in Secondary Education, becoming an Art teacher in 2003. Throughout her eight years in the school system, she continued to personally paint and exhibit, which eventually led to her establishing her own art school in Salisbury in 2011.
Angela is still developing her painting and has exhibited annually for the past 18 years. Her art is a direct emotional response to being in a landscape at a given moment and she often paints on the spot using acrylics, or occasionally using watercolours and oils.
The challenge of ‘plein air’ painting and the heightened emotions that come with being able to connect all of her senses to the smells, sounds, sights and general energy of a landscape are the things that most inspire Angela. For her, it’s art at its finest – genuine, honest and exciting.
With glorious clutches of daffodils thriving almost everywhere as we speak, Angela hopes you feel inspired to have a go at preserving them at their spring best; a sentiment we second and are very grateful to her for sharing.
