Artist of the Month 2022

For May I’ve chosen an artist who works with marker pens and acrylics but mainly works in pastels portraying landscapes around the British Isles combining methods to stunning effect.

Cheryl Culver

The best time of the day is the early morning. Walking my English Setter Baxter I have the world to myself except for one or two other fanatical dog walkers who brave the elements and get out of bed at 5.30am. Living in East Kent the sun rises for me personally and fills my head with all kinds of magical moments of light.

I love quiet unspoilt landscape, away from traffic and people. There is a timeless quality, a magic, which is hard to find in today’s busy world. I grew up in the Severn Valley in a limestone cottage with no neighbours. Horses occasionally poked their heads over the garden wall for a chat and a pat and red squirrels danced through the branches of the Beech woods opposite the cottage. You could hear the silence.

Working Method:
I work from drawings made with a marker pen. I find this makes for a more spontaneous mark making, no rubbing out. It’s either right or its wrong. I usually work on these drawings later to give them more strength.

I use pastel on a conservation mountboard which is a neutral fawn colour and prime the surface with Golden Acrylic Pastel Primer. The primer is colourless when dry and gives a lovely coarse texture which suits my work. The image is drawn using a pastel pencil and underpainted using dilute acrylic paint. The pastel is layered and the marks allow the underlying colours to show through. In some areas, for example still waters, I rub the colour into the board to lose the grain.

I frame my own work. The garage is my workshop. To create a space between the artwork and the glass I use a slip measuring 15mm wide by 6mm deep. This also plays a visual part in the presentation of the finished work. I also strongly recommend using anti-reflective glass – UltraVue UV70 AR. This comes in packs of two pieces measuring 36” x 48” which I cut to suit. It is expensive but makes such a difference when viewing glazed work.

I have written quite a few articles for The Artist Magazine and enjoy this change of activity.
YouTube Video link for ‘A Sense of Place’  https://youtu.be/ubQ8_i3xfHI
This video was created by Liam Culver (Husband’s Grandson) using still sequential shots of the work in progress.

Website Address: http://www.cherylculver paintings.co.uk
Facebook: @cheryculverpaintings
Twitter: @cherylculverart
Instagram: @cheryl_culver_paintings