Kelvin McMillan was here a few weeks ago to complete Fergus the Steer.
Check out the You Tube Clip showing Kelvin painting in our gallery
His technique is swift and decisive. He doesn’t change his water very often, but he works from lights to darks, so that makes sense to me, I guess.
From his years of experience, you see a painting get whipped up from a soft pencil drawing underneath, to a completed watercolour artwork.
He really knows what he’s doing, but if you watch the You Tube clip above, I was freaked out when he started to put quite a dark blue down for the grass. You see I didn’t think about shadowing etc. He understands watercolour after over 30 years’ experience, so it was fabulous to watch as the grass was created before my eyes.
 Shadow at Long Beach Port Chalmers Dunedin 56 x76 cm plus mounting and framing |  Summer Shadows Waitahuna 56 x76 cm plus mounting and framing |
 Three O'clock Shift 28 x 76 cm plus mounting and framing |
Kelvin in the Gallery
So this week, Kelvin has brought some framed works for the gallery (see above) and this day he is completing a small boat and reflections painting. Below, I caught an image of him painting it. You can see his hand was still moving when I asked him to look up.
In the Blue, Akaroa, has now been framed and is hanging in our gallery. I reckon it won't be here for long!
As you can see he follows a photograph of what he is painting, but he has taken that photograph himself. As an artist, being there at the time, taking the photograph, when back in the studio, it would trigger some sort of remembrance of the feeling he had when he took that photo, and why he wanted a photograph in the first place. No doubt it was because “that would make a great painting”. That is what goes through an artist’s mind when they just have to take a photograph. No matter where they are, they get their partner to stop the car if they’re driving, so they can take a photo…. because “that would make a great painting!”
I have even started doing this myself. I have loads of images, just waiting for that day I actually get around to painting them.
I don’t get to paint very often myself, (too busy running the gallery) but I often take photographs of a scene that I reckon I might paint one day.
It is such an inspiration to watch artists work. They love the feedback, even if you don’t like the work, they still want to hear it. But sometimes you get to see the artwork actually completed whilst you’re in there watching, and you get inspired to buy it, just cause you were there! :)