Medium

Oil on Canvas and Board

Jon Adam paints exclusively in oil, on either large canvases or smaller boards. He prepares all his materials himself, from making his own paint to stretching and priming the canvas. He started grinding pigments about ten years ago, and over the next two years replaced all his paints with home-ground pigments (www.cornelissen.com). Though time consuming, this activity has become an artistic necessity as much a part of the painting process as the application of colour to canvas. As well as being a strenuous physical activity, it creates a meditative space within the harmonious environment of the studio. It is important to take this time away from actual painting / creating while remaining within the creative space. By working the pigment and oil together, the alchemy of painting begins at an earlier stage, with the transformation of pigment into paint. Being physically and emotionally involved in this process gives the artist a deeper understanding of each colour. Adam feels that there is a special purity to hand-ground paint – both in terms of the ingredients and the result: the light quality achieved in the colour once applied is purer; and he can control its consistency to best suit his painting style and technique.

When it comes to working with the canvas (www.johnjones.co.uk), the thinking is similar. By stretching the canvas himself, the artist develops a better knowledge of the material before starting to work on it. The smell of the raw canvas, its tautness, its drum-like quality gives the artist a deeper feeling for his materials, which enhances the finished work. Adam also uses several types of board, and enjoys working on a hard, resistant surface – in contrast with the absorbing, springy surface of canvas. He usually makes oil sketches on board to get ideas down quickly before transferring them onto larger canvases, but these often become finished paintings in their own right.