5/17/2023 0 Comments Smoke and paint canvas![]() ![]() Their longevity is more guaranteed than that of more traditional media such as watercolour and acrylic. He is often asked if they will fade, but he reassures his clients of their light-fastness and durability having developed a successful fixing agent. Fennell explained that because of the movement and nature of smoke, paintings need to be big in order to manage the medium. Many of the portraits are painted onto canvases a metre tall. ‘I use sketches because I like to visualise the end results’ continued Fennell, but he added because of the smoke's volatile nature and upredictability ‘happy accidents happen that you can never really know about beforehand.'įennell also takes commissions and his canvases sell for between £3,000 and £5,000 each. We then worked through some sketches so I was pleased with the movement of the piece. ‘Roger liked the idea of the originality of my work and said ‘Let’s just go for it’. ![]() Similarly, Michael Fennell was introduced to conductor Sir Roger Norrington through a friend in a string quartet. 'He was pleased with the finished portrait and to flatter me, he said he admired my draftmanship.’ Boyd had seen my work behind the scenes and I got to know him.įennell said he is fascinated by the movement and fragility of the smoke on a canvas, as seen in this painting of ex-rugby player Matt Dawson For example, there’s a portrait of William Boyd and I read most of his novels before I met him.I produce adverts for jeweller Theo Fennell and he was friends with Boyd. ![]() I do use photographs, but I’m not a slave to them’ adding that the health and safety elements of working with flames and smoke make life drawing difficult.įennell added that many of his designs are inspired by his other interests: ‘I like the other arts, I love music and literature. ‘It’s the nature of the work that the paintings evolve and the likeness can come and go as each project progresses. Rather than painting subjects in real-time, Fennell said he works mainly from his memory, using aides to guide him. This means it translates particularly well into a photo.’ Amelia Earhart, pictured right, is shown in her iconic jumpsuit with Fred Noonan in Los Angeles, May 1937 Fennell's Amelia Earhart painting, left, appears to ‘glow because it’s got a very dark background and it’s such a contrast,' said the artist. The science of trying to fix it with different aerosols, moisture and so on has added to the development of the pieces, added Fennell, and this gives the images ‘a sense of mystery.’ 'When the paintings are kept in the studio, there have been times when the lights have attracted moths who have hit the canvas and disrputed the work. The painted smoke is fragile and even the lightest of touches can affect it. ‘Initially the canvases were framed behind glass, but the glass was suspended in front of the surface. 'When paintings are labelled with just the word 'smoke', it hides a lot from the process' and he thinks this further adds to the mystery.įennell is keen to keep a number of his processes a secret, yet told MailOnline that one thing he has learnt from using smoke is that the paintings must be ‘fixed.’ Yet Fennell believes this just adds to the overall effect, and makes the style unusual: ‘Everyone who sees them always asks how they’re done,’ explained Fennell, ‘which suggests to me that it’s unique. As well as moving the candle, Fennell said he uses different objects, such as card or his hand, to move the smoke and achieve different textures.Īlthough he admitted there was, and still is, a lot of trial and error when working with the airborne medium.
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