Holcombe Head
09th August 2026
Holcombe Head was painted wet-on-wet in oils, mixing all the colours directly on the canvas rather than the palette. This was a new technique for me so involved lots of trial and error but I enjoyed the process and the creative thinking involved.
I began with thin layers of tube colour like ultra blue for the sky. Then I corrected the tone with white and adjusted the hue with additional colour such as a touch of yellow. This process was repeated throughout the painting often using complementary colours to reduce saturation or achieve neutral tones.
Working on the painting surface like this offered the benefit of spontaneous colour mixing but the drawback was muddying the colours. Furthermore, I struggled to maintain control over the painting, resulting in a somewhat unrefined final product. Despite this, I’m keen to develop the process with future paintings and explore more its potential.
I began with thin layers of tube colour like ultra blue for the sky. Then I corrected the tone with white and adjusted the hue with additional colour such as a touch of yellow. This process was repeated throughout the painting often using complementary colours to reduce saturation or achieve neutral tones.
Working on the painting surface like this offered the benefit of spontaneous colour mixing but the drawback was muddying the colours. Furthermore, I struggled to maintain control over the painting, resulting in a somewhat unrefined final product. Despite this, I’m keen to develop the process with future paintings and explore more its potential.