Alistair Butt RSMA

On location Alistair makes sketches, and takes some reference photographs. The form of the sketches depends on the available time, subject matter, location, weather etc. Beginning with a detailed drawing, Alistair plans the content and composition, before transferring that to stretched watercolour paper. He uses what is essentially a primary palette, enabling him to mix any colour. The method of painting varies slightly, but mostly Alistair uses a sequence of washes to build up the tonal variations and degree of detail using Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes. Alistair uses a variety of supports with the colour palette being similar to the watercolour. He starts with a brush, establishing the main shapes, then sometimes he develops each part of the painting, working from the background forwards, or he’ll start with an underpainting and build on that.