Probus Club

A resident of Rochdale, Colin became a professional artist after redundancy from his previous occupation. Now semi-retired, he still paints to fulfil commissions, attends craft fairs and gives talks on painting.

His preferred medium is now in acrylics which he described as "sophisticated vinyl emulsions". They are water soluble, dry quickly and are ideal paints in many ways.

For his subjects, the moors above Rochdale provide many of his ideas. Rough sketches are made and colours noted, then he returns to the studio for the painting.

His canvas for us was prepared beforehand, in that the sky was already there in watercolour, which Colin says gives "better translucency". To the uninitiated it looked like a nondescript sky for a painting which had been given the title of "Spring Landscape".

A few deft strokes of his brush and a line of trees in the distance was added with a gap intentionally left to provide the focal point of the picture. Pasture in front of the trees and a hedge to the right started to build up the picture, then a fence was added with bracken. How quickly it took to shape with skilful mixing of colours and assured application.

A tree "grew" just beyond the hedge which, from the sidelines where I was sitting scribbling my notes, looked nothing but afterwards revealed itself to me as a superb creation. Grass was added in the foreground using a stabbing technique which was very effective.

Throughout the composition, Colin talked of what he was trying to achieve, and the finished range of colour proved how right he had been about his sky, now heightened by the strength of colours below it.

In just three-quarters of an hour it was an impressive performance by a skilled professional. Admiration was evident in the warmth of the applause which rang out for him.

BERNARD HOWCROFT