Alan and His Painting
Learn more about how Alan creates his stunning paintings.
Alan Hunt has been painting for over 50 years and in that time he has created hundreds of paintings, taken thousands of photographs, been on dozens upon dozens of field trips all around the world including most of Europe including Scandanavia and all around the Mediteranean, most of Africa North & South also Madagasca, all of North America including Alaska and Canada, South America including Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Argentina. The Middle East, East Asia including India and Nepal and finally both the Antartic and Arctic.
Alan has an incredible store of information in his mind which he has gathered through experience by researching in the wild, with camera and sketch book in hand, to understand the true reality of all his subjects, habits, gentics and their habitats including the flora, fauna and environment that surrounds them, all of which contribute to give his paintings their own individual story and gradually fullfil his impossible ideal of creating an image which moves!
Alan's inspiration comes from the love and passion for the natural world and sharing the urgency for their conservation and respect.
Alan's imagination is only limited by physical size and time. Every night he goes to sleep thinking of new paintings and how he will compose all the elements
which form the essence of the stunning new challenges with his ideas.
After so many years painting Alan has devleoped his own approach to the physical process of painting. With the images and methods already composed and planned in his mind Alan has no need for sketching layouts or ideas on paper before starting to work on his paintings. He has already pre-determined the size and complexity, resourced and checked all of his references and prepared his masonite board with great care.
Masonite is an American euphanism fo M.D.F. which is bought in 8 ft x 4ft sheets in minimum 6mm thickness and can be cut to any size.
Each individual board is carefully sanded smooth before being primed with three coats of Gesso. Between each of the coats it is allowed to completely dry and then resanded before the next. After the last coat been sanded he then scrapes the surface to a glass smooth finish with a stanley knife blade. It is at this point that it is now ready to paint on. The other side is also gessoed in order to seal the whole board which makes it resistant to warping especially essential with very large pieces.
Alan begins by painting the whole board in a priming tone relative to the background of his chosen work. i.e. grey for seascapes, brown for rocks and deserts, brown and green for jungles, and medium blue / grey or warm blue for skies.
Alan then starts his background painting working from the top to at least two thirds down from the bottom depending on where his subject will be placed in the composition. He works in the details, depth and perspective he has chosen, often working from 2 to 3 references from his own collection of photographs, ensuring and adapting the light source to match the whole image. Alan works as though seeing nature from the distance to the foreground rather like a stage set, layers from the back to the front to created depth and distance and perspective. Only when his stage has been set will he decide on where the final placing of his subject will be and having the whole backdrop painted in detail he can overlay the animal without having to paint the background in and around it!
The animal or bird is then "blacked in" using three tones based on the subjects overall colouring, creating the shape and form before carefully painting the body, fur, skin or feathers, whilst also adjusting the positioning and balance of the overall compostion.
Ultimately the foreground and any details added which overlap or cover any part of the subject is finished last .The picture is then placed in the main room of the house for him to walk past and look at. It is then at this stage that any relevant details which may enhance the balance or impact of the final painting maybe added.
One piece depending on complexity of the setting and number of animals or birds can take several weeks or more. His ability to balance the light and depth in his pieces give the impression one could walk into the painting, even put a hand out and stroke the animal, you can almost watch them come to life!
Ref. "More Wildlife Paintings" Techniques of Modern Master by Susan Rayfield, 1996, and The Top Wildlife Artists Own Techniques and Methods, Watson and Guptill Publications, New York, U.S.A