MY PAINTING

“How do you paint Mr Venier?”

This is one of the questions people often ask me.
All I use to paint is English synthetic enamels, 80 different colours ready to use (some shiny, some dull) which I mix to create other new colours while I paint. My enamels can be used on the canvas as they come in little jars or they can be painted and then dried by means of a source of heat. I paint on canvas glued onto a 5 millimetre thick wooden plank. The biggest size of these canvases is 40 centimetre high and 50 centimetre long. I use more canvases one next to the other for bigger paintings. Very thin brushes are essential for my freehand drawing. Given the different reactions of enamels once they have been painted (some stay well inside the lines, others need a second coat as they consist of more liquid, etc.), I have to, and I choose to, paint on a horizontal desk. I also use a strong, direct source of lighting. In fact, artificial light is the main source of light for my work. I always stand when I am painting. My painting is slow. It takes a lot of time, patience, and daily training of my hand (at least 5 or 6 hours a day). For me to paint one of my 40 x 50 centimetre canvases, it takes approximately 120 up to 150 hours of hard work for planning, drawing and painting. This possibly explains why I feel so attached to my paintings, and why it is so sad for me to be separated from them!


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