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Judy ScotchfordJudy Scotchford   AFC Judy Scotchford
African subjects, Childrens Portraits, Cultural portraits & wi
 


Though originally an oil painter, I have experimented with various media along the way. I love the lusciousness of pastels, enjoy the versatility of acrylic paint with all its mediums, and have also taught myself to use an airbrush in order to get that effect on backgrounds. Now I use texture to create a mood in painting. Pastels are used to give a soft velvety shine to skin tones. Fabric is added to give dimension and weave to the clothing and accessories. Acrylic paint has so many mediums you can add, to give just the texture you want from gritty and grainy, to shiny and plump, and thin glazes. Sometimes, small chains, keys, cotton yarn or feathers are used. It is a subtle mixing of various media that give my paintings a 'trompe l'oeil ot three dimensional effect.

Ancient Memories
The following painting will give you some idea of the possible process. In 2005, I travelled to Namibia and stayed at a place called Okonjima. Here we were taken out on a 'Bushmans Walk'where our guide explained and demonstrated aspects of the San peoples life and culture. The bushmen are considered survivors of the original indigenous people that inhabited much of Southern Africa. They were a hunter and gather soceity with a nomadic lifestyle that once lived in harmony with their environment. Wherever we travelled, we saw traces of this ancient culture. In this painting, I was attempting to portray some of this story, and decided to paint the portrait of one of the San women we met on our journey. I drew this lady on a rag mat board and the drawing was then covered with frisk film to protect it while I painted the background. The texture medium was mixed with pumicestone medium and sponged on to the board.


I sponged over this texture when it was dry, with thick acrylic paint that mimicked the colours of the cave walls we had seen at Erongo Hills. I placed a few of the figures taken from an ancient hunting scene that had been painted on those walls.I painted these figures with acrylic gouache. Then I removed the frisk film and started working on the portrait by gluing on a crescent of Hessian fabric to make the head covering and I painted this with acrylic paint


Now I emphasised the reflective light on the skin. Sometimes I like to do a lot of blending on the skin, particularly when I am painting other people, but in this instance I have left the pastel as I have placed it. Every skin colour has an undertone and I always put this on first with the highlights before I add too much dark tone, as this keeps the skin alive and glowing.


I changed the headband on the right as it wasn't sitting back convincingly from the face. Then I sponged paint over the area where the skin on the chest meets the rock surface to make the subject appear as though she was coming out of the rock. Finally, I sponged back over the rock drawings with a lighter colour to make them slightly less distinct.

 
 
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Judy Scotchford
c/o Judy Scotchford
43 Margaret Cres. Wakerley
Brisbane, Queensland
Australia 4154
Tel: 07-33904527
  Artists for Conservation Group
Email: judyscotchford@gmail.com
Home Page: http://www.judyscotchford.com
Judy Scotchford Judy Scotchford

 
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Member of the Artists for Conservation Foundation www.natureartists.com.