ldakersI’m Judy Century, a painter from North London who creates vibrant, nature-inspired paintings to brighten up your walls! I mainly paint contemporary, abstract floral pieces full of energy and colour, but I also enjoy creating landscapes on occasion! Here’s a little peek behind the scenes at my inspiration, process and favourite materials…
To get started I have so many inspiration images saved on my phone, which act as an idea bank. When starting a new painting, sometimes I’m inspired by a particular subject matter – a flower or scene that I’ve seen and captured (fairly conventional!) Other times I spot a colour palette that I feel compelled to explore and the content and composition follow. I often will block in basic colours first to work out the flow of the painting, and then add in more detail by layering on marks and patterns. My paintings are like puzzles waiting to be solved, I add bits, remove bits, evaluate what’s there (I spend a lot of time reflecting!), and change things around on repeat until I’m happy with how it all sits together. Sometimes this process flows effortlessly, but more often than not, I battle with my paintings to get them just right!
I paint with acrylic paints – my favourite brand is Pebeo – I like the intensity of their colours and I find their coverage is good. I sometimes water down my acrylics to create more of a wash effect, but I also enjoy using solid paints and taking a blending brush to create seamless transitions between colours. To add texture, I might add some acrylic medium to my paints, and in more detailed work, I enjoy the crispness you can achieve from using acrylic marker pens – especially for white highlights as a finishing touch! I like the quick drying nature of acrylics, and that they allow me to layer on my paint to create a rich tapestry of brushstrokes to explore!
You can see more of judy’s work by visiting her insagram page @judycenturyart
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