Kidwelly Castle Window Overlooking Kidwelly Village Church

Painting Kidwelly Castle Window overlooking Kidwelly Village Church simulates an illusion based on a Trompe de L’oiel or a trick-of the eye method.... more

by Edward McNaught-Davis

Buy the Original Painting

Price

$2,250

Dimensions

16.000 x 20.000 inches

Title

Kidwelly Castle Window Overlooking Kidwelly Village Church

Artist

Edward McNaught-Davis

Medium

Painting - Acrylic On Stretched Canvas

Description

Painting Kidwelly Castle Window overlooking Kidwelly Village Church simulates an illusion based on a Trompe de L’oiel or a trick-of the eye method. The idea was to make the painting resemble a three dimensional picture as opposed to just two dimensions; the latter being typical for most paintings.

The viewer should feel that they are actually there in the same castle room or chamber as I was at the time of making preparatory sketches and photographic references to capture the then lighting effects.

Although it took a long time to paint with its many pigment layers it was most enjoyable to do. It took close to 50 man hours from start to finish but over several days. The painting’s original size is 20 inches by 16 inches on stretched canvas over a wooden frame. It would undoubtedly work better too at a much larger print size and which is possible as I photographed the completed picture at a high resolution with a digital camera.

I chose to paint it in various shades of purple and blue colour as both these hues were evident in parts on the stone walls. The original colouring was a greyish green dark stone.

I made my own purples from a mix of blue and red pigments rather than using a commercially made purple straight from a tube. Doing it this way helped to tie in everything together.

Beyond the stone seating the castle window overlooks Kidwelly village church. I felt inspired to paint the natural daylight effects bouncing off the medieval castle walls and how the direct sunlight came in from the right and bounced off the left wall and reflected itself back onto the right inner wall.

I captured interesting supporting shadows and which help to make the painting come alive. This then showed a few nooks and crannies that have obviously developed over the many centuries from Welsh damp weather erosion.

Quite a few faces appeared in the painting but you have to look on the walls to find them. I did not purposely paint them in; they just appeared; as they often do within my paintings.

Outside the window was quite tricky to do as I needed to convey depth. I used a watery acrylic to achieve this and used complimentary colours to support the purple and to some extent the blue.

The castle is situated along the Gwendraeth river near to Carmarthen and on route to Llanelli. You can find it on the Carmarthen Road off the A484. It is a Norman stronghold imposing much power in its era.

Uploaded

October 7th, 2015