Painting Live — A Demonstration at Fresh Art Fair, Cheltenham 2023
- peter corr
- Mar 4, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: May 25
Fresh Art Fair at Cheltenham Racecourse provided an opportunity to demonstrate my working process in front of a live audience. The demonstrations took place over two sessions — Friday 28 April and Sunday 30 April 2023 — in the studio spaces on the balcony of the fair.
The Demonstration
Working in front of visitors offers a particular kind of challenge and focus. The process I use — building up layers of oil and cold wax, working with brayers, palette knives, and unconventional tools — is one that benefits from being seen in real time. The accumulation of decisions, the adjustments and reversals, the way the surface develops through successive stages: these are aspects of the work that a finished painting can only partially communicate.
Demonstrating live makes the process visible and, in doing so, raises questions about intention, chance, and control that are central to the work itself.
Works Exhibited
A selection of paintings was exhibited at the fair alongside the demonstrations. The works shown included pieces from an ongoing series of abstract landscapes developed in the studio — each built up through multiple layers of oil, cold wax, and mixed media on canvas.
The titles of the exhibited works were: Viridian Vamp, We Skipped the Light Fandango, Harlequin Harmonics, Hold Back the River, Kaleidoscope Motif, and Cadmium Cadence. Each work measures 100 × 80 cm or 120 × 100 cm, oil and cold wax on canvas.
Comments