Different Approaches To Painting In Oils

Two artists who have known each other for many years are having an exhibition together at the Babylon Gallery from 17th March – 8th April. Both use oil paint, but their approach to how they work is very different.

Ely artist, Ted Coney uses his family as the theme of all his work and each piece is worked out over a period of two years before he starts on the canvas. During that time he will make observational drawings from life and also collect objects, photographs and ephemera to inform his ideas. He will then work in his studio on small preliminary canvases to test out how he is going to paint the final picture.

Francis Jeans, who lives in Cambridge, prefers to work directly from his chosen subject matter and this is often in a busy London location where he paints outside cafes, shops and theatres, incorporating reflections of the surrounding streets and people. He works in all weathers and times of day, accepting that the movement of figures and changes of light that go with working in this way. During the exhibition, both artists will be around in the gallery at weekends to talk about their work.