Julie Askew: Giraffe Run

I've met Julie before and have seen a painting demonstration of hers. She works extremely fast yet still produces very high quality work. Her style is consistent in all her work so you can recognise her work. I think the technique she uses to make her work look realistic yet paint fast is that she can apply paint directly and get the lighting right almost instantly. If you look at the giraffes they all are "lit" very well, having complimentary tones to form the shapes of their bodies, like  blue tones for shaded areas and different beige tones for the underlying skin tone.  She works in a similar way to Brian Simons, applying a wash to prep the canvas/panel. This tone may be illuminant  yet working on it  works because of how she sees colour.

I find the motion in the giraffes and the smoke exciting. She has captured the movement so well.  The forms of the giraffes are also consistent showing the bone structure and muscle well although they are all in different positions and are at different angles. 

Also the way she has used the light is interesting. She has gave them all pale tones where the sun has hit them directly then has used reflected light from the ground to make them glow. These brighter tones are complimented by the blue tones of the shade. This is how I think she creates her work. This shows she is talented as the combinations of tones fold over the shapes of the giraffes bodies without making them seem like they are covered in dimples.

Giraffe Run, DATE
Acrylic on Panel, 58 x 116 cm