Atelier Chantal

The Process

Made slowly, on purpose.

There are five gestures behind every painting that leaves the studio. None of them are quick.

Hands mixing oil paint on a wooden palette

  1. 01

    Source

    I begin outside — walking, gathering. Earth, ochre, bark and field notes become the foundation of each palette.

  2. 02

    Grind

    Pigments are hand-ground with a muller and bound in cold-pressed linseed oil, sometimes for hours, until they catch the light.

  3. 03

    Lay in

    A loose under-painting in raw umber establishes the bones — the gesture, the weight, the breath of the composition.

  4. 04

    Layer

    Thin glazes are built up over weeks, each waiting for the last to dry. Time is the most important material.

  5. 05

    Rest

    Finished work cures in the studio for a season before it leaves. Only then is it varnished, signed, and released.

A finished oil painting
"I am not making images of places. I am making the slowness of looking at them."

— Chantal, studio notes