| P O W E L L p e t e r & m a d e l i n e |
P e t e r & M a d e l i n e P o w e l l
It's not often that two individual artists are able to combine and express
their talents to produce a single body of work. Peter and Madeline
Powell have this rare creative alliance. Essentially, painting is a solo
endeavor, yet the Powell's have accomplished a seamless blend of
unity in their work.
Having met on Maui in 1976, they soon started working on each
others artwork and before too long, it developed into a natural way of
approaching and completing a painting for them.
"Life's treats and play things from the past and present are what we
capture in our paintings. We enjoy taking the little things out of everyday
life and giving them the prominence and importance they had when we
were children. Our paintings invoke the childhood spirit that everyday
life has buried deep within us."
Peter and Madeline Powell are artists who have wed exacting technical
photorealism to the sensual memories of one of childhood's most
pleasurable activities: Eating candy. Not only getting it, but holding it,
looking at it, and unwrapping it. The smell, touch, shape, feel, and taste
of it all come strikingly through the dramatically over-sized images of
Hershey Kisses, Bazooka Bubble Gum, M&M's, and lollipops, to name
a few. Of course, the Powell's have covered other subjects, most
notably Crayons, toys, cars, even florals and an occasional scenic!
But no matter the subject, the viewer is pulled into a bursting world
of form and color.
It's not often that two individual artists are able to combine and express
their talents to produce a single body of work. Peter and Madeline
Powell have this rare creative alliance. Essentially, painting is a solo
endeavor, yet the Powell's have accomplished a seamless blend of
unity in their work.
Having met on Maui in 1976, they soon started working on each
others artwork and before too long, it developed into a natural way of
approaching and completing a painting for them.
"Life's treats and play things from the past and present are what we
capture in our paintings. We enjoy taking the little things out of everyday
life and giving them the prominence and importance they had when we
were children. Our paintings invoke the childhood spirit that everyday
life has buried deep within us."
Peter and Madeline Powell are artists who have wed exacting technical
photorealism to the sensual memories of one of childhood's most
pleasurable activities: Eating candy. Not only getting it, but holding it,
looking at it, and unwrapping it. The smell, touch, shape, feel, and taste
of it all come strikingly through the dramatically over-sized images of
Hershey Kisses, Bazooka Bubble Gum, M&M's, and lollipops, to name
a few. Of course, the Powell's have covered other subjects, most
notably Crayons, toys, cars, even florals and an occasional scenic!
But no matter the subject, the viewer is pulled into a bursting world
of form and color.
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THE POWELLS COLLABORATIVE PROCESS
The Powell’s painting process is truly a collaborative partnership, with the razor edge detail in their paintings becoming a gray fuzzy area
when it comes to which one of them painted what part!?! The gradual evolution of their combined skills started over 25 years ago, when
they first discovered their synchronized vision.
Each painting starts with setting up and taking multiple reference photos of the subject matter. They mostly choose to concentrate on
close-up, “larger than life” images of everyday things with a bit of a nostalgic feel, i.e. candy, toys, and cars. The reference photos are then
analyzed on a light table with a magnifying viewing loop for composition, balance, and over-all “theme”, before the final image is selected.
They usually have enough subject matter (as with the candy) to cover a 12 x 16 inch area that is 4 inches deep, and they shoot at least two
rolls of film per subject (approximately 72+ photos). They are slowly starting to move into the digital world for taking the reference photos
which has the great advantage of not having to wait for processing before they know if they have “the shot”.
After the reference photo is chosen, the size of the painting is decided on. Madeline is known for her excellent canvas stretching and
stretches all of the canvases, with occasional minimal help from Peter.
Peter and Madeline are both involved in the painstaking layout of each painting, which is completely laid out in graphite on the canvas in
detail, showing the shadows and highlights, as well as the folds, crinkles, lettering and reflections. The layout process can take several
days, if not weeks as they play a kind of tag team with their graphite pencils.
After the painting is laid out, the actual painting process begins with the smooth layering of the base colors, which in some cases is done
with an airbrush. This allows for a very “flat” surface foundation without brush strokes. Each color is masked off separately and then the
lettering is usually painted in with fine sable brushes. In some cases such as painting the ingredients on a candy wrapper, an old style
architectural ruling pen is used which allows them to fill the pen well with paint. With the base colors and lettering complete, the shadows
and reflections are painted in, followed lastly with the highlights.
The most time consuming and tedious work is on the paintings that have the “foil” look, such as Hershey Kisses, York Peppermint Patty’s
or Hershey Miniatures. These paintings have what the Powell’s have come to term “THE FOIL FACTOR”.
The Powell’s usually have several paintings in various stages of progress in the studio and literally “trade places”, moving from one painting
to the next. On the larger works, they often stand shoulder to shoulder, painting into the wee hours of the morning, fine tuning the detail on
these complex paintings.
The Powell’s painting process is truly a collaborative partnership, with the razor edge detail in their paintings becoming a gray fuzzy area
when it comes to which one of them painted what part!?! The gradual evolution of their combined skills started over 25 years ago, when
they first discovered their synchronized vision.
Each painting starts with setting up and taking multiple reference photos of the subject matter. They mostly choose to concentrate on
close-up, “larger than life” images of everyday things with a bit of a nostalgic feel, i.e. candy, toys, and cars. The reference photos are then
analyzed on a light table with a magnifying viewing loop for composition, balance, and over-all “theme”, before the final image is selected.
They usually have enough subject matter (as with the candy) to cover a 12 x 16 inch area that is 4 inches deep, and they shoot at least two
rolls of film per subject (approximately 72+ photos). They are slowly starting to move into the digital world for taking the reference photos
which has the great advantage of not having to wait for processing before they know if they have “the shot”.
After the reference photo is chosen, the size of the painting is decided on. Madeline is known for her excellent canvas stretching and
stretches all of the canvases, with occasional minimal help from Peter.
Peter and Madeline are both involved in the painstaking layout of each painting, which is completely laid out in graphite on the canvas in
detail, showing the shadows and highlights, as well as the folds, crinkles, lettering and reflections. The layout process can take several
days, if not weeks as they play a kind of tag team with their graphite pencils.
After the painting is laid out, the actual painting process begins with the smooth layering of the base colors, which in some cases is done
with an airbrush. This allows for a very “flat” surface foundation without brush strokes. Each color is masked off separately and then the
lettering is usually painted in with fine sable brushes. In some cases such as painting the ingredients on a candy wrapper, an old style
architectural ruling pen is used which allows them to fill the pen well with paint. With the base colors and lettering complete, the shadows
and reflections are painted in, followed lastly with the highlights.
The most time consuming and tedious work is on the paintings that have the “foil” look, such as Hershey Kisses, York Peppermint Patty’s
or Hershey Miniatures. These paintings have what the Powell’s have come to term “THE FOIL FACTOR”.
The Powell’s usually have several paintings in various stages of progress in the studio and literally “trade places”, moving from one painting
to the next. On the larger works, they often stand shoulder to shoulder, painting into the wee hours of the morning, fine tuning the detail on
these complex paintings.
In the studio in front of the 7 x 12 foot painting
"ALL AMERICAN JOE"
"ALL AMERICAN JOE"