Gary A. Lippincott is known for his delicate, highly detailed watercolours, which have graced the covers of books, illustrated stories, hung in galleries, and have been purchased by collectors worldwide. His artwork has a style of old world craftsmanship often found in folk and fairy tales.
Below, he gives us a tour of his studio in Massachusetts. If you need to stock up on supplies for your own art, see our guides to the best art supplies and the best watercolour paints.
My studio is located above my garage on my property in Petersham, Massachusetts. It is set back from the road and close to the edge of the woods that is backed up to conservation land. climb the wooden stairs along the back of the garage early each morning to begin my day.
I attempt to avoid the enveloping tendrils of bittersweet that are determined to pull the whole staircase down some day soon. I know they need to be removed but they are just so enchanting-looking! The large windows behind me offer a wealth of natural light upon my stretch canvas.
I use Windsor & Newton professional-grade watercolour paints; the tubes are lined up in my bright orange fishing tackle box. I use a combination of wet on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques. Water, air, earth, fabric. The technique that is used depends on the texture of the material I am trying to capture.
The studio’s tiny wood stove keeps me warm in the winter. Shelves line the walls’ edges with reference materials, art books, fantasy novels, tiny figurines, ghoulish faces, puppets and photos of my family. When I have the time, I add a bit of detail to a large oil painting that I’ve been working on for years, featuring a unicorn and small fawn running through the woods. I also occasionally work on sculpting and carving puppets.
I have my son in law’s camera set up to capture time lapses of the painting process. I’ve been asked to post videos of my painting process. I’m trying to get over the idea of having a camera behind my head for hours on end. My daughter says, “You have to do it for the socials!”
I am always listening to music while I work. Movie soundtracks are common; Last of the Mohicans, Cloud Atlas, the odd circus-themed sounds of the Cirque Du Soleil shows. I also listen to ambient, orchestral, natural-inspired sounds like David Lanz, Patrick O’Hearn. I enjoy the whimsical, fairy-like voice of Tori Amos and the earthy tones of Fiona Apple.
The objects around my work area include a pencil sharpener from the 80s that I use constantly, a white mask I wore at a costume party years ago and a brown tackle box that stores most of my Windsor & Newton paints.
The old-school curly-corded phone, attached to a broken fax machine that no longer works, may ring once or twice during my work day. Can’t answer if I’m using wet on wet technique! At a certain point during the day I might sit in my big, blue armchair to rest my eyes. I pretend it gives me time to let the fairies and elves rearrange the shapes in my brain before I start painting again.
My Yamaha piano used to be up here. I never learned to read music, but rather play by ear. Now the piano is in my living room. Playing helps me unwind. A glass of red wine also helps.
I like to say that I have the best commute ever: a short walk from my house, across the driveway and ahhh!, I have arrived at work, though there is nothing about this I would call ‘work’.
You can see more of Gary's work on his website.
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This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
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