No sooner did the G.A.G. committee announce the still-life workshop in oil paints by Kayla Martell on February 10th, 2025, or it was sold out. Members were keen to learn how Kayla achieves such wonderful works of art and were hoping to pick up some tips that could be applied to their own work. As Kayla’s website shows, she is an incredibly accomplished artist, mostly still-lifes of sorts and we were keen to learn and see her in action. www.kmmartellart.com
Kayla is originally from Canada, but marriage to a Cork man means she now lives permanently in Ireland, working as a professional artist.
Kayla approaches art with gusto and enthusiasm and is hugely knowledgeable on the technical aspects of oil painting.
She first emphasised the importance of the light source, too many light sources or too much ambient light will result in a flat looking painting. The classroom in the Kilcoole Community Centre doesn’t lend itself to manipulation of light sources, hence on this occasion we were working from a photograph – orange segments and cranberries. Kayla had already painted this set up previously and the painting also served as a reference. It also meant we didn’t have to worry about composition.
Before painting, Kayla demonstrated how the light falls on the subject, creating light and dark areas. She explained how to see the form shadow, the core shadow, the cast shadow and locate the terminator. And how those shadows then translate into cool colours on the canvas. It’s a line that follows right through the painting, Kayla continuously assesses where the light falls and how that affects the paint she applies.
To start, a very light wash of ultramarine blue and cadmium orange mix was rubbed into the blank canvas. Followed by a fairly detailed underpainting of the same mixture, hues used in the final painting.
Light and darks were assessed and it is also the time to make adjustments to the composition. Kayla will downplay strong contrast or very light hues at the edge of the canvas as it leads the eye away from the painting. Time spent on the underpainting varies from 30-60 minutes, a very important part of the process.
The palette is then cleaned and fresh paint is squeezed out. Kayla used a split palette; a warm and cool red, a warm and cool yellow and a a warm and cool blue. Her preference goes to Sennelier professional paints, because of the viscosity and looseness which suit her style. And yes, she has tried other mediums, but found the shortcomings in those are not present in oil paints – so why change!
The main colours are then pre-mixed in small piles, using the point of a small and very flexible palette knife.
Whilst mixing, Kayla explained the properties of colour to us, the values, the saturation or chroma and the hue. And how these are influenced by what is next to it. Colour mixing is good practice. During the painting process a little tip of each mix on the palette knife can be checked for accuracy against the required colour.
Kayla uses mostly Rosemary brushes. For this painting a lot of the work was done by a flat nr 5 brush. Confident strokes, whilst holding the brush at the upper end, were applied as blocks of colour. The aim is to stay loose and not ‘pet the canvas’. Squinting helps seeing the light and dark areas. Kayla plans the painting in stages, a methodical technique to get the work done without the temptation of being stuck and overworking an area.
From there the painting builds into detail, but as a rule, she will leave the final touches until the next day. Just so that it’s seen with fresh eyes and last minute changes can be made.
A lot of the attendees followed Kayla during the painting process and some amazing results were achieved. But even just watching and listening to this artist, was invaluable. So much knowledge, so much experience, so vibrant and energetic. A very instructive and useful session. And on top of that, Kayla facilitated each of the participants with a very instructive booklet documenting the various aspects of her process. With so much information to digest, it will be a very helpful reference for us. A very generous artist!