On A Roll by Sarah Graham

"This image was a happy accident in a way. I had a new set of marbles,as so many women my age find themselves saying, among which was  red dice or rather die, (which although correct, just sounds weird nowadays!) which spilled out with them. I did try, and may well again in the future, to create an image where the dice is the central subject, but on this occasion it suited as a background against the old school coloured marble. I used its shape and the density of the red to contrast sharply against the highly detailed abstract patterns of the glass. So many students ask me "how do you paint glass?" perceiving it to be something "clear" when it is anything but. It's either allowing you to see colours behind, or reflecting colour. It's noticing them all which I have found is the key to getting this illusion right. And I do exaggerate elements such as sharp edges and enlarge light reflections to enhance this too. As I've said before, if all I did was paint the photo as I see it there would be little point to what I do."

Now sold out at the publisher this is our last available copy

Click HERE to see a video of Sarah at work.