IN a paint-splattered room in a barn conversion in rural Wiltshire, a man is flicking colours into a sizeable, shallow, galvanised tank filled with a mix of size. First, a green akin to alder leaves flies off his brush. A sunny yellow follows, then a cream the hue of buttermilk completes the trio. The size (a suspension agent made of carrageen moss and water) prompts the gouache paint speckles to float in anticipation of the alum-coated paper that is about to be placed on top, expertly and gingerly, so that no rogue air bubble has the chance to form. As the paper is pulled from the tank, the metal edge catches most of the excess size and a marbled sheet in a Turkish spot pattern is complete after a swift hosing off.
Alex Lewis, a fine-art graduate and a father of two,, which offers a snapshot of her story.
