A New Medium
Over the past few months I have been spending more time working in oils.
After many years of painting primarily in acrylics, I wanted to re-explore a medium that allows greater control over colour. One of the frustrations with acrylics is that the colours often dry darker and slightly duller than they appear when wet, making it more difficult to judge subtle tonal relationships and atmospheric shifts.
Oils remain much closer to their wet appearance, allowing me to mix and assess colours with greater accuracy and confidence. I haven’t used oils since I lived in Cyprus over 20 years ago when it was to hot to use acrylics and the two mediums are very different in the way you handle them.
Slowing Down
The change has been both exciting and challenging. Unlike acrylics, which dry quickly and allow a painting to be built up in rapid stages, oils demand a much slower approach. Layers often need several days, and sometimes weeks, to dry (in the UK) before further work can continue.
As a result, new paintings are taking longer to complete.
At first this felt like a limitation. I have always appreciated the immediacy of acrylics and the ability to move quickly from one idea to the next. But there is something rewarding about being forced to slow down. The drying time creates space to step back, look more carefully, and decide what the painting needs rather than rushing to resolve it too soon.
Taking Stock
This slower pace has coincided with a period of reflection about my work as a whole.
Two of my paintings are currently on display in the Mansfield Museum Open Art Exhibition, where they will remain until 27 June 2026. Having work selected for the exhibition has been an encouraging reminder that the direction I am pursuing continues to resonate beyond the studio.
It has also reinforced my belief that my recent aerial landscapes and coastal paintings represent some of the strongest and most coherent work I have produced.
A Change in Pricing
Because of this, I have decided that rather than holding a summer sale on Kris Mercer Art this June, I will be increasing the prices of new works from the beginning of July to better reflect the additional time, materials and experience involved in creating them.
This is not a decision taken lightly. The art market remains challenging, and like many artists I am always aware of the balance between accessibility and value. But there comes a point when the work deserves to be priced with greater confidence.
Looking Ahead
For me, painting has never been about producing work as quickly as possible. It has been about exploring distance, memory, landscape and weather, then finding ways to translate those experiences into paint.
Working in oils has slowed the process, but it has also brought a greater sense of precision and subtlety to the way I approach colour.
Sometimes the best progress comes not from moving faster, but from allowing the work the time it needs to reveal itself.