A New Painting Technique
In 2007 or 2008, when I was visiting my parents from Australia, my father showed me some of his latest work, and described to me a painting technique that he had independently developed.
He would paint on the coarse fabric hessian, but would not glue the hessian to a board or even frame it. Rather he would pin the hessian to a flat surface such as a desk, and after applying paint to the fabric, would allow it to be absorbed overnight. The next day he would apply a further layer of paint, and allow that to be absorbed…and so on until he was satisfied that the painting was maximally impactful. The effect, he told me, was a greater combination of clarity and richness than he had been able to produce by painting on canvas, hardboard, or hessian glued to hardboard.
![](https://petercarson.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Screen-Shot-2023-03-26-at-12.02.24-pm-1024x502.png)
There was, he suggested, an organic quality to these paintings that was missing in his previous oils. He painted over 200 of these “hessian scrolls” (as I call them) before his death, and was of the opinion that they constituted some of his best work as a painter. With the possible the exception of the painting depicted above, none are titled, None are framed. All are more than a little rough around the edges… But although my father produced over 4000 paintings, drawings, and pastels, nopotential collection of Peter Carson’ s work better exemplifies his use of, and his mastery of, chiaroscuro lighting.