Innholdsfortegnelse for No 173 i Artist's Palette

I believe every painter can only be taught the basics. After that, we are on our own. Nature has all the answers, and will provide them to painters who ask the right questions. In the early eighties, Gloria Ransom and Allan Fizzell were instrumental in my own vital art training. They were both generous with their teaching and encouragement. Since then, my continuing lessons are from Nature herself. I am passionate about painting sunlight. All subjects are paintable if the light on them is right. The most ordinary subject, in great light, can become an extraordinary painting subject. My subject matter can be anything! Animals, figures, boats, still life, landscapes, seascapes, flowers … If we are to call ourselves painters, we should be passionate and excited about any subject. I…

The Workshop Arts Centre is an independent not-for-profit art centre and workshop facility which was established in 1961 to promote and foster appreciation of the creative and visual arts. The Ewart Gallery, housed within the Workshop Arts Centre, was named to honour the founder Joy Ewart. The gallery, officially opened in 1996 by artist John Coburn, is a space where the work of emerging and established artists is exhibited. Through this gallery the Centre aims to encourage and stimulate interest in different art disciplines by promoting the work of local artists, as well as artistic groups and organised bodies in the wider community. The Workshop Arts Centre with its integral Ewart Gallery is located at 33 Laurel Street, Willoughby NSW 2068.Email admin@workshoparts.org.au – or telephone 02 9958 6540. The space…

STEP ONE Firstly, I taped the sheet of paper onto a firm backing; taping only the top and the sides and placing it on an easel. Using the rough side of the paper, I drew grid lines to help with the composition. I then did a sketch, with a charcoal pencil, of the placement of the boats and the floating jetty. STEP TWO To create the atmosphere I was seeking, I partly shaded in the misty background with Raw Umber, Australian Leaf Green and Raw Sienna. Next, I outlined and shaded the floating jetty with Green Grey, Australian Leaf Green and Raw Sienna. I also did some shading on the boats. Then I stood back to decide whether I was getting the start of a misty atmosphere. STEP THREE I…

Inspiration for this demonstration came from a very ordinary source – the hardy Banksia bushes planted by the local Council on our median strip. Armed with my digital camera and dodging heavy afternoon traffic, I took several shots of the Banksia flowers ranging from lovely new lime coloured cones to the daggy disintegration of the ‘old man’ flowers. Next came the interesting part. I printed out my digital photographs, arranged them in front of me and tried to visualise an interesting composition or two. I asked myself: Should I choose landscape or portrait configuration? A stylised or realistic design? Could I increase the drama of the colours? What size canvas should I select? STEP ONE Using a charcoal stick, I drew a couple of rough ‘thumbnails’ to familiarise myself with…

STEP ONE I had the truck placed where I could set up my camera (with tripod) to take sufficient photographs for the drawing. I sometimes take up to 150 photographs, depending upon the size of the rig. I made sure the client was happy with the profile before I took the photographs. STEP TWO I downloaded the photographs to my computer. My son Rohan and I enlarged the images to achieve the length I wished to draw. I often use up to ten photographs – depending on the size of the truck – to accomplish this. STEP THREE I joined all the photographs together and taped them onto the drawing sheet at my work station, in position ready to start detailing. STEP FOUR To begin detailing, I transferred everything from…

STEP ONE The initial block in. Just the most basic lines. This is only to position them on the canvas. No details. Drawing will be adjusted and corrected as I move through the painting. Light Red and Ultramarine Blue in a thin line for the outline. STEP TWO Here I block in the darkest darks of the horses in shadow; and the cast shadows on the ground. By getting these important tones in first, I immediately set the lighting direction. Light Red and Ultramarine for the horses; Ultramarine, Golden Yellow and Light Red for the cast shadows. STEP THREE Now I cover the background area of mid tone, still keeping all edges soft and workable. Any drawing error can be adjusted easily when the edges are kept soft. Ultramarine Blue,…

Bregje (Becky) Breedveld was born at Leiden in The Netherlands. These days she is a police officer in Donnybrook, Western Australia. She was a police officer in Holland for eight years. After reading about the international recruitment drive of the Western Australia Police, she applied successfully and moved to this country. She has been here since November 2006. As an artist, Becky is self taught. “I am learning by trying different techniques and I feel that with every painting I have done, I have learned something new,” she explains. “I love doing animals. It is a challenge to try and let the character show.” “As a young girl, I was always drawing horses,” she continues. “I moved to painting birds when I was a teenager, using watercolour paints. I stopped…

Dale Philpott grew up in an outdoor environment, and started riding horses in shows and hunts at the age of five. She was born at Invercargill in New Zealand. She has lived in Canada for six years, but now calls the Darling Downs (in Queensland) her home. Dale lives with her partner Owen on a tranquil 50 acres at Hodgson Vale near Toowoomba. Her home features a new art studio. She also works as a Registered Nurse, on a casual basis. “I first took lessons in watercolours in 2004, from Rene Rime Chan (a very talented French Swiss gentleman) for about 18 months,” she relates. “Sadly, he then went to live in Tasmania.” “I now belong to the Ramsay Shed Painters where several artists meet weekly to paint amidst bales…

STEP ONE Here, I used a photograph of my Border Collie (Amber) as a reference. With the pencil, I sketched the outlines and basic features on the canvas. If the sketch is good, the rest of the painting is so much easier to do. STEP TWO I chose a background that would go well with the subject. For a black dog, blue or green will do great – the dog will stand out. I usually mix the colours on the canvas, blending with a shader and adding more white until I am happy. I decide on one colour, so it won’t take the attention away from the subject. I then start with the face, working from the top of the head down. With a short shader, I put the paint…

STEP ONE I use reference photographs of birds create a composition. I usually complete a series of thumbnail sketches in a couple of different orientations such as portrait and landscape; and also in scroll format. I use a 2B or 4B pencil to sketch the shapes of the birds and position them in various poses. I then look at where the areas of white are going to be and shade or add tone behind the white areas to create areas of contrast and light and dark. I sketch in the final composition onto the paper. I usually use Arches Watercolour Paper 600gsm as I prefer not to stretch my paper; and because I use a lot of wet-in-wet technique to paint my backgrounds I need a heavy grade paper that…

The Redlands district (south of Brisbane, by the bay) has been home to me all my life, although my husband and I have been able to travel extensively with our caravan through much of Australia. We have loved those times, and we have some wonderful memories of folk we have met and numerous photographs of memorable places. We particularly enjoyed exploring the Flinders Ranges in South Australia … so barren, yet so touching to see the ruins of the homes and hopes of so many early settlers. It was at the end of our last long trip in 2006 that I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This curtailed my painting activities while I recovered from several operations and chemotherapy, but as soon as I was able I painted the picture…

Ray Cassidy lives and works at Strathdale (Bendigo) in Victoria. He was born in Melbourne. Gisborne was the town where he spent his youth – before he started work in 1960. This richly talented man got back into drawing quite by chance when sketching with his daughter Rhiannon one wet day. He started again ‘in serious mode’ in 1996. “I did not draw between 2000 and 2007 due to an accident at work; and I have not worked since 2005,” he reveals. “I will not work again due to my injuries which resulted in four spinal surgeries during eight years. And I am now drawing at a reduced rate because I cannot sit for long periods as pain levels rise.” Ray started his art interests during his school years. He…

STEP ONE I prepared the canvas with undercoat, front and back. Then I outlined the composition I wanted, with chalk. STEP TWO I applied the basic colours required for the painting. STEP THREE Here you can see that the foreground colours had darkened considerably on ‘cooking’ (acrylics tend to darken when drying) so they needed adjusting. STEP FOUR Finally, I gave an indication of slope; and, with the warm colours advancing and the cool colours receding, gave a sense of perspective. The overall harmony of the colours blended in each section. I added some verticals to provide interest. After leaving the canvas to rest for a few days, I applied two coats of varnish. MATERIALS • Canvas 92 x 46 cm. • Acrylic paints: Cadmium Yellow; Cobalt Blue mixed with…