Innholdsfortegnelse for No 201 i Artist's Palette

My name is Reg, and I am from Cue in Western Australia. I sign my paintings as “Digger” in my own style. I didn’t start painting until I was 45, always knowing that some day I would finally get to paint. My first attempts were in fabric paint on t-shirts etcetera, then some water colours, but later I had a go at the oils and some acrylics. I loved the oils, so then set out on my journey to see if I had it in me to paint something people liked. Amongst friends and family I seemed to be having success but I was never really convinced that my family and friends weren’t just being nice and didn’t want to hurt the feelings!! I gave the painting a break for…

Kate paints in an unconventional way, with her canvas flat on the ground or on a huge easel. She moves around the canvas Jackson Pollock style, quickly capturing the movement and life energy of her subject. While painting dynamically, Kate physically engages her whole body, moving vigorously around the horizontal canvas. Her brushes aren’t what you’d expect either as she uses them upside down as sticks of various sizes. I also spotted a cooking utensil in her toolbox covered in paint. ‘It can turn into a yoga workout (not so good for my back) requiring various movements, balance and rhythmic strokes. Although mindful that a lot of subconscious magic happens, I still have to trust that my actions will reveal themselves on the canvas. Looking down on a large canvas…

MATERIALS • 24” x 36” stretched primed canvas on a thick frame• Mineral Turpentine• Artists quality oil paint:• Highlight: Cadmium Yellow and Titanium White• Light: Cadmium Yellow• Medium: Venetian Red• Dark: Burnt Umber and Pilbara Red• Brushes:• A few size 6 or 8 Filbert or Flat brushes for oil or acrylics (coarse bristle)• Size 5 or 6 Wash brush for oils or acrylics (coarse bristle)• Size 6 Watercolour brush STEP ONE Sketch I found a photograph on www.deviantart.com called Shape by Mick Waghorne. I was instantly taken by the mood of the pose and lighting, so I requested permission to interpret the piece in my art. This led to a sketch with a few soft-lead graphite pencils in my art diary (I use a cream coloured, watercolour paper art diary…

Born in Sydney in 1945, John’s early life was something of a Huckleberry Finn existence. Surrounded by large tracts of land, parks and rivers, he was relatively free to roam during his schooling years, and explored the surrounding areas extensively, developing a love of nature in the process, and a familiarity with many of its aspects. John’s early drawing skills were evident even at four years of age when he would attempt to capture many of the scenes that he saw on holiday, and around where he lived, on large sheets of butchers’ paper. By age 11 he was entering and winning art competitions at the local theatres and schools, winning free movie tickets for himself and his friends. Many of his holidays were spent with friends and relatives in…

MATERIALS • Stretcher bars - 1.60 x 1.60 metres, available at good art supply shops• Canvas (heavy-duty ounce)• Gesso• Water spray bottle• Atelier acrylic paints in pots• Golden Tar and self-levelling gel• Very large paintbrushes• Smaller brushes (used upside down as dribble sticks)• It is a good idea to have many clean brushes and dribble sticks on hand• Use a top quality varnish. I prefer Golden. STEP ONE Undercoat with gesso, dilute and apply two to three coats. Painting can be a messy business so if space allows work outside. It will also encourage you to free up your movements. STEP TWO I paint the base coats with my favourite Atelier acrylic paints, using similar colours, and applying them straight onto the canvas. I keep the canvas wet with a…

MATERIALS • Ampersand Claybord Black• Fibreglass Brush• Reference photograph• Ampersand Scratchbord• Ampersand Black Repair Ink• Small Round Paint Brush• Ultra-Micro Fibreglass Brush (It is advisable to wear a face mask to prevent breathing in any fibreglass particles and cotton gloves when using a fibreglass brush.)• Cotton Gloves or cloth• White Graphite Transfer Paper• Stylus• Craft Knife (Xacto Knife)• Eraser• Spray Varnish STEP ONE Firstly choose a suitable image for your scratch art. Convert the image to greyscale on a computer as this will help to show the highlights and shading. Make a line drawing of the image showing the fur direction and where the highlights and shading are to be placed. Once the line drawing is completed to your satisfaction trace the outline onto the board using the white graphite…

MATERIALS • Canvases and Boards I use good quality Belgian linen, prepared on stretcher bars for larger works or sometimes I mount the linen onto a timber backing using acid free EVA glue, making the canvas surface firm, enabling me to paint the detail with more accuracy. For small to medium works, I tend to use triple coated Gesso boards. The smooth surface is great for painting technical subjects or finely detailed works. • Brushes – My favourite brush is the versatile Filbert. Sizes range from #2 through to #12 with most work being done with sizes #6 and #8. Good quality flat brushes, sizes #4 / #12 with medium to long bristles are used mainly for blocking in and applying good “meaty’ textural strokes. I keep cheaper flats and…

In 1452 in a farmhouse just outside the small Tuscan town of Vinci, three hours into an April night, Caterina, a peasant woman, gave birth to her illegitimate son, Leonardo da Vinci. He may have been born in unremarkable circumstances, yet his incredible life transcended these ordinary beginnings. His magnificent mind found its home in the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence. It feasted on the aged texts of antiquity previously lost in the dark corners of the Middle Ages, it played in the garden of genius, and it dreamt in the bed of the divine. Leonardo grew up on the peasant hills of Tuscany, the blessed and picturesque region in northwest Italy. With Florence at its heart it seemed as if a divine hand gave life and sustenance to the…

I have always considered art to be an interpretive and highly creative activity; however I am definitely a latecomer to the party. My first real foray into art was in the mid nineties (my mid forties!) through beginners art classes with Noela Clohesy, a very accomplished and talented artist. I attended these classes for a year, dabbling very badly in oil. Unfortunately - and I’m sure many ‘artists’ can relate to this - work, study and family pressures took their toll. At the time I was working full-time, studying tertiary commercial law, with a family of three school-aged children. My wife worked full-time shift work and we shared the before/after school care and home activities of a young family. It wasn’t until the mid noughties that I put brush to…