Artists Drawing and Inspiration Issue 27

The need to illustrate his surroundings has long been a hallmark of the human. Some claims suggest that our ancestors were drawing on the walls of their caves 35,000 years ago – embellishing the rocks with pictures of the animals that they hunted for food and clothing. Examples of such early artistry can still be found all over the world. Ancient Egyptians are believed to have dramatically advanced the art of drawing. Renowned as incredibly skilled engineers for their work in building imposing temples and the legendary pyramids, the Egyptians decorated their architectural achievements with meticulous and colourful drawings of theological figures and other icons. Their drawing work featured careful detail together with colour and balance. In the sixth century BC, the Greeks became the new representatives of balance in…

Janina Jackson was born in 1970 in Geelong – into a highly artistic family. “My dad was art director for a local surf clothing manufacturer and my mum was into anything and everything creative – pottery, sewing, macramé, crochet, painting, herbal medicines and lotions (it was the ’70s),” she laughs. “Now, mum’s into paper maché sculpture and music, and at age 60 she taught herself to play banjo, mandolin, guitar, piano accordian and harmonica. These days she sings in a band as well. My brother showed artistic talent from a young age and was very much encouraged by my parents.” Janina didn’t think she had any artistic talent. She rebelled against the family by getting a ‘real job’ as a nurse after completing university training. “In 2002, I developed chronic…

MATERIALS • Fabriano paper 250gsm. • Derwent graphite pencils in soft and hard ranges (4B, 2B, HB, H, 2H). • Staedtler mechanical pencils 0.3, 0.5 and 0.9 width; with HB and 2B leads. • Tortillon stumps. • Colour blender. • Blu Tack. • Masonite board. • Bulldog clips. • Blank A4 paper. • Tracing paper. STEP ONE I chose several different reference photographs of elephants from the Internet, books and newspapers, and practiced several small sketches of elephant compositions. When content, I graphed up a piece of tracing paper using 1cm squares and placed this over the final draft composition. I enlarged the composition (three times larger than the draft) and graphed up the Fabriano paper using HB pencil, being sure to press lightly to ensure that lines could be…

• Stepping outside your studio and looking at the world around you is often where you will find the greatest source of artistic inspiration. Lots of quick little sketches – no matter how insignificant they may seem – are great building blocks for larger ideas and final compositions. • Once I have a clear image in my mind and a tonal sketch on paper, the confidence to paint comes easily. • Take the telephone off the hook when doing wet-on-wet areas such as large background washes. • Having chosen and laid out the colours you wish to paint with, do a small rough painting of your idea. This, together with your tonal sketch, can help as a ‘memory bank’ for your final painting. • Keep at least three jars of…

Drawing has been overshadowed in the modern era – to some extent – by the emergence of forms such as abstract and cubism which really don’t demand much from the artist in areas like realistic representation of the subject matter, or the effect of light and shade. The waters are further muddied by methods like gridding and projecting having gained acceptance in the fine art world; this too must detract from the motivation needed for an artist to acquire the necessary and difficult skills required for freehand drawing. I want to explore the really basic fundamentals of drawing … to give anyone interested in learning to draw freehand a good foundation from which to begin. There are really only two basic drawing techniques, and many subtle variations on these themes.…

MATERIALS • Paper. • Drawing pencil ( B, B, B or 9B) or charcoal pencil. • Kneadable eraser. Drawing is often lots of fun and a wonderful and satisfying experience for many people. However, over my years as an teacher, I’ve encountered many who long ‘to be able to draw’ and are quite afraid to make the first marks because they are already convinced that they can’t draw, or they fear failure, or they just don’t know where to start. In this article, I want to encourage such people and give them the opportunity for enjoyment and success with drawing. The technique is not for beginners alone, as artists of different experience levels and abilities have also expressed gratitude for these ideas. As a landscape pastel artist, my ability to…