Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 28 i Artists Drawing and Inspiration

I live with my partner Mark and children Jessie and Joe in Moss Vale, in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved animals, flowers, butterflies and birds – and I have very clear memories of sunny summer days in England (yes, there were some) exploring various gardens and studying ladybirds in the grass when I was supposed to be fielding in cricket at school. I am constantly blown away by Mother Nature’s creations which surround us everywhere but are so easily overlooked as we race around in our busy lives. How often have you picked a tiny flower and really studied it? It’s absolutely incredible. Or wondered at the intricate patterns in the fur of your family cat? I…

Throughout my life, I’ve been impressed by the Australian landscape. As a child holidaying on the coast; at my homes at Lightning Ridge and Narrabri. The landscape has always evoked a deep emotional response. At times the immediate response to the landscape can be best caught with the spontaneity of the humble pencil. When I was young, it was rare for me not to be drawing – preferring to have pencil in hand moreso than anything else. As I matured, both physically and artistically, I felt it necessary to take a logical step and paint. Painting was seemingly an acceptable medium to produce ‘finished’ works. It wasn’t until I met the magician of landscape painting, Les Graham, that I discovered that drawing could be an end product in itself ……

Tricia Reust was born in Sydney. She attended the Newcastle Art School for more than two years, and holds a Basic Art Certificate from the Art Instruction School in Minnesota, USA. She is also a graduate with Distinction from the Open College of the Arts, Queensland. She has continued her artistic studies through classes and workshops, and gained instruction under Judith White, Reg Campbell and Max Wilks. An adventurous approach to the often mundane pastel medium has led this artist to evolve her own special way of creating lively pictures. “Pastels look especially vibrant when applied over a surface that has already been coloured,” Tricia explains. “I have put pastel over watercolour paintings; over acrylic paint; in many of my mixed media works; and also over paper prepared with acrylic…

Art for Belinda Lindhardt is about capturing ‘something’ that has inspired her. It can be a colour, an emotion, an object or a person that prompts her to want to devote a little piece of herself to it, and deliver it to the viewer. She is inspired by light and Nature, and capturing the precious things in life that seem to slip by us ever so quickly. “I have two very distinct styles. My larger acrylic and oil paintings often feature contemporary and abstract themes. These are inspired by light and colour, and I like to use a contrast of smooth flowing areas complimented by thick textured elements,” she says. “It is style which is evolving for me, and I am really enjoying the experimentation.” Belinda also produces very detailed…

ART BASICS PROMOTES DELUXE PASTEL PAPERS FROM SCHMINCKE A unique and beautiful pastel support available is the premium quality Schmincke Sansfix pastel paper. Prepared on 360gsm acid free paper, the superfine coating of grit on the surface allows layers and layers of pastel to be put down – whilst retaining the ability for fine detail from the first stroke. This surface has a very high tooth allowing excellent pigment adhesion and decreasing the need for fixative. The Sansfix colour is unaffected by fixative and is lightfast. It is available in a limited range of soft tones; and the paper size is 50 x 65 cm. It is designed specially for use with soft pastels and charcoal. It is perfect for fine detail and also broader work. It has high durability…

Watercolour pencils are very versatile. They make a great medium – not just for the experienced artist but also for the beginner. I have also found them fantastic as a medium to take travelling overseas, as they are easy to carry and give great results when time is limited for sketching. I originally bought a set of 72 watercolour pencils and have had them for about 15 years. They are still going strong! I use watercolour paper or coloured papers; but the substrate must be able to stand up to applications of water. You can use rough or smooth paper, and also sanded pastel paper, depending on the result you want. Experiment with a few until you find your preferred type. A basic kit of materials will set you up…

MATERIALS • 3B Pencil. • Eraser. • Winsor & Newton Smooth Surface Cartridge Paper 220gsm. • Pigma Micron 005 Pen (Black). • Large dining room table. • Relaxing CDs (especially Medwyn Goodall and anything Celtic). • Nag Champa Incense. I was commissioned to do this drawing by a couple who had the pleasure of meeting ‘Jama’ the King Cheetah at Canberra Zoo early last year. King Cheetah are a very rare genetic variation of Cheetah where the spots join to form ‘stripes’. There are under 100 King Cheetah in the world, most of which are in zoos and wildlife parks. Sadly, Jama passed away in August 2008 – and I feel honoured to have done this drawing in his memory. STEP ONE The initial pencil sketch is purely to place…

During my 38 years as a professional artist, I have become well known for painting animals – more by accident than design; in particular horses, cattle and dogs. Strangely enough, one of my best known works is the bronze sculpture of Matthew Flinders’ cat ‘Trim’, who resides on the window ledge of the New South Wales State Library in Macquarie Street, Sydney. When I was a student at the National Art School, a very enlightened teacher was sufficiently interested in my efforts to point out the similarities in the anatomy of very many animals – which all evolved from basically the same structure. Every such animal has a head, a neck, rib cage, shoulder blades, forearm, elbow, lower arm and a great variety of forms of structure representing the human…

MATERIALS • Full sheet of Colour-fix paper, ‘masking taped’ to a board. • Hard pastels. • Soft pastels. • Methylated spirits. • Bristle brush. • Charcoal Rags. pencil and pastel pencils for finishing. I have been experimenting with a process where hard pastel is pushed into the paper with methylated spirits, and then the work is finished with pastel when that surface is dry. It is a fun process, as well as being one where the results can be visually exciting. When beginning the work, I find it is best to break down the composition into broad areas of colour, which discourages me from becoming absorbed in fiddly bits and fussy attention. Also, the base of my composition is applied using the opposite colour (on the colour wheel) to what…

MATERIALS • Colours used: Cadmium Lemon; Permanent Rose; French Ultramarine; Sepia. Vanua Levu, one of the outer islands of Fiji, promises all the recognised hallmarks of an island escape … and much more. For the past three years, Leonie Norton has been taking two botanical painting groups and a holiday sketching group each year to Daku Resort – a small privately owned resort situated on the waterfront near the town of Savusavu. Modern bures offer comfortable accommodation, with the added bonus of being lulled to sleep in the evenings by the rhythmic lapping of water on the sand. Leonie is a highly sought after international artist and tutor. She is a prominent professional botanical artist who balances fine botanical art with her spontaneous pen and wash sketches. STEP ONE Over…

• Take it slowly! This is all about a gradual build-up of light and shade. With this drawing technique, mistakes are almost impossible to correct and can really only be blended in and ‘hidden’. When I have a problem area, I concentrate on the surrounding areas to detract from it (a black dot on a grey background stands out less than on a white background). The biggest danger is overworking as the drawing simply gets darker and darker. • Practice different drawing techniques to produce different surface textures. Play around, ‘doodle’, see what effects you can create. I find the only way to portray a smooth surface is using pointillism – its very time-consuming and hand-cramping but can produce incredible results, especially for the ‘glassy’ look of eyes. I rarely…

Perhaps, as an artist, all you care about is the medium you are using. You don’t care what’s actually in the product – you just want to create with it. Whether it be acrylics, watercolours, oils, charcoals, or even crayons, we concern ourselves with colour first; placing performance and flexibility at a very close second (especially for the project we are doing at the time). The surface we are painting on is of concern … however not to the degree of the medium itself. When Matisse Derivan offered me an experimental sample of Liquid Pencil, I was eager to have a go at something new. As an artist, I like to try everything. I have even been known to ‘mix it all together’ to see what results I could achieve.…

• It is important to use a light touch with a very sharp point. Sometimes you will need to sharpen your pencil every few strokes – especially on paper – to ensure that you fill in all the bumps of the substrate and achieve an even colour distribution. Due to the amount of sharpening required, I definitely recommend an electric pencil sharpener. I believe my electric sharpener was worth the investment, and it doesn’t seem to break leads. • Drafting film is great for correcting mistakes, as is the electric eraser – bringing them almost back to new. If working on paper, you can sometimes damage the surface – so be careful. • When using drafting film for areas where you need a bright white or pure colour, make sure…

• When doing a section of detailing, be sure to scan over it before you start another section. This helps to ensure that nothing has been missed, before colouring is commenced later. • Always use a sharp pencil when detailing. • Have patience. • Choose a good range of coloured pencils. • Find a good art teacher who you can consult if you run into trouble. • A good colour chart, and numbering for all your coloured pencils, are two important considerations to help you select your colours easily. • Every colour scheme I do is documented, recording the pencils chosen to create specific colours. This means I can create the same colours again in the future.…

• Studying your specimen carefully, and from all angles, will help you to decide how best to place it on the paper. • Select your paper with care as different papers will affect your drawing. Experiment with different types and weights of paper. You will soon learn which papers best suit your style of drawing. • Draw what you see; not what you know (or think you know). • Avoid rubbing out, especially during the latter stages of your drawing. However, if you make a mistake, dab out rather than scrub out. Experiment with different types of soft eraser. I like Staedtler’s Mars Plastic® which I clean frequently on a sheet of scrap paper. If you need to remove a tiny area of your drawing or a highlight, slice a…