Artists Drawing and Inspiration Issue 32

I was born in Russia and as a child I always spent my spare time painting and drawing. At that time in the former Soviet Union, art materials were quite expensive and hard to find. But thanks to my mother I have always had good brushes and paints to work with. Later in my teenage years I visited Moscow’s and St. Petersburg’s famous art museums and was fascinated with the masterpieces of Russian, Dutch, Italian, English and Spanish masters. As a keen dressage rider at that time, I was especially deeply impressed by paintings depicting horses and riders. So it was quite a challenge for me later to learn to paint and draw something else, not only horses. I started my career as a visual arts teacher in Almaty (Kazakhstan)…

For this demonstration I have chosen to do a close-up portrait of a beautiful Australian Shepherd dog which I photographed some time ago at a dog show. This Blue Merle coloured dog has a unique “painted” coat pattern and intelligent golden eyes, so I needed to decide what colour of the paper would be better to use. I love to use dark or strong colours for my art, which are base colours of the subject. For this portrait I could have used a grey colour which is the base colour for the blue-ish grey fur, but as I wanted the eyes and golden “cheeks” to be a focal point, I decided to use Raw Sienna Art Spectrum ColorFix paper. STEP ONE I cropped the photograph, and then drew the dog…

• When drawing animals always use linear strokes, allowing your hand to move freely in the direction of hair growth even in the base layout, as this helps to achieve realistic results more easily and quickly. • Allow your paper to do some of the job for you – use paper colours that compliment your artwork. • It is not a bad idea to brush your work often with a soft desk brush during the process, as wax coloured dust is sticky and could smear and ruin your work. • Keep your pencils sharp at all times – it will help to achieve realistic fur and feather textures. • When using transfer paper or graphite pencil for the initial outline, always remove most of it before the colour stage as…

I was born in Swan Hill in Victoria. I attended the local primary school. I later went to Swan Hill High School where I was fortunate to have an art teacher who was happy to let me explore my painting, and encouraged me to develop my own style. After I left school, I moved to Melbourne to study nursing. I did not know it at the time, but I was not destined to return to art until after retirement. I spent some time living at Nelson Bay and at Darwin; then returned to Melbourne to have a family and continue working. Upon retiring, I moved to Phillip Island where I was able to attend art classes. A six week drawing class started me on the way to exploring other mediums.…

STEP ONE My selection of colours is chosen from autumn flowers in my garden. These are set up on a plate. The colours may change as the work progresses. After taping the card to a padded board, I’m ready to start. The masking tape gives a clean edge to the finished painting and makes framing easier. A quick charcoal sketch places the flowers and helps to keep them clean and fresh. STEP TWO For the background, I layer a few tones. When I’m happy with the colours I push them into the card with my fingers, around the sketched flowers. I am careful to keep the light in one corner. The background is very important. I like to get the shading right at this stage. STEP THREE At this point…

ELIZABETH GUZSELY GALLERY Cooktown School of Art Society Inc operates the Elizabeth Guzsely Gallery at 125 Charlotte Street, Cooktown, in far north Queensland. This history has been compiled with the assistance of member Elizabeth Johns. THE HISTORY OF OUR GALLERY In 1979, Elizabeth Guzsely with several other very enthusiastic artists decided to start an art society in Cooktown. Elizabeth was born in 1934 in Budapest, Hungary – into a family of painters, musicians, singers, actors and writers. So, from an early age, art became a way of life. Surviving the Russian invasion of Hungary during the World War II, she gained a Diploma of Fine Art at the Hungarian National Institute, and worked as a graphic artist within the main Hungarian Military Academy – surrounded by Old Masters and teachers…