Artists Drawing and Inspiration Issue 37

ARTIST’S PALETTE magazine seeks to showcase the works of talented Australians producing art at a whole range of skill levels, whether they are accomplished creative people with a long history of achievements or beginners (of all ages) striving to build their identities and reach their particular artistic goals. This ‘Gallery’ segment provides a place to display pictures by people who may not have the means or the opportunity to be extensively featured in our magazine. Submissions are sought from such people for future Issues. This issue I am pleased to display the work of another five enthusiastic artists. CASSANDRA HODGINS  Nature has provided boundless subject matter for this Queenslander who revels in the intricacies of botanical art. Cassandra experiences great relaxation through working for hours on a single leaf or…

May 2012 will mark the sixth anniversary of buying my first art canvas, when I deciding to try my hand at painting. Much to my surprise and the surprise of others, on that first canvas appeared a beautiful portrait of my dad, his brother and a green Holden that was looking a bit worse for wear!! I titled that first painting ‘Summer of ‘66’. And so began my love of painting, with my next painting ‘After the Storm’ winning my first award and gracing the cover of Artist’s Palette magazine, Issue 57, in 2007. I have since been fortunate enough to receive many awards for my paintings over the years and to see one of my paintings, ‘Train Spotting’, off to its new home with an art collector in Switzerland.…

MATERIALS • 100cm x 70cm sheet of grey colorfix paper • Conte sticks • Pastels - I used Artist Spectrum soft pastels for most of my upper layers, and used a white Schminke’s pastel at the very end for the white highlights. • Sheet of A1 paper for making some transfer paper • Soft eraser • Rubber blending tools • Piece of MDF or plywood bigger than your painting to support your paper • Bull dog clips to hold the paper to your board This painting was inspired by a photograph of a country pub in a little town called Wooroolin, which is situated only a short drive from my home town of Kingaroy, Queensland. I called on some reference photos to set a scene in the 1970s, and the…

Retirement! It had arrived so quickly. It was 2005 and I was retired, not that I wasn’t looking forward to it, but what to do with all those hours you filled with work? I was looking for something to do to keep my mind, body and soul together and alert. Then I spotted an article about Frankston U3A (University of the Third Age) in our local paper. It talked about teaching and learning new skills in your later life, and I decided this might be the way to go. U3A is an organisation that is run by over fifty-fives, for the over fifty-fives. People from all walks of life join together, some teaching and some learning new skills; it can be anything from History to Art and from Art to…

MATERIALS • Reference photographs • A3 sheet of Eraldo di Paolo cartridge paper • Faber-Castell pencils H, 2H and 2B • Derwent eraser and Faber-Castel putty eraser • Tortillions mixed sizes • Pencil sharpener • Ruler • Set square • Adjustable callipers • Powdered graphite • ½ in Mop watercolour brush • Backboard • Hand-rest cardboard sheet • Micador spray-on fixative The best thing about working with graphite pencils is that you can draw almost anywhere. I always pack some drawing materials into my hand luggage when we travel and have passed many hours in airport transit lounges drawing. There is nearly always something about you can use as a subject or just use your imagination. After deciding on a new project, my preparation depends on the subject and what…

I was born in the north Queensland city of Townsville. That was also where I grew up. I believe my artistic career began when I was a very small child. My dad was a signwriter with a unique talent for design. He created intricate scrolling and gold leaf lettering using handmade brushes called ‘dagger liners’. I loved watching him work throughout my childhood, and when I started school I decided that art was my favourite subject. Being an only child for the first ten years of my life, I quite happily occupied my time with drawing and colouring. From time to time I entered competitions to win very desirable prizes like movie tickets, baskets of Easter eggs and art supplies. When I was 11 years old, I did a pencil…