Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 43 i Artists Drawing and Inspiration

As a child, Debbie Benson loved to draw. Recently she discovered pastels and she really enjoys experimenting and exploring the medium because it is very forgiving and yields instant results. She works from photographs and paints many subjects, including animals. She aspires to become even more creative and expressive. These feature pages are reserved for displaying the work of emerging and developing Australian artists; as well as other unknowns whose efforts may provide interest for our readers.…

• When starting, always chose 3 values of colour so as to not get overwhelmed with choices and too many pencils. Practice on a piece of paper if you are unsure which colours to use. • Holding your SHARP pencil in an upright position allows you to also get into the hills and valleys textures of the wood if you are looking for a rich colour saturation. • Blending on wood is difficult; a big brush is great as is pushes the pigment around. It’s a great technique for layer areas such as backgrounds not just on wood, but on all supports. • Using a circular technique with your strokes (lots and lots of little circles) goes a long way for details and lots of colour. • Pressure. Constantly check…

I always knew deep down that I wanted to be an artist. Even as a young boy growing up in Brisbane I would draw as often as I could - filling my sketch pad with depictions of family holidays, cartoon characters, people and wildlife. I remember sketching pictures for friends back in primary school and participating in several local drawing competitions, resulting in a few small prizes along the way. In secondary school, I became even more passionate about art, but the perfectionist in me also enjoyed the detail and preciseness of technical drawing. My interest in these two subjects led me to study interior design at a tertiary level. By the end of the 3-year course I had lost much of my original enthusiasm for interior design as a…

• For softer and a more dense foliage I use a lighter touch with my 3B pencil in a small swirling continuous stroke. As I work forward I change to a 6B pencil getting that darker tone to the shadows and allowing for a more three dimensional effect. • Shading is best done in stages starting off very softly making sure the shadows are in the right direction and then working them up to the darkest tone you want them to be. • When a shadow falls across dry grass use shorter but darker upright strokes to keep the authenticity of the landscape.…

• There are several different approaches to art. Some artists are spontaneous and like to be surprised at what emerges – the theme and title emerge from the way the work turns out. Others like to plan their work and keep full control all the way. There’s a time and place for both approaches to differing extents; so don’t feel you have to always stick with one approach or the other. • When you are planning a picture, ask yourself the question, “What attracts me to this subject?” The answer will point you to the focal point of the work. Then ensure that no secondary details take over to distract the viewer. • Keep a file of your own photographs and pictures from magazines and newspapers that you can use…

• Full sheet of Mi-Teintes ‘Tex’ in a light brown (or cinnamon) shade. • White pastel pencil for the initial drawing. • Pastels for the cliffs: Winsor & Newton Raw Umber Tint 4, Burnt Umber Tint 3, Yellow Ochre Tint 1, Yellow Ochre Tint 4; no specific brand deep purple, light mauve, light grey and dark grey. • Pastels for the ocean: Art Spectrum Phthalo Blue, Dark Phthalo Blue; Winsor & Newton Green Earth; Green Blue Shade Tint 1; Rembrandt Phthalo Blue; no specific brand light mauve (as for the cliffs). • Pastels for the scrub: Gallery Dark Red Brown; no specific brand burnt orange, and various shades of green. • Schminke white pastel for highlights on the cliffs and ocean.…

I was born in 1942 in a country town in south west Queensland. My mum and aunts said I quickly learnt to amuse myself, this being done by lying on my back watching anything that flew overhead. The USA had an aircraft base in our town with planes flying in and out all the time. The planes and flocks of birds became a fascination for me. My weird sense of humour probably came from watching the antics of the birds and other animals. Our old galah Cocky seemed to be around forever and only went into the cage (this had no door or floor) when he wanted a safe resting place. Watching his funny antics gave me the desire to try and sketch his amusing antics. As I was a…

I grew up on a farm where my dad did all his own mechanical work. Mum was always occupied with art or craft of some kind. I started drawing cars at about age 14 – usually street rods with detailed V8 engines (often done surreptitiously during classes at school). My mother had begun painting decades earlier and was proficient in oils, watercolours, pastels and acrylics. I wasn’t interested in ‘art’ at school. My first real attempt at painting happened ten years ago, using acrylic enamel automotive paint on glass. That painting was 1.4 metres long by 450mm. I sprayed the paint onto the glass for the background. I then painted two trees, and my mother said: “You don’t do trees like that!” I progressed the picture by making the trees…

I love experimenting with new materials and techniques and applying them just like I have done with my demo. This custom made wooden support is basically a “wooden thick edged frame”. I have seen these available from overseas suppliers and I am lucky enough to have a father who is fantastic at all things wood, so he made some up for me. WORKING WITH WOOD One of the advantages of working with these wooden frames is that you can finalise your artwork with UV and varnish to seal the artwork and there is no need for framing. It’s a really fun different way to work, but make sure you have an open mind as working on a hard surface like wood is different to paper. I took the reference image…

STEP ONE The first stage is to plan the format and composition of my artwork. In this case I have chosen a square format - a square is a solid shape with a natural sense of balance and it seems appropriate for this particular subject. I have placed the tree slightly higher on the page because it will be counterbalanced by the strong reflection in the water and would otherwise appear too ‘bottom-heavy’. I have also ensured that the horizon line is positioned a bit off centre as this would appear to cut the artwork in half. A simple sketched outline of the subject will do at this stage. Although the intended final result is a detailed representation of the subject matter, there is no point getting too carried away…

• By placing newspaper your art paper and making definite creases in it, when you apply your pastel to the art paper, the creases from behind will give your work definite ridges – which can be very effective if you are trying to create an interesting background. • If you happen to make a mistake, use a kneadable rubber and never actually try to rub your colour off; use more of a ‘lifting’ motion by placing the rubber on the colour, applying pressure (a slight downward motion) and then lifting. Clean the rubber and repeat. • important continually stand back from your work to view your progress. Acquire a dark piece of glass, preferably black; stand with your back to your work, and hold the glass so that it is…

PREPARATION Using painters’ masking tape I fixed the drawing paper to the Masonite board – stretching it as tight as possible. Once happy with this I drew a straight line on all four sides of the copy then repeated this on the drawing paper. I then used these lines as my profiles (building terms). The rubber I cut into three lengths wise and wrap them individually in clean butchers’ paper. These are protected with only 4mm protruding at one end. The important thing is to keep the rubber clean at all times, cutting the end off after each use. I sharpen the four 2B pencils each at least 40mm then gentle rub and roll it along a piece of 400 grit sandpaper (which has been clipped to a piece of…

THE PROCESS I choose an appropriate size canvas and apply gesso primer. As I am working off a 10 x 8 inch photograph (or 25 x 20 cm), I use a 10mm grid. My canvas is 60 x 50 cm. I crop the photograph by 10mm at the top, and prepare a 25mm grid for the canvas. Using an old picture frame complete with glass, I draw up a grid on the glass (10mm squares) using a CD marker. I attach the photograph to this, ensuring that it is square to the grid, simply by sticking down the four corners with tape. Next, I draw the 25mm grid onto the canvas using a beige pastel which can easily be covered later – with either pastel or paint. I commence the…

• 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…