Artists Drawing and Inspiration Issue 51

Titika works primarily with coloured pencils. She is a member of IGOR (International Guild of Realism), of CPSA (Colored Pencil Society of America), of AUSCPA (Australian Society of Colored Pencil Artists), and the UKCPS (United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society). She says, “Having been born on an island I have always been drawn to the sea and everything about it. Naturally, many of my paintings have evolved around all things marine. “I love water and I draw immense pleasure from painting it. I’m mostly obsessed with the transparency of the shallow waters, the distorted patterns of pebbles and the reflections of light on the water surface. I’m mesmerised by the way the bright sun plays with the waves, causing endless reflections and refractions on the floor of the sea. It’s a…

MATERIALS • Paper – Saunders-Waterford 200 lb, Hot Pressed, High White, Watercolour Paper.• Coloured pencils – I always use various coloured pencil brands.In this particular drawing I used:– Faber-Castell – Albrecht D ürer– Prismacolor:– Van Gogh – Royal Talens:– Inktense – Derwent:– Colorsoft – Derwent:• White Chalk Pastel• Derwent Blender• Derwent Burnisher• Eraser (preferably pencil eraser for detail)• Sharpener• Fixative with UV Filter To make this drawing I visited the location several times and did lots of sketches. The time I prefered to do that was when the sun was directly overhead and the rays stroke the water. As I couldn’t be there physically all the time required to finish the drawing, I also took photographs in order to capture the rapidly changing light. Generally I work from left to…

I can remember when my sister and my father and I got together in Dad’s shed to make a kite! Some balsa wood for the frame and some of mum’s brown paper that she used to use to line her cake tins, some string and some glue and you were all set to get started! Building the frame was usually Dad’s job then us kids would put the glue onto the frame (most times we squeezed out a little more than we needed), next on went the brown paper! We were always rather impatient when we had to set it aside to let the glue dry, but once dry the string was attached and we were ready for “lift off”! We had mullock heaps beside and behind our house, the…

Gordon Hanley was born in England, and was aged five when he arrived in Australia with his parents in 1960. Life took a number of unexpected turns (a recurring theme in Gordon’s life), that resulted in a two-and-a-half year stay in a migrant hostel followed by constant travel, that saw him attend nine schools before obtaining a university scholarship to UNSW. He studied biology, and obtained a Dip. Ed. Then he promptly joined the military, serving five years with the RAN. Returning to Queensland, he worked as a science/maths teacher while working on his true calling in art. He later obtained a B.A in history at UQ, but in terms of art skills he is entirely self-taught, studying then practicing the techniques of the great masters. “After decades of study,…

MATERIALS • A length of wire• A sheet of paper• A special undercoat The zenith of silverpoint drawing was achieved during the Renaissance with masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Albrecht Durer creating some of the most beautiful and recognisable drawings in the history of art. In 1560, the discovery of graphite in England and its subsequent use in the familiar “lead” pencil heralded the rapid decline of silverpoint. Unlike silverpoint, graphite drawings could be done on unprepared paper, mistakes could be erased, and graphite was much less expensive than using precious metals. Although one of the most difficult of all mediums to master, metalpoint drawings have a subtlety of line and a tonal beauty that few other media can rival. Instead of silver, Gordon Hanley works mostly…

Margaret Hannah Olley was born on 24 June 1923 in Lismore, northern New South Wales. Eldest daughter of Joseph Olley and Grace (nee Temperley), Margaret’s families both had long ties with the region. The Olleys were a pioneering family in the Lismore district, while the Temperleys lived in Ballina and owned the local newspaper, The Richmond River Times, during the 1880s. Margaret’s earlier years were spent near Kyogle at the family’s Horseshoe Creek property, before moving to Tully in Far North Queensland. It was in Tully that Margaret’s sister and brother were born; Elaine in 1925 and Ken in 1927. By 1931, the Olley family had returned to the Northern Rivers region of NSW, purchasing a sugar cane farm on the banks of the Tweed River near Murwillumbah. Margaret and…