Artists Drawing and Inspiration Issue 59

From an early age I immediately fell in love with the line, tone and the immediacy that pencil offers the artist. Although at that age I really didn’t put that into such clinical thoughts. I just knew that for me, pencil was the most fun to draw with, even more than my treasured box of 100 Crayola crayons! When anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, without hesitation I would reply, ‘an artist’. If they said, ‘A painter?’ I would always respond with, ‘No, I like to draw’. I was born in California and lived most of my childhood there. Long summers were spent outdoors in our backyard, and along the coastal beaches or camping in the big trees of the Redwood forests and Sierras.…

MATERIALS Drawing Board Acid free masking tape Arches 300gsm Cold Press Rag paper Derwent ‘Sketch and Wash’ pencils, HB and 4B Derwent ‘Graphitint’ pencils, #01 Port, #04 Indigo, #14 Russet ½” Taklon Dagger Brush #10 Taklon Round Brush #1 Series 7 Windsor Newton sable brush Art Spectrum Artists White gouache Staedler Mars ‘Karat’ Aquarelle pencils. #129-59 indigo and #124-79 brown Staedler Mars 2.mm ‘technico’ pencils HB, 2B, 4B Staedler Mars ‘barrel’ sharpener for Technico pencils, standard pencil sharpener for the Derwents/Karats Blue tack Cotton gloves STEP 1 Before I draw I like to meet the animal, to see it move, see it interact with others, listen to it, even smell it! When you sketch from life it helps you to work out the anatomy and form of the creature. Often…

Born in Cardiff, South Wales I realised I was drawn to art during my school years. I looked forward to my art classes, not forgetting drama, and had visions of becoming an artist, or an actress, as some young girls dreamed of. On leaving school I was given the choice by my parents of attending Art or Business College. I would have preferred art but it was decided there would be more job opportunities in business, so my interest in art was put on hold and off to Business College I went. My fingers quickly mastered typing and shorthand skills instead of paints and brush strokes and I settled in to office work. After marrying and immigrating to the lucky country, ‘Australia’, I continued employment as a Secretary to three…

MATERIALS Board Masking tape 300gsm Arches Watercolour Paper Brilliant Watercolour Wheel Various Winsor & Newton Watercolour Brushes Sizes 0-10 Large brush for wetting paper Spray bottle filled with water Paper towel Gold Acid Free Ink Pen STEP ONE I tape my watercolour paper with masking tape to a board and dampen with a large brush. I load yellow paint on to my No. 10 wet brush and press firmly on the damp paper to create my under-painting. I continue layering from light to dark with my chosen colours. I pull paint out from the top corner to add flow and movement. The painting is looking rather loose at this stage. STEP TWO I squirt the paint with a spray bottle to encourage the colours to flow, mingle and burst. The…

MATERIALS Old blue jeans. Matisse products. Pencils. Pastel pencils. Selected brushes. THE PROCESS With my style of painting, I knew I could have lots of fun with Ricky Ponting’s jeans and with cricket. Not being your regular shaped canvas, painting the denim two-legged canvas is a real challenge … but very rewarding when it is finished. The best thing about cricket is that it has such a vast glossary of fun cricket idioms used in the sport. Things like ‘googly’, ‘gardening’, ‘bowling a bouncer’, ‘meat off the bat’ and ‘hat-trick’ just to name a few. That was where my idea came from. After roughing out a few ideas on a layout pad, it was time to start. Funny, it is always hard starting and I think this is because I…

MATISSE DERIVAN DOUBLE PRIMED ARTIST CANVAS Matisse Derivan has recently introduced an exciting addition to its stable of products – Matisse Derivan Double Primed Artist Canvas. This range includes 11 canvases, incorporating three varieties of black canvas that will provide an inspiring choice for all discerning artists. Matisse Derivan Double Primed Artist Canvas is the product of collaboration between WCT (Wax Converters Textiles), Australia’s leading canvas mill, and Matisse Derivan, Australia’s leading artist acrylic manufacturer. These two companies working together have combined the very best of their ranges to produce the ultimate painting surface. WCT’s high quality canvas fabrics are all coated with acrylic primer (gesso) from Matisse Derivan, made to exacting standards; and the canvas and coating are gently dried under tension, maintaining perfect warp and weft structure. The…