Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 20 i Australian How To Paint

I was born in Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. I met my Australian husband when he was on a working holiday in the UK, and he ‘kidnapped’ me and brought me to Australia in the mid ’70s. Seymour in Victoria is my home now. I work for Victoria Police as an Administrative Officer part-time; and the other part of my time, I paint! I have received no formal art training. I am passionate about depicting the Australian bush and the rural way of life. The light in this country is so clear, compared to the soft atmosphere of Europe; and the colours are strong. It really is the Lucky Country and I am very glad I live here. I have had a lifelong interest in art. I think the main…

Sydney was my birthplace in 1948. I was raised in suburban Balmain. At the age of 30, I moved from the city to the country – to a beautiful little place called Callala Bay on the south coast of NSW. From there I moved to the mountain Mt Beppo in Queensland, but longed to be closer to the sea. Woolgoolga in NSW is my home now. My parents did not share my passion for art, however my paintings hung on every wall in the house so I feel that represented an acceptance. My interest in art became obvious as a child. I won many children’s art prizes in primary school. I can remember one particular painting, it is so vivid in my mind as my love for thick impasto paint…

I was born 55 years ago in a small country town in NSW. I’m a great husband (according to my wife), a wonderful father (according to me) and a realist artist. I am now happily married and living on the beautiful Central Coast of NSW. From as long as I could remember I was interested in drawing and sketching, usually filling up my school books with cartoons, to the dismay of my parents, instead of Maths or English. My hard work paid off when I won an art prize in Primary School. It was not quite the academic award my parents would have like me to have received, although they were still proud. In High School I chose Art and Technical Drawing as electives, but in Senior High School I…

From the age of seven it was evident that Genevieve Montgomerie’s drawing demonstrated a child’s talent for capturing what it was that she saw as opposed to what was in the mind’s eye. An unusual talent for a child of this age, her artwork drew great interest from her teacher and principal among others, which in turn inspired Montgomerie to continue to observe carefully and sketch, render and layer – pencil, pastel and eventually paint on countless sheets of butcher’s paper, notebooks and visual diaries. In 1993 Montgomerie began four years at Melbourne University studying Visual Arts Education. Following graduation from Melbourne University, and prior to commencing as a secondary teacher at Sacred Heart College, Montgomerie travelled to Western Australia with her (now) husband. Discovering the incredible, intoxicating colour of…

MATERIALS • Art Spectrum Colourfix paper. • A variety of Pastels – mainly Art Spectrum, Winsor & Newton, Rembrandt, Schminke and Unison. I’ve chosen this subject for several reasons. It has all the elements I love in a view: An elevated perspective, a vast panorama, a wide expanse of water reflecting the colours of the ever changing sky. I couldn’t ask for more. I will doubtless paint this scene again and again. It is so important to have passion and conviction about the subjects you paint … and this scene never fails to excite me. STEP ONE With a pastel pencil I very loosely sketch in the basic layout and shapes to establish the basic composition. I decide where the horizon line will be as I usually place it higher…

For this demonstration, I chose to paint a scene of the Goulburn River, Seymour. Water is one of my favourite subjects. I obtained the reference material on a warm summer evening just as the sun was going down, and the mosquitoes were coming out! I took some reference photographs, and then sat beside the river and made a few small sketches with my pastels mainly to establish what colours I would use (working very quickly before the light disappeared). In the studio I attached a sheet of burgundy Colourfix paper (made by Art Spectrum) to my easel. I also attached a sheet of paper towel to the board beside my paper (this was helpful to give the pastels a quick swipe to clean them as I worked). I have a…

MATERIALS • Arches Oil Paper • No. 4 Medium • Palette knife • Light oil stick • Paints: – Cerulean Blue – Ultramarine Blue – Sapphire – Titanium White – Viridian – Burnt Umber – Alizarin Crimson STEP ONE The first thing I do when I enter my studio is put on a CD. Music helps to create the ambience and sets the mood. Working roughly and spontaneously, I sketched my image with Cerulean Blue. I began with the clouds, as they are the dominant feature. The dark areas (Ultramarine and a touch of Alizarin) made a beautiful dark, followed by light areas (White with a touch Cerulean), and then mid tones (Sapphire, Viridian and White). With a light touch and constantly cleaning your brush, run all areas together carefully…

MATERIALS • Artist quality canvas 60cm x 45cm • Gesso primer • Artist quality oil paints: Cerulean Blue, French Ultramarine, Titanium White, Lilac, Indian Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Raw Sienna, Cadmium Red, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Viridian, Paynes Grey • Taklon Bristle Brushes rounded 05, 1, 2, 4, No 12 and No 18 Flat, 5/0 and No 2 Rigger and No 2 Fan Brushes • Liquin • Spray Matt Lacquer When travelling with my wife through the Northern Territory we were lucky enough to visit Katherine Gorge. I took a photo of this scene of kayaks and canoes moored in the gorge, showing the contrast of nature and man-made, thinking one day it may make a great painting. After becoming more confident with oils I decided to take up…

MATERIALS I use good quality canvas that is pre-gessoed and stretched by a professional framer! I no longer purchase pre-cut stretcher bars due to the fact that they still seem to warp when stretching a large canvas and they limit me for size choice. On receiving my stretched canvas I apply a final coat of gesso to ensure the surface is as smooth as possible. I tend to use round brushes rather than flat ones and stick with my old favourites for years!! They vary in sizes from #0 to #12. Of course I use much larger brushes to block in the colour of the sky and the water and sand in the very beginning. A flattish 25mm synthetic brush is perfect for this. Occasionally I will use a Filbert…

MATERIALS • Canvas • Coloured pencil • Pthalo Green • Yellow Green • Zinc White • Pthalo Blue • Yellow Ochre • #2 taklon liner brush • #12 soft taklon liner brush • Small liner brushes • Soft blending brush • Medium flat edged taklon • Small flat edged taklon Note: Acrylics were used for the base coat, followed by multiple layers of oil paints over the top. Size: 2000 x 700mm STEP ONE I start every painting with a trip to the location I’m going to paint - to get extra photos if needed, but more so to get a feel for what I want to express through the work. Once back in the studio it usually takes a few sketches before I’m ready to do a final, all-important…

MATERIALS • Paints: – Atelier Interactive – Titanium White • Napthol Red Light • Pthalo Blue • French Ultramarine Blue • Cadmium Yellow Light • Cadmium Yellow Medium • Dioxazine Purple • Burnt Umber • Forest Green • Brushes: Flat/chisels sizes 2, 4, 8, 12 and a large house painting brush approximately 10 cm • Canvas: This was pre-stretched, approximately 750mm x 600mm. STEP ONE I’ve dragged out an old canvas with a couple of paintings already underneath. I like the fact that it has a little bit of build and texture in it already. I lay a nice thick coat of Napthol Red Light over the top of it, and let that dry. I then roughly chalk in the outline of the pandanus leaves. As a surfer and someone…

Before painting the waterdrop, observe the reaction of water on the plant surface. Different surfaces hold different shaped drops and some surfaces repel water so no drops form. Take some water and drop it on to the leaf surface and observe the shape and size of the drop the water forms. Think about suitability. Some flowers and leaves are not associated with waterdrops, while others such as camellias or roses are often represented with drops. The drops should not be too focal. The outline should be darker than the surface colour and the initial outline should be very fine. If the colour is too dark, or the final drop is too dark, the area will become very focal and the eye will be drawn directly to the drop. Waterdrops should…

Tanzania in East Africa was Louise Derry’s birthplace. Her home these days is in far north Queensland. She has earned an arts degree in ‘Art, Design and Technology’ which combined a variety of art modules including pottery; printmaking; fabrics; silversmithing and jewellery; woodwork; and art history. “I specialised in painting in my final year,” she admits. “I wasted much of my college time as I was far more interested in my newfound freedom and independence – being away from home. What I do today is the result of simply doing it; trial and error; and learning through the process. And I have many more learning years to go. Over a few years I have also done several workshops with various artists who I admire.” Louise has always loved and admired…

I was born in Brisbane in 1971. My parents split when I was 10, and life was pretty turbulent until I met my wife Shannon when I was 17. After doing various jobs, I settled in to a job working with an underground directional drilling company. We drilled under roads and highways, laying cables and pipes for utility companies – phone, gas electricity; that sort of thing. Shannon and I would head to the Gold Coast and Byron Bay every weekend, and really got into the surfing lifestyle. I love the beach and surfing and everything that comes with it. It’s a place that feeds my soul, and I am at my happiest when I am there. I have always been pretty creative, and while we stayed home to save…