Australian How To Paint magazine chooses a topic or style of art each issue and gives you a comprehensive guide for you to develop your skills. Over the series we will cover all major painting techniques plus popular paint ideas.
When Ludij came to Australia with her family at the age of six, she first landed at Derby in Western Australia – a far cry from the city life of Amsterdam. Finally disembarking from the ship at Fremantle, the family flew to Cairns via Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. On the flight from Brisbane to Cairns, the plane stopped frequently at towns all the way up the coast. Ludij recalls that the further north they went, the smaller the airports became. Initially painting in oils, Ludij Peden’s subject matter evolved from the rivers, creeks, canefields, mountains and coastline of tropical North Queensland to stockmen, water buffalo and escarpments when she and her husband moved to the Northern Territory. Ludij is not really sure when her fascination with houses began, but…
MATERIALS Stretched primed canvas, 600 x 900 mm. Black and white gesso. Flat and round soft Taklon brushes of varying sizes. Fine rigger brush. Palette knife. Coloured pastel pencils. Genesis Heat Set Oils: Cobalt Blue; Ultramarine Blue; Burnt Umber; Burnt Sienna; Black; Titanium White; Yellow Ochre; Alizarin Crimson; Indigo; Genesis Yellow. Genesis Thinning Medium and Genesis Glazing Medium. Paper towels. Heat gun. Glass palette. STEP ONE The first thing I do when confronted with a white canvas is give it several coats of coloured gesso. In this case, because I had already determined the mood and setting, I decided to merge a black gesso at the top into a white gesso towards the bottom of the canvas. Using coloured pastel pencils, I drew in the subject and placements of the…
I began my true artistic journey 11 years ago in 2002, when I considered it was high time for a bit of selfishness in my life. I had played with creativity as a child, experimented in oils as a teenager and encouraged art in all my teaching roles as an adult. When it came time to pursue my own art dreams, watercolour was what I wanted to do. I had spent years touring galleries, studying and admiring works of art that were way beyond my financial means. In the end I decided that I just needed to paint my own! Watercolours were inspirational because of transparent beauty and the flow of the medium. I loved the clean power that could be expressed through this medium. The techniques were initially learnt…
MATERIALS 2B graphite pencil ½ sheet 185GSM hot pressed Arches paper Backing board Spray bottle Brushes – Small and medium mop brushes – Rigger brush – Flat brushes (1/2 and 1/4 inch) Paint – PR 206, which is a Brown Madder or Avignon Orange – PB 16 which is a Turquoise – White gouache I have chosen to simplify the composition, so this is basically a tonal painting using complementary colours. I have chosen by the pigment number rather than by brand. STEP ONE Prepare the surface i.e. stretch the paper. With 185gsm paper I generously spray each side with water, allowing time for it to absorb and for the paper to buckle. I them roll it out flat with a paint roller and use staples (they always work) to…
John Shields is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of History and Arts; a Life Member and Past President of the Macquarie Towns Arts Society; an Exhibiting Member of the New South Wales Royal Art Society; and a Life Member of the Baulkham Hills Art Society. He was born at Pennant Hills in suburban Sydney. He now lives and paints at Richmond on Sydney’s northern outskirts. Aside from receiving some tuition at Wagga Wagga Teachers’ College (1953-1954), and subsequently completing an Arts Degree at the University of New England, John has been largely self-taught. Australian artists who have influenced his work include Gruner, Streeton, Heysen and Robert Johnson. The main characteristics of this artist’s work are ‘atmosphere and light’. His main interest is endeavouring to capture the varying light effects…
MATERIALS Canvas board 76 x 51 cm. Artists’ oil paints: Titanium White (TW); Cobalt Blue (CB) or Ultramarine Blue; Yellow Ochre (YO); Cadmium Yellow (CY); Permanent Magenta (PM) or Crimson Lake; Indian Red (IR); Cadmium Red (CR); Burnt Umber (BU) or Burnt Umber with Viridian Green. Brushes: Flat brushes Number 6 and Number 8; 3cm wide brush; liner brush. Palette knife. Reference photographs. To achieve the best results, I commenced the painting with the attitude ‘this is going to be the best painting I have attempted up to this date’. The following steps have worked for me. I have developed them over the past 40 years. However, individuality is one of the strengths of art. You would be well advised to be selective and choose only those methods which work…
