Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 17 i Australian How To Paint

Every artist wants to master the skill of portraits. This is the second time we have explored drawing and painting portraits in the How to Paint series. We cover all mediums in this issue with 7 fantastic demonstrations by some very talented artists. This issue has heaps of techniques for you to try and is full of tips and advice for you to improve your portraiture drawing and painting. We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Australian How to Paint – Portraits. We would love to see your artwork and hear from you. Please send an email or letter with photos of your work. Please send them to Woodlands Publishing, PO Box 8035 Glenmore Park NSW 2745 or simon@wpco.com.au . Paint to enjoy!…

Skin colours and tones: This is a very important area and is subjective to each individual artist. I find testing the mixed colours on the palm of my hand offers a good colour/tone indicator. Tonal value scale: I use a ten step tonal scale, with ‘0’ being white and ‘10” being black with tonal steps between. Prepare and take good reference photographs of the model. Face and figure proportions are always important to the portrait artist, and can take much practise to fully understand and apply. A good reference photo is a valuable tool to assist this understanding. Photographic reference: In a perfect world, I love to paint from the model during live studio sittings. Unfortunately, in our modern world this luxury is not always available. Therefore, I often choose…

• I am a big believer in the use of a limited palette of staining transparent colour. Here are some limited colour schemes that I like to use: a.Winsor Blue Green Shade, Permanent Rose, Winsor Yellow b. Cobalt Blue, Winsor Green Gold and Permanent Rose c. Winsor Green Blue Shade, Thalo Yellow Green (Grumbacher) and Permanent Rose d. Perylene Green, Green Gold, Winsor Blue Green Shade and Permanent Rose • Practice colour washes of mingled colour. • Practice negative painting (painting around light areas). • Practice pulling out colour while paint and paper are still damp. • Be patient. There’s nothing wrong with taking your time. I can feel when I’m being impatient. Things don’t go as well for me then. • Watch your posture. Sit directly behind your paper.…

• A good clear reference photo, preferably in black and white and one also in colour • Use a good quality paper • Keep pencils sharp • Make squaring up really light on your blank paper • Always have a clean piece of paper under your drawing hand to prevent oils from your skin touching paper • Depending on what hand you write with, work from the opposite side • Hold pencil lightly and towards non pointed end, except for small detail • Take regular breaks to avoid eye strain and tight muscles. You will get a better perspective when away from it, and come back • If something is bothering you about it, leave it for a day and you will be surprised how it pops out at you…

Painting, fashion and photography. These are the forces that drive my working life as an artist. Every piece of work I produce can be distilled down to this triumvirate of pursuits I’m so passionate about. In terms of fashion, I’ve always been drawn to past eras more so than contemporary fare. I’ve collected many beautiful vintage dresses over the years and these are my props. My friends thankfully pose for me. I style them, adorn them with jewels and photograph them. I’ve been very lucky to have friends who enjoy posing and who are perfect models. I then work from my photos. I always enjoyed taking my own photos for my paintings, however more recently my friend Elizabeth Willis (a talented photographer) and I have worked together to create beautiful…

MATERIALS • 150gsm Acid free drawing cartridge • Pencil grades: 2B, HB, F & 2H (6B used for graphite powder supply) • Faber Castell Dust-Free Eraser x 2 (1 for blending and 1 for • Zest-it (Pencil Blend) • Zest-it (Blending Sponge) • Tortillions x 2 (1 small and 1 medium) All artists need to be able to conceptualise their final work in their mind. To ensure your compositions are correct you need to be able to draw well enough to ensure your perspectives and tonal variations are true. I have hung up my brushes for the past two months and reverted to the world of monotone; re-honing my drawing skills to speak. I have commissioned myself to draw 36 portraits in pencil before moving back to the canvas and…

MATERIALS • Odourless Solvent • Prismacolor pencils: – Blue – Yellow – Light purple • Winsor & Newton Oil colours: – Titanium White – Scarlet Lake – Burnt Sienna – Lemon Yellow – Vandyke Brown – Prussian Blue – Cobalt Blue – Indigo • Art Spectrum Oil colours: – Flesh Tint – Spectrum Red Deep • Winsor & Newton Linseed Stand Oil • Paint brushes varied sizes and brands, mostly square tip STEP ONE Using Prismacolor pencils (I find they work well for me as the pencil marks seem to dissolve when painted over), sketch out the main points of the painting. I tend to use a blue or brown where the shadow or cool areas of the painting will be, and yellow for the highlighted areas. Then I begin…

• Full of bird and animal art demonstrations • All mediums covered • Advice, Ideas and techniques explained • Creative tips from amazing wildlife artists Look for it in your newsstand soon – or become a subscriber to ensure that you never miss an issue! We would love to hear your views on almost anything to do with art. Please don’t hesitate to write to us at Australian How to Paint. Send your letters to: The Editor, Australian How to Paint magazine, PO Box 8035, Glenmore Park NSW 2745.…

Australian artist, painter and tutor, Don Milner chooses themes and subjects from Australia's rich and unique way of life, its characters and scenery, all of which inspire, colour and enrich his world as an artist. His honest, intuitive approach to painting have won Don many awards and accolades, which has led to lost of commissioned art works produced in his popular themes. Artists who influence and inspire him include Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez, and Godward. Modern day masters include Norman Lindsay, Sydney Long, Rupert Bunny, Tom Roberts, and James Whistler, and contemporary artists include Ralf Heimans, Richard Schmid, Hal Barton, Herman Pekel, and Kevin Beilfuss. “I am primarily a 'visual communicator' using images to tell stories in my own way as I celebrate my ‘freedom of expression’ through mediums such as…

Why I started painting: From the time I was very young, I felt the pull of art. My early experiences included visits to art museums with my family. Seeing Pinkie and The Blue Boy at the Huntington Art Museum was an eye-opening experience. I had begun drawing faces and was fascinated by artists’ ability to achieve a three dimensional illusion. My great aunt, a teacher, noticed my interest and encouraged me to draw. I’ll always remember her support. My family was always up for a summer vacation adventure. We backpacked in the wilderness, boated and fished in Mexico, drove across country, wandered Yellowstone, and flew to Hawaii, exposing me to new and wondrous things to study. How would I paint the way the water moved, the way the sun sparkled…

MATERIALS – Acrylics • I use a mixture of Atelier, Jo Sonja and Matisse – Oils • I use Windsor and Newton • Burnt Umber • French Ultramarine • Alizarin Crimson • Flinders Blue Violet • Yellow Ochre • Titanium White • Cadmium Red • Terre Verte (sometimes Flinders Blue Violet) • Cadmium Yellow • Mars Black • Scarlet Lake • Indian Yellow • Manganese Blue • Vermillion Red • Liquin for quicker drying times between layers • Watercolour pencil STEP ONE Preparing your canvas, drawing I give my canvas a light sanding as I like it smooth. I prefer to paint on linen these days; it has a lovely texture and absorbs the paint differently to canvas. I begin by painting the canvas with acrylics a block colour, usually…

• Always buy quality pencils and get to know your B, F and H ratings. • I recommend at least 6 Faber Castell Dust-Free erasers. • Over the years I have never had an ounce of trouble with the A5 Helix Pencil Sharpener. • Never buy paper less than 150gsm. • Always put down a lighter grade pencil first as it is easier to darken an image than lighten it. • Look after your pencils by packing them in either a wrap or a tackle box with bubble wrap as there is nothing worse than sharpening a pencil with broken lead segments every 3mm or so.…

MATERIALS • A good and sturdy floor or desk easel is a great asset in any artist’s studio • Suitable palette or 2 white plastic dinner plates • Painting knife for mixing • 2 water containers (ice cream containers or similar) • Dishwashing liquid • 4B pencil • Kneaded eraser • Willow charcoal stick 3-4mm x 1 • Stretched canvas • Fine mister water sprayer • Clean cloth or rags • Two old towels • Box of plain white tissues – Brushes: • Hog Bristle: Bright (#12, #10) + Flat (#8, #6) + Filbert (#6) • Taklon Pointed Round (#4 or #6) • Taklon Flat (#6, #4, #2) • Taklon Liner (#1) – Paint: • I use artist’s quality paint for the best results, which are both rich and smooth,…

MATERIALS • Paper: Arches artist-grade cold-press paper, 140 lb (stretched on a plywood board) or 300 lb. clipped on gatorboard. • Brushes: A full range of round synthetic and sable brushes from a 00 through a #36-Goliath (Robert Simmons white sable). I like both Robert Simmons white sable and Princeton brushes, and also use Raphael sables. • Palette: Robert E Wood rectangular palette with cover • Paints: – Winsor Yellow – Permanent Rose – Winsor Blue Green Shade – Winsor Dioxazine Violet – Winsor Orange – Perylene Green – Winsor Green Gold – Cobalt Blue • Two water containers: quart or larger plastic containers • 2B pencil and sharpener or automatic pencil • Graphite transfer paper (no wax) for transferring your image to watercolour paper • Kneaded eraser • Household…

MATERIALS • Bristol smooth 260gm paper • Staedtler pencils ranging from 4H to 4B • Electric eraser • Kneadable rubber • Tortillon • Ruler • Pencil sharpener • Really clear reference photo STEP ONE Box up your picture you are copying from into squares and do the same with your art paper. Do this really lightly on the blank sheet, so it can be erased. Lightly pencil in the outline of your portrait and when happy with it start rubbing out squares. An electric eraser is great for this job. Secure your work on a board which is a size that is easy to rotate, for getting the right angles for layering. STEP TWO Starting with 4H, hold the pencil lightly towards the non-pointy end and layer the face leaving…

We all have fond memories of drawing on scraps of paper when we were kids. Smudging those messy oil crayons around a giant sheet of butcher’s paper drawing Mum, Dad and your brothers and sisters in front of that square house with the mandatory smoke billowing chimney was where it all started. It was here and throughout school that most young artists were inspired enough to pursue art as a career. Some of us loved those art classes where others loved mathematics and chemistry. But once the call of art is heard, it is nigh impossible to deviate from that calling. To be a good artist I believe one must be able to draw proficiently first and those skills need to be honed on a regular basis; pulling them out…