Australian How To Paint Issue 29

Jenny Greentree resides on an ancient red ridge overlooking Gidgee Lake – quite literally out the ‘Back of Bourke’ in western New South Wales. Her home has been a source of inspiration which has helped to unlock her exciting God-given talents. Jenny uses pastels in a style that is fresh and crisp. She manipulates pure colours, line and tone to capture the extraordinary images of the Australian Outback which she experiences on a daily basis. Waking up to a spectacular sunrise, or driving down the road and being struck by the glistening light of the sun reflecting off an approaching storm, cannot fail to spark the creativity of this talented lady. She still responds in wonder at beautiful sunsets, and is still mesmerised by the sight of the moon rising…

STEP ONE I make a sketch, considering tone and compositional arrangement, remembering that sunlight will be a feature of this painting. I select most colours before I start, choosing colours with reference to photographs. I consider complementary colours and often exaggerate a little for impact. I use Colourfix pastel paper (half a sheet of Blue Haze for this picture) taped to board for stability. STEP TWO I draw in a horizon line with pastel pencil and block in cloud area colours with soft pastels. Straight strokes (often the side of the pastel) are used in distant and streaky clouds. Curvy strokes to help form cloud shapes are used for the fluffy cloud areas. This is done quickly and roughly. STEP THREE With fingers, I blend cloud areas – beginning with…

Full-time teacher Michael Einersen had been painting for around 20 years under the inspirational tutelage of Glenn Demnar. Until recently, painting was mainly an enjoyable pastime. His works would briefly adorn his walls, soon to be ‘acquired’ by friends and family members. Although he still loved his daily interaction with students, at the end of 2005 he decided to resign from his job of 23 years – to devote his time to art. “I have always enjoyed experimenting with landscapes, principally of Australian natural environments.” says Michael. “Lack of time and finances, however, often meant the subject matter would be inspired by memory or photographs. While living in Karana Downs in the far western suburbs of Brisbane, however, I discovered the forestry trails of the Moggill State Forest and quickly…

STEP ONE 8.30 AM SATURDAY I usually work from an idea based either on photos or sketches from my limited travels or, more often than not, from whatever comes up in my mind at the time (as with this painting). I always underpaint the canvas in a turps-thinned colour. This is done because I prefer working quickly, a process which often leaves ‘gaps’ in the application. The underpaint fills these gaps with a colour that seems appropriate; for this painting, I’m using Prussian Blue. I’ve made a very quick sketch on paper and then (with chalk) drawn a really rough copy on the canvas. The rougher the better, to allow for accidents and new ideas to arise. STEP TWO 9.00 AM SATURDAY For this painting, I roughly painted in some…

• Brushes: I have many brushes of different sizes on hand, and I grab whatever seems right at the time. The brushes are so old and that I can’t read the numbers, but I think they range from 00 to 12. A gesso brush is also used for reflections. • Canvas: Artist’s Corner Cotton Duck 91.4 x 121.8 cm. These are cheap, but generally very reliable. • Paints: I generally use Mont Marte oil paints as they’re inexpensive and their pigments suit my palette: Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Brilliant Red, Raw Sienna, Cobalt Blue Hue. I also use Louvre Prussian Blue. • The cheapest turps available. • Disposable palette • Linseed oil…

• Expensive materials are not always necessary. There’s no need to go broke because of your art. • Learn from the past; study artists’ works with which you feel empathy. Thieve and adapt, and your own voice will arrive. • Don’t over-analyse. Allow for accidents and ‘organic’ growth – it’s always in the unexpected where the most life is found in a work. • Don’t take your art too seriously. It’s meant to be fun! Don’t be afraid to experiment. • Disregard all the above tips if they don’t work for you!…