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 technques plus popular paint ideas.
Presently, I live in a small rock lobster village about 60 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia, although I was born in Melbourne. My home is only a stone’s throw from a pristine beach with spectacular high dunes and a reef running parallel to the shore. The beach has been a major influence on my current work which boasts large acrylic canvasses depicting the dunes and the ocean at varying times of day. I’m especially interested in light and the patterns it makes in the early morning and at dusk – when everything takes on a pinkish tinge. I work at home in my studio upstairs, where I can see the views I love and where I have natural lighting for painting. In the summer it gets very hot…
MATERIALS • Better quality Winsor & Newton deep edge canvas – 38 x 40 inches. Cheap canvas stretchers warp when doing a canvas of this size, so money spent initially will save heartbreak later. • Atelier and Matisse acrylic paints. Avoid cheap imitations. Matisse has a ‘buttery’ texture, while Atelier is easier to spread on the canvas. Use whichever you prefer. Cheaper paint can be used for underpainting during the initial stages. • Brushes: Use a variety of acrylic brushes. I use mostly rounds and brights for foliage. A two inch hardware bristle brush is a good tool for beginning washes of ground. A liner brush is used for final details. • Colours: Turquoise, White, Black (for toning only), Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Purple, Alizarin Crimson, Naples Yellow, Burnt Umber,…
Born in England, I migrated to Australia in 1968 at the age of ten. I work ful -time as a clerk with the State Government and I live at Lake Macquarie in New South Wales. I completed an informal art course at Dobel House, Wangi, when my youngest child was 18 months old … because I needed some ‘me’ time. My daughter is now nearly 18 years old. I have an affinity with the ocean and I love painting the movement of waves; and trying to achieve the translucency of water. I have an older brother who has been an artist most of his life. As a child, I always compared my artwork with his. As a result, I didn’t consider myself very good at drawing or art – and…
I work on a draughtsman’s board at a nearly vertical angle. I have made a tray out of thick paper and taped it to the bottom of the board to catch pastel dust. I periodically vacuum this out. My father-in-law made a small table on castors which I keep on my left. This holds the pastels I am currently working with; and my calculator, ruler and colour charts. The table on my right holds all of my pastels (which are kept in drawers in colour-coded order), and my pastel pencils. MATERIALS • Medium grey sanded pastel paper. • Rembrandt pastels (medium). • Schmincke pastels (soft). • Pastel pencils. • Charcoal. • Kneadable eraser. • Dust mask. • Disposable latex glove. • Paper torchon. • Stanley knife. • Clear plastic ruler.…
First published in the UK’s The Artist magazine, April 2012 issue, available from www.painters-online.co.uk” STAGE ONE I began by roughly sketching the scene with the edge of an Artbar. I was able to cover large areas quickly and create sharp edges, which is perfect for the silhouette shapes on the mount and castle. STAGE TWO I added further colours, working with the Artbars as crayons without any added water. With their creamy consistency, the colours mingle very well together. Wiping a dampened brush over the Artbar creates an interesting mottled effect, which was just what I was after to add interest. STAGE THREE By adding more water I was able to create the drips and dribbles that I love. I also worked on darker areas by flicking a slightly dampened…
The seaside with its vivid colours, endless movement and constant change is Scott Christensen’s muse. His work commits to canvas the beautiful crystal clear days south eastern Queensland is famous for as well as scenes of blustering seas during dramatic storms and local attractions such the distinctive Byron Bay and Coolangatta headlands. His subjects are close to his home and close to his heart and this shows in his careful rendition of colour and the attention to detail in his work. As a child, Scott remembers often drawing cartoons and even winning a stamp design competition when he was just ten. “I was always the kid that all the other ones would crowd around in the classroom to see what I was drawing,” he remembers. And even though he has…
