Innehållsförteckning för Issue 7 Volume 4 från Artists Back to Basics

We have some fabulous articles for you in this issue of Artist’s Back to Basics. I think all artists are constantly frustrated by the quality of their photography when it comes to their resource material for their artwork. In this issue we start a series of articles that will help you have a better understanding of your camera and photography and have the perfect reference photo for your next fine art endeavour. Whilst on the topic of artwork and photography, in this issue of Artist’s Back to Basics we take a journey along the River Rhine. The beauty of the river captured in the 1800’s in wonderful artworks is then revisited in recent times and photographed showing the accuracy of the artwork from the previous time. We love to receive…

One of my all time favourite aspects of drawing is use of contrast. All the same principles pretty much apply no matter whether working in graphite or pastel but I’ll be mostly chasing the 2B graphite dragon in this article. There are various quite disparate elements to contrast that easily bear further happy examination so let’s go.... Tonal Contrast The entire premise of Chiaroscuro is about using contrast in various ways to achieve depth and three-dimensionality. Literally the term means drawing using only light and dark. With 2B graphite on white paper (the artistic planet I most like to live on) it means you have only got the dark tones to work with right from the first pencil mark. As my old master artist teacher used to say over and…

MATERIALS Custom made carry bag which contains everything below. • French easel• Flat (brights) brushes sizes ranging from 2 to 12• Palette knife• A couple of riggers• Paints– Titanium White– Cadmium Yellow Light– Cadmium Yellow Deep– Cadmium Red Light– Alizarin Crimson– French Ultramarine Blue– Colbalt Blue– Viridian• Paper towel• Gum turps bottle• Turps pot• Brush container• Plastic rubbish bags• Sunscreen and insect repellent• View finder• Water bottle (for drinking and clean up)• Rubber gloves• Small container of dishwashing liquid for cleaning hands• Clamp on umbrella.• Drying box for wet paintings (carried separately) STEP ONE I start with a 10” x 12” linen stained with a dry wash of Cadmium Yellow and Alizarin. With a turpsy wash of Ultramarine Blue and Alizarin Crimson, I sketch a composition comprising the main shapes of rocks, headland et cetera, with particular emphasis on the shape and position of the sunlit area…

MATERIALS •  Archers watercolour paper 300gms• Masking tape• 2B pencil• Raphael size 8 Chinese mop brush• Raphael size 4 Chinese mop brush• Rigger brush• Water• Paints– Raw Sienna– Alizarin Crimson– Cadmium Red– Ultramarine Blue– Antwerp Blue– Indian Yellow STEP ONE Tape paper to a board. Draw out using a 2B pencil. STEP TWO Wet certain areas that you want colour in, being careful not to go near the cars or the front of buildings to keep them white. Using a large brush, I used a Raphel size 8 Chinese mop brush, add in colour: • Mixture of Raw Sienna/ Alizarin for the buildings • Antwerp/Raw Sienna/Cadmium Red for the far left tree • Alizarin/Ultramarine Blue for the distant Jacaranda and fence • Antwerp/Indian Yellow (most) /touch of Alizarin for other trees and footpath Let it dry. STEP…

"I was actually going to use it as a question in my From the Drawing Board column in Creative Artist magazine but quite quickly realised there was really far too much in it to do justice in one Q&A paragraph." A Great Question It was during the artist-in-residency of my last exhibition, there was original art all over the walls to use as examples, so I used the opportunity to explain my take on the whole thing and how it all fits in to creating original fine art for her right there and then. I was actually going to use it as a question in my From the Drawing Board column in Creative Artist magazine but quite quickly realised there was really far too much in it to do justice…

Opening 4 November 2016 as Newcastle Art Gallery’s major summer exhibition, “John Olsen: The City’s Son” will consist of a collection of specially chosen works co-curated by the artist and Newcastle Art Gallery Manager Lauretta Morton. Born in Newcastle in 1928, John Olsen OBE, AO considers himself a Novocastrian and he says this project is personal for him; a reflection on his beginnings, his home and the place that he credits as generating the lighthearted lyricism in his paintings. An Australian national treasure and master painter, Olsen has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his prolific artistic career, including the Wynne Prize in 1969 and 1985 and the Archibald Prize in 2005.…

Whenever I see photos of the ocean I feel calm. I wanted to bring a little calm and tranquillity into my day and so this image of Main beach came to mind. I have made the choice to paint this picture using Acrylic. Although Acrylic is great to work with, it can be a challenge in the warmer weather due to its “fast drying” nature. I almost always use retarder medium in my Acrylic paints, this slows down the drying time allowing for easier blending of colours. STEP ONE Having made a rough sketch of my design directly onto my gallery edged canvas 40cm x 50cm and using an H grey lead pencil I started blocking in my colours. I wanted a loose style with a build up of layers…

Aperture is a setting on the camera that allows for creative control over your images. Used in conjunction with the shutter speed and ISO it makes up the exposure on the camera. It directly affects the amount of light that enters the camera to create the image. How does aperture work? The aperture of the camera refers to a diaphragm inside the lens that changes in size to alter the amount of light that enters the camera. Similar to the human eye, a front element focuses the light and the diaphragm (aperture) changes to allow the correct amount of light to enter. Aperture is measured in f numbers or f stops and in the case of manually controllable cameras these are displayed on the camera and at times on the…

MATERIALS •  Round brush, no smaller than a size 8 for the whole painting. Watercolour paper 6 x 10cm• Masking tape• Small board• Paint - Your choice of colour — other than yellow as it is too pale• Water• Hairdryer (optional) Step one Tape the paper to the board with masking tape. Put the board on a lean. With a good amount of water do a flat wash (same tone all of the way to the bottom of the paper) of your chosen colour. Ensure the wash covers the whole paper. One way is by painting onto the masking tape. Let it dry. Using a hairdryer from a distance will help it dry quicker. Step two Using the same strength of colour as the flat wash, paint a hill (or wavy line). Ensure the wash…

Exhibition: 3 September to 13 November 2016 Entry: Free Newcastle Art Gallery offers a prestigious annual art prize for figurative and portrait painting, the Kilgour Prize, which awards $50,000 for the most outstanding example of contemporary Australian paintings in these Genres. Funded through the bequest of artist Jack Noel Kilgour, the Kilgour Prize is one of Australia’s major art prizes, which grows each year in both quality and quantity of entries. The winner of the “Kilgour Prize 2015” was Janelle Thomas for her painting ‘Helen Ross, 94 with Kirsty’. Jack Noel Kilgour (1900–1987) was an Australian artist well known for his academic approach to landscape and portrait painting. His contemporaries included Jean Bellette, William Dobell, Paul Haefliger, Eric Wilson and his wife Nancy Kilgour, with whom he established a strong…

MATERIALS •  10oz cotton duct canvas, pine stretcher 80 x 80cm• Primer/sealer white house paint• Charcoal transfer paper• Brushes: variety of flat soft brushes, short hair hard and soft, comb and small liner brushes• Liquitex Matt Varnish, Liquitex Gloss Medium Varnish mixed together• Acrylic paints: Mixture of Matisse and Atelier• Raw Umber• Titanium White• Carbon Black• Burnt Siena• Raw Siena• Burnt Umber• Yellow Mid• Naphtali Scarlet• Cobalt Blue Hue “I also find painting straight from the palette using a dry brush and very little water yields the best results for me” STEP ONE I prime the canvas with two to three coats of white primer sealer, allowing to dry thoroughly between coats. Meanwhile, I draw a series of thumbnails in my visual diary, brainstorming ideas for the composition. I then look through my photo library for reference on the computer or on the internet…

Travelling and our family’s love of four-wheel drive adventures led me on my journey to create plein air artworks. To create whilst travelling has been a challenge and an absolute joy, a feeling most artists would be able to resonate with. Over the years, watercolour has been my preferred medium to capture our travels. A picturesque record of the places we have explored. Using watercolours has been convenient. I have been able to complete quick sketches, and it has been lightweight to carry whilst on the road, which is perfect for a travelling artist who is in awe of the great Australian landscape. "A picturesque record of the places we have explored." I admit there have been challenges, as watercolours can be unpredictable; they have a life of their own;…

Cross-cultural initiatives in Australian contemporary art Exhibition: 28 May to 7 August 2016 Entry: Free “BLACK WHITE & RESTIVE” is part of an ongoing national conversation that explores engagements between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists. The artists brought together here represent the diversity of approaches to cross-cultural art practice in works that span direct collaborations and more subtle, and at times controversial, forms of influence and exchange. The exhibition draws upon Newcastle Art Gallery’s collection of Hermannsburg watercolours and other modernist and postmodern paintings to contextualise cross-cultural currents in Australian contemporary art. The narrative begins with the creative relationship between Albert Namatjira and Rex Battarbee established in the 1930s and revisits 1980s appropriations as well as highlighting large-scale collaborations and formal dialogues from the mid-1990s through to 2015. Other artists from…