Innehållsförteckning för Issue 10 Volume 1 från Artists Back to Basics

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STEP ONE Border & Sketch Draw a light pencil border the size you would like your sketch. This is particularly helpful if you want to do several small sketches on the one page. The border also prevents you sketching to the edge of your paper and the sketch becoming a finished painting. The border also allows you to extend your sketch if you have run out of space. STEP TWO Adding Colour Using a travelling palette and waterbrush begin adding colour. Areas in the front have more detail, are stronger in colour and are warmer. Colours in the rear do not have pen outlines. They are cooler (more blue) and lighter in intensity. STEP THREE Texture & Focal Points When painting the brickwork, drop in more colour to achieve the…

Born in Melbourne in 1985 and raised in Sydney, Patrick attended The College of Fine Arts, experimenting with several mediums including film, video, sculpture and sound, before settling on painting. With two solo shows, both in 2008, Patrick discussed personal issues relating to death, grief, love and life. Taking some time off to focus on musical pursuits with his band tortoiseshell, he has returned with a show focusing this time on life, and the celebration of it. Crash Paintings emerged from an accident Patrick was involved in June 2011, in which he could have been seriously injured. This close call spurned a new creative direction, moving to the abstract and colourful. It also began him on a new foray into the world of ceramics; painting colourful bowls to compliment the…

Charcoal Drawing The complexity of this composition calls for a detailed charcoal drawing in preparation for the large painting. This process highlights potential pitfalls and avoids the problem of having to rework the composition if things go wrong. Colour Study A small colour study was made to compensate for the camera’s shortcomings eg diminished hues, colour distortions and tonal deficiencies inherent in photos. STEP ONE A transparent monochrome block in (from the charcoal drawing) is a good way to map out the basic composition on a larger scale. I use a mixture of transparent oxide red and ultramarine or indigo. A warm underpainting is preferable to a cool one in that the latter has a tendency to produce a dirty or muddy appearance in the shadows. STEP TWO “The complexity…

Before any toning of a drawing can begin you have to first get to what I call the ‘bare bones’ stage (the bare bones of the drawing) which is laying down all the features of the composition that can reasonably be represented by an outline as accurately and lightly as possible (fig 1). It’s up to you how far into the subtly detailed areas you go with this but the aim is to get all the proportions as close as possible before you even try and tone (hatch) anything. The sharper and more precise the lines used in the latter stages the easier it is to judge the subsequently finer proportional adjustments as you go along. In the initial stages of laying out any freehand drawing that you intend to…

Art tours combine a holiday with art tuition and travelling with like-minded people. They are suitable for all skill levels and for all ages and are done at a relaxed pace with some free time to enjoy as you wish. The tours cater for small groups and all your needs are taken care of, leaving you to focus totally on local scenery and a relaxing holiday combined with drawing and painting. For solo travellers who would feel more comfortable painting in a group and travelling with like-minded people, art tours are ideal. I have been taking holiday sketching art tours overseas as well as in Australia for many years. On my tours I teach how to visually record your travels and holiday experiences through pen and watercolour wash sketching. All…

I’ve noticed in my freehand drawing workshops lately that although I supply and explain the use of all six of the essential tools required for freehand drawing the same basic handling errors come up over and over again. Despite their having been two articles already concerning the actual drawing gear (Materials and Equipment- parts 1 & 2) it occurred to me that an article devoted entirely to very specific details on the actual handling and use of the tools themselves could be very helpful to a wider audience. To do the hyper-realistic representational style I favour most there are only six tools. They are; 2B pencil, pencil extender, pencil sharpening knife, scratch board, vinyl eraser, and rubber trimming knife. 2B pencil To hold the pencil for sketching (off the shoulder)…

THE PROCESS Most of my subject matter comes from my immediate environment, memories and photographs. Firstly, I take a picture ‘in my head’ of the subject matter. Then I try to imagine it in my head as a finished work. I use my sketch book to try different compositions of the subject, to see which one strikes a chord. I next produce an A4 sketch – trying to get things as accurate as possible – sometimes doing a watercolour wash to attempt to get a feel for the subject and an insight into how it might look as a completed work. Most of the time (although not always), I will use the image from my sketch and square it up onto a larger surface. I like using Tinted Spectrum Sanded…

There’s something about making discoveries artistically that leads to discovering that waste is not at all attractive. For those of you who are afflicted with that same sentiment, this article is for you. There comes a time that we must say goodbye to even our most favourite paintbrush. I can’t casually throw mine aside without a second thought. So, given that I hate waste and that I’m fundamentally lazy, these old paintbrushes can often live again. The beautiful thing about an old paintbrush, is that it no longer owes you anything, and so you can brutalise it in any way you see fit. You can experiment with an old paintbrush, trim bristles, or pound it into your desktop to discover new opportunities for making marks. Before we get to the…