Innehållsförteckning för Volume 14 Issue 1 från Artists Back to Basics

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…

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 continues all the way to the bottom of the paper and let it dry. With the same strength, add another hill in front (not going past the top of the first hill). Continue again to the…

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. I admit there have been challenges, as watercolours can be unpredictable; they have a life of their own; and at times I have had to create using…

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…

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 THREE Turn the painting upside down. Add a wash of Raw Sienna/Indian Yellow with the wash being stronger at the top for the road. While still wet, continue with a mixture of Ultramarine and…

"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…

Travelling light Travel light. That’s always my plan when I’m out and about. Above is my plein air watercolour toolbox - a Winsor and Newton pallet, two brushes, and a 30gms watercolour pad, that’s all I need. If you’re one who likes to work with acrylic or oil paint, you will need a little more gear but even then, keep your toolbox as light as possible. After all, you’re not off on your holidays, just a day out painting. Working Plein-air With warming of the morning, comes the moment and the need While the brushes whispered freedom, and a reason to proceed So with coffee in the thermos, and no time or hour to heed Let the moment fill the pages, and the pages fill the need For life is…