Innehållsförteckning för Volume 14 Issue 4 från Artists Back to Basics

“In spite of everything I shall rise again: I shall take up my pencil which I have forsaken in my great discouragement and I will go on with my drawing.”Vincent Van Gogh What an amazing invention the pencil is. We take it for granted, but where did this ingenious invention come from? The Egyptian scribes used a stylus, a thin metal? rod to leave an indelible mark on papyrus This technique, some scholars believe, was the precursor to the pencil. The German word for pencil is Bleistift which means literally ‘lead pen’, but pencils are made from graphite, not lead. The inaccurate description arose when a large deposit of graphite was discovered in Borrowdale, England, in 1565. This particular deposit of graphite was solid, and thus able to be made…

My home and studio is at Leonay, an outer Sydney suburb. I was born in East Germany. My wife and I arrived in Australia in November 1960; and in 1966 we moved into a new house at Leonay where we have lived ever since. I have had no formal artistic training, but my interest in painting and also photography has always been strong. Painting has always been a hobby of mine, and I like it to remain that way; it makes me feel free to paint what I want to paint. This seems to work well for me. A few years ago, my wife and I were stranded in a caravan park at Alice Springs for eight weeks – due to our four-wheel-drive vehicle breaking down. I started painting local…

Perspective is all around us. It is in the landscape, in buildings and clouds in the sky. Creating depth is an essential part of any landscape scene. Unless you understand the simple principles, your work will appear flat. Perspective in the landscape will create a sense of distance and space. The following information applies to any landscape or streetscape drawing or painting you do and will ensure you capture the sense of perspective. Elements of Distance Trees, buildings, mountains and other objects in the distance will not only be cooler, but more muted as they are further away. They will also be less detailed and distinctive in colour than foreground subjects and their edges will appear softer. Tones appear lighter as the objects recede. These factors are due to atmospheric…

MATERIALS • Artists’ canvas.• Artists’ acrylic paints.• Chalk.• Selected brushes.• Turps-based varnish. STEP ONE I have drawn in my initial lines and composition with chalk. This can be easily reworked or removed with a cloth, leaving no pencil lines or commitment. Next, I establish my light source by blocking in the poles and shadows with paint. In this case, the light shines from right to left. STEP TWO Even though I am going to have a white surface of the salt lake in the finished picture; in trying to establish the feel of the hot earth under the salt pan, I have applied washes of earthy tones as my underpainting. “It is an interesting example of the power of Nature overtaking man’s futile attempts to conquer the land.” STEP THREE…

MATERIALS • Artists’ canvas. • Artists’ oils: Titanium White; Cadmium Yellow; Jaune Brilliant; Naples Yellow (reddish); Yellow Ochre; Australian Red; Burnt Sienna; Raw Sienna; Spectrum Green; Cerulean Blue; Ultramarine Blue; Permanent Mauve. • Brushes: Large synthetic flat; Number 5 and Number 16 bristle flat; Number 12 and Number 16 fan; Number 0 Sable detail. STEP ONE I sketch a scene in pencil to make sure that everything is in the right place. With a large flat brush, I underwash the sky and clouds. I use a Number 5 flat brush to underpaint the background trees and the tops of the mountains. STEP TWO Here I block in the sky and clouds. I also paint the cliffs and the background trees. STEP THREE I underwash the grass area and indicate the…

“Now it’s time to set off on your own original, freehand journey in your own space and time.” So far we have explored being able to confidently sketch and draw lines, circles, and curves, the basics of hatching and crosshatching, the rudiments of creating good compositions of your own and delved into the specifics of the tools and equipment required for freehand drawing and setting up your own working studio space. Now it’s time to set off on your own original, freehand journey in your own space and time, so this article will concentrate on the place you have to find in your own mind and how to connect it to reality in an effective way in order to make the most of the both endlessly frustrating and deeply fascinating…

ROYMAC RAINS CAUSES A FLOOD OF INTEREST “The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.” Vincent van Gogh Imagine a product designed by Australian artists for Australian artists. This concept is what the Roymac brand prides itself on. Roymac creates colour products that you will love to create with; and has done this since 1960. Vincent van Gogh famously quoted: “The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.” Roymac knows that every artist feels the same way, so they wanted to make an artists’ paint that evoked feeling and creativity; one that defined the passion of Australia. They wanted to bring their paints back to their roots. From this thought, Roymac Rains was born. Roymac Rains Watercolour Paint provides the Australian painting experience. Made with the…

“This is what Hervey Bay has been waiting for!” MURRAY CHARTERIS ART GALLERY Bay Art and Design has recently opened the ‘Murray Charteris Art Gallery’ in Hervey Bay, Queensland, showcasing the brilliant work of Murray Charteris along with some more of Hervey Bay’s finest artists. The community of Hervey Bay is very excited about what the gallery has to offer. According to many local artists, ‘This is what Hervey Bay has been waiting for!’ The gallery has a room set aside for artists to exhibit their own work, along with a working studio for art lessons and an art materials store. Gallery owner and artist Murray Charteris has spent the last decade as Head of Graphics at Channel Nine in Brisbane and has recently made his sea change to Hervey…

Some might say that John Murray’s current home at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales makes a dramatic contrast to his Melbourne birthplace – but it doubtless feeds his passion for the Outback landscape. John has a Diploma of Art, and he has always nurtured the same artistic interests. “My full-time career started 25 years ago in Lightning Ridge,” he reveals. “My enduring passion is for painting and working with paint … I love the stuff!” As a professional artist, John has used oils, pastels, crayon and charcoal; but he prefers and consistently works with acrylics. “I love the landscape and the animals that inhabit it,” he relates. “The landscape is such a dynamic and changing thing; with colour and intensity … and it is interesting to watch animal life…

“Most of the problems we face with our brushwork can be solved by knowing what you want your brush to do and then knowing the principles well.” In the last issue, we discussed how many of us don’t really have an inkling of what is possible with our brushes. In this article we’re going to expand our abilities by simplifying your applications of your paintbrush. Sounds like a contradiction, but knowing the basics will always pay off. We’re going to break the process of using any paintbrush into three broad groups. Firstly, let’s look at the amount of product you can load your brush with. The bristles and size of your brush will determine this. A larger brush with relatively stiff bristles, can pick up a huge amount of undiluted…