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.
My full-time occupation is Principal for a behaviour school in Sydney’s western suburbs. My home is at Lawson in the Blue Mountains. I completed an Art Certificate course at Meadowbank TAFE in 1987 and then went on to what was then known as City Art Institute to complete a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Arts in 1989. I returned to university in 1994 to do a Diploma of Education at the University of Western Sydney. I have continued to paint and draw since leaving University; and although I never did art at high school, I had always drawn as a kid. My Year Six art teacher withdrew me from the class to talk with me because I had shown potential in rendering form – a concept that was apparently…
My subject is a fellow called Damien. I took a few photographs of him on my mobile phone under fluorescent lights. The quality is not great, and the angle I used to shoot the photographs is kind of awkward and distorted. However the image offered a challenge . . . and Damien’s strong features created shadows and an overall dark image. In this drawing I deliberately overstated the features and pushed the darks as hard as possible. The beard and elongated shape of the face gave the image a ‘tribal mask’ type of quality, and for this reason I completely obliterated the neck and shoulders and worked the face as an independent shape. In the photographs for this demonstration drawing, the subject’s strong features created shadows and an overall dark…
Claire Foxton wasn’t brought up in an artistic household. She believes, however, that she was born with a passion for art – and she is grateful to her parents for nurturing the seeds of her creativity. Claire has developed an amazing talent throughout her youth with the encouragement of her family. “Apart from a few folk art classes as a grommet, I developed skill on my own – always observing with my eyes and my imagination and mixing the two,” she explains. “Mum tells me that when all the kids were still drawing stick figures, I was drawing full figured people and chairs and tables in 3D perspective! Mum has kept every scribble I have done since I was old enough to hold a pencil. I love going back through…
STEP ONE I’ll paint on basically anything, so this experiment with ink on a .5 x 1.2 metre piece of unprimed coverboard (ply) became a ‘canvas’ for my painting. I planned to be able to use the existing marks to the painting’s advantage, and to also let the natural grain of the panel become a feature. The photograph I used as reference material was of a girl lying on her bed smoking, with a look of youthful attitude and dominance. STEP TWO I began the process of masking off big sections in colour. Apart from the black ink already on the ply, I only used a combination of Burnt Umber and a cool blue for the darker areas – as sometimes black can be too harsh. The Mint Green is…
• There are no rules in art. That’s why ‘art’ covers such a broad range of creative activities. Some of the most beautiful artworks aren’t those that replicate a thing, or a place, or a photograph – but those that represent it. I suggest reading or purchasing a children’s book called ‘Ish’ by Peter H. Reynolds – in a few words it taught me more about art and real expression than anyone or any book has ever taught me before. It taught me the importance of painting for myself; and it taught me not to worry about other people’s perceptions, but to embrace my own. • Making mistakes can be an integral part of the painting process, especially in abstract art. Sometimes a mistake can lead to a better artistic…
Stan Overington was born in Kojonup, a town in Western Australia’s south-west. He was the only child of parents who operated a bakery and tearooms. “Much of my childhood was spent finding things to occupy myself,” he says. “I have always loved drawing and we were fortunate enough to have a ‘resident artist’, Mr Battie, who (I suspect as a favour to my mother) agreed to give me lessons. His classes were for adults – and as I was about seven at the time, I received much assistance from the others in the group. I attended for about three months or so, and during that period I learned the importance of accuracy in presentation.” Those early lessons have been carried through into his work today. “Art has always played a…
