Australian How To Paint Issue 48

Advances in painting product technology have led to some of the greatest changes in art history. For example, in 1841 oil paint became available in capped tubes, allowing artists the flexibility to paint outdoors. This in turn lead artists such as Monet and the impressionists to paint en plein air (outside). Without this newfound freedom offered by portable paint tubes, the popularity of this new painting style would not have led to the Alla Prima or ‘wet on wet’ technique of painting which formed the basis of the style of artists such as Monet. In fact, Pierre August Renoir said “ without tubes of paint there would haven been no impressionism.” Perhaps the greatest technical change since this time has been the invention and widespread use of acrylic paint .…

Ross Wymark worked as a signwriter in his twenties, but he had not put brush to board in more than 30 years when he found himself in hospital in the New South Wales town of North Richmond. Ross was referred to an Art Therapist as part of his treatment plan. He discovered that the aim of this therapy was not to produce aesthetically beautiful artworks … but rather to express emotions through various mediums such as collage, painting, and clay modelling. Creating symbolic art helped him to become more aware of his thoughts, feelings and memories – which enabled him to address unexplored issues through this special form of communication. Over time, Ross noticed subtle changes in his emotional and mental wellbeing. With emerging self-confidence and a positive outlook towards…

STEP ONE I applied one coat of purple paint with the roller; then allowed it to dry before applying a second coat. STEP TWO I made several sketches on paper before drawing my design onto the canvas. This allowed me to rearrange my composition a few times to get the final design. I laid out the design of my leaves on paper and then marked out the layout onto my canvas with the Chinagraph pencil. STEP THREE Beginning with the background leaves, I applied the Ochre base and blended in White, with a wet-on-wet technique (blending the colours before the paint dried). STEP FOUR I continued the process of adding in varying colours wet-on-wet: Mid Green with Warm Yellow, and so on. STEP FIVE I added a more complex combination…

Di Tarrant was born in Adelaide in 1938, the younger of two children. During her early working life she did some nursing, but after marrying and starting a family she undertook clerical duties in the automotive field. She has memories of one art teacher who ‘lit her fire’ when she was a young student. “The art teacher was my favourite, and I remember her after all these years with warm feelings,” Di says. “I guess she kindled the flames that would be fanned later in life – to create the passion I now have for all things artistic.” In 2000, Di Tarrant moved to the far south coast of New South Wales. Prior to this she had seen few opportunities to explore the many fields of art. Unsure of what…

STEP ONE Prime the canvas support with vigorous strokes of gesso, leaving textural lines. Cross-hatch brush marks. Allow this to dry thoroughly. STEP TWO With binder medium, glue randomly-placed roughly-cut pieces of rice paper or textured paper onto the lower third of the canvas. Textured paper should be torn (not cut), to give a better transition of edges when glued. Again, dry thoroughly. STEP THREE Grid the canvas roughly into thirds or quarters, mainly as a guide for applying paint in the colour transitions which are about to take place. Grid lines are used as a guide only and they need to be only lightly drawn or they will contaminate the clarity of the paint. STEPS FOUR AND FIVE Start applying random patchwork style areas of warm and cool ‘yellow…

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