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.
When Ludij came to Australia with her family at the age of six, she first landed at Derby in Western Australia – a far cry from the city life of Amsterdam. Finally disembarking from the ship at Fremantle, the family flew to Cairns via Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. On the flight from Brisbane to Cairns, the plane stopped frequently at towns all the way up the coast. Ludij recalls that the further north they went, the smaller the airports became. Initially painting in oils, Ludij Peden’s subject matter evolved from the rivers, creeks, canefields, mountains and coastline of tropical North Queensland to stockmen, water buffalo and escarpments when she and her husband moved to the Northern Territory. sure fascination with houses began, but losing their family home in Darwin’s…
MATERIALS • Stretched primed canvas, 600 x 900 mm. • Black and white gesso. • Flat and round soft Taklon brushes of varying sizes. • Fine rigger brush. • Palette knife. • Coloured pastel pencils. • Genesis Heat Set Oils: Cobalt Blue; Ultramarine Blue; Burnt Umber; Burnt Sienna; Black; Titanium White; Yellow Ochre; Alizarin Crimson; Indigo; Genesis Yellow. • Genesis Thinning Medium and Genesis Glazing Medium. • Paper towels. • Heat gun. • Glass palette. STEP ONE The first thing I do when confronted with a white canvas is give it several coats of coloured gesso. In this case, because I had already determined the mood and setting, I decided to merge a black gesso at the top into a white gesso towards the bottom of the canvas. Using coloured…
• When heat-drying Genesis paints, a good test is to place paper towel onto the surface. If the slightest bit of colour comes off, zap the area again with the heat gun. • For drying large areas quickly, use two heat guns at the same time – waving them from side to side as well as up and down. • Use pastel pencils for sketching onto gessoed supports. They take better on the surface, and they are easier to see and easier to remove. • Genesis Heat Set Oils do not dry until you dry them by applying heat – so use paper towels for wiping (not rags). Rags will hold the paint wet, and it will smear everywhere each time you try to clean up. Paper towels can be…
I began my true artistic journey 11 years ago in 2002, when I considered it was high time for a bit of selfishness in my life. I had played with creativity as a child, experimented in oils as a teenager and encouraged art in all my teaching roles as an adult. When it came time to pursue my own art dreams, watercolour was what I wanted to do. I had spent years touring galleries, studying and admiring works of art that were way beyond my financial means. In the end I decided that I just needed to paint my own! Watercolours were inspirational because of transparent beauty and the flow of the medium. I loved the clean power that could be expressed through this medium. The techniques were initially learnt…
MATERIALS • 2B graphite pencil • ½ sheet 185GSM hot pressed Arches paper • Backing board • Spray bottle • Brushes – Small and medium mop brushes – Rigger brush – Flat brushes (1/2 and 1/4 inch) • Paint – PR 206, which is a Brown Madder or Avignon Orange – PB 16 which is a Turquoise – White gouache I have chosen to simplify the composition, so this is basically a tonal painting using complementary colours. I have chosen by the pigment number rather than by brand. STEP ONE Prepare the surface i.e. stretch the paper. With 185gsm paper I generously spray each side with water, allowing time for it to absorb and for the paper to buckle. I them roll it out flat with a paint roller and…
• What: Paint where you are, paint what you see, paint what you know, and paint what you love. • Why: Work out what you like about this image/scene. What inspires you? What is drawing an emotional response from you? • How: Spend time planning the composition, the shape, size, the medium, the surface, style, colour, light source and the tone of your painting. Do not slavishly copy a photograph. This is your painting. You make the decisions. Always keep in mind why you are painting it and leave out the unimportant details. • Where: Paint thumbnails (small test paintings) until you are happy that every aspect of the painting has been worked out and that it relates back to your why. Then use your prepared surface.…
