Table of contents for Issue 37 in Creative Artist

Philip has always been interested in art, and drawing in particular, from an early age. He showed a natural ability to capture details and proportions of faces, cars, planes and birds. This was encouraged by his mum, Gilva, who was herself talented in a wide range of arts and crafts and able to provide some guidance. Philip’s interest in art grew while at Mordialloc Chelsea High School, a time where he showed little academic skills in other areas. He continued on to Caulfield Institute of Technology to complete a Diploma of Art. While developing traditional skills, it was Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art that strongly influenced his direction. A year after completing his Diploma in 1969, Philip moved to London. He describes it as a great opportunity at the time…

Step One I make a sketch, considering tone and compositional arrangement, remembering that sunlight will be a feature of this painting. I select most colours before I start, choosing colours with reference to photographs. I consider complementary colours and often exaggerate a little for impact. I use Colourfix pastel paper (half a sheet of Blue Haze for this picture) taped to board for stability. Step Two I draw in a horizon line with pastel pencil and block in cloud area colours with soft pastels. Straight strokes (often the side of the pastel) are used in distant and streaky clouds. Curvy strokes to help form cloud shapes are used for the fluffy cloud areas. This is done quickly and roughly. Step Three With fingers, I blend cloud areas – beginning with…

ACRYLICS Step One I begin working in thin layers of acrylic paint, thinned down with some gloss medium and water, using a 2inch hake brush almost in a watercolour wash style. The first colours are a very pale blue mix of cerulean and white for the sky, burnt sienna and yellow ochre in the under painting of the water and some blues and mauves in the middle distance as the back drop for the trees. My first application is kept loose and fresh. For this I used the fan and flat brushes. Step Two After establishing the underpainting I begin to work on the middle distance of the foliage and the bushes behind the main trees, using a dry brush or scumbling technique. Mid tone greens are introduced using cerulean…

Materials List • Gesso coated acid free paper • Acrylic paints: Burnt Sienna, Ultramarine Blie, Impasto Light Grey, Hookers Green • Oil paints: Ultramarine Blue, Sap Green, Burnt Ember • Spatula • Fine brushes • Flat taklon brushes • Art spectrum • Glazing gel • Inned Liquol Step One Trunk and Fronds is 23cm H x 51 cm W, on gesso coated acid free paper, which I stretched on a backing board. To stretch it, I have lightly sprayed it with water and while damp, stapled it to the board. As it dries, the paper shrinks and becomes tensioned. When working on a theme I usually start with some smaller works to get a feel for portraying that environment and work out what techniques might be suitable before tackling larger…

One of the criticisms levelled at me, fairly, is that I don’t know how to sell myself. Well, today I’m selling myself. In 2010 I had an idea to create a scratchboard society. I knew this had been tried before and failed. I was also warned that I would probably fail too. The idea was born out of the frustration that many scratchboard artists felt when shows and exhibitions didn’t know where to put us. They would often say “what media is this?” and we would say “scratchboard”, to which they would reply “oh, you belong with crafts!” This was always a kick in the teeth. I’m not criticising crafts, but scratchboard is and always has been a fine art medium which means we belong with fine art mediums. All…

Jenny Greentree resides on an ancient red ridge overlooking Gidgee Lake – quite literally out the ‘Back of Bourke’ in western New South Wales. Her home has been a source of inspiration which has helped to unlock her exciting God-given talents. Jenny uses pastels in a style that is fresh and crisp. She manipulates pure colours, line and tone to capture the extraordinary images of the Australian Outback which she experiences on a daily basis. Waking up to a spectacular sunrise, or driving down the road and being struck by the glistening light of the sun reflecting off an approaching storm, cannot fail to spark the creativity of this talented lady. She still responds in wonder at beautiful sunsets, and is still mesmerised by the sight of the moon rising…

CAPTURING THE MOMENT A journey that started at a very early age, Helen has always demonstrated an eagerness to draw and create from nature and life. After receiving a set of paints and equipment for an early 18th birthday present from her parents, Helen began painting in oils at the young age of 17. It was here she found her passion for paint was ignited. Oil would be Helen’s primary medium for around five years until she developed an allergy to turps and switched to watercolour and acrylic. She recalls absolutely falling in love with watercolour and how a whole new world opened up after she started painting with the medium. The driving force behind Helen’s love for art is being able to capture a moment. Although this is challenging,…