Tabla de contenidos para Issue 10 Volume 2 en Artists Back to Basics

Edward Spessot was born in 1937, at Gradisca in Northern Italy. Gradisca is a small town not far from Venice. In 1950, he left Italy with his family – to settle in the Sydney suburb of Pymble. He completed his schooling in Australia and found his first job with the renowned Sydney sculpture house, Pellegrini’s. Displaying a natural talent, Edward was encouraged to further his studies. He chose to pursue woodcarving and sculpture under the expert tutelage of Lyndon Dadswell and William Lamb (both well known Sydney sculptors). An appreciation of the Australian landscape led Edward Spessot back to his first passion: A passion for painting. His unique artistic background has helped him to win awards at several significant art shows, including several first prizes. His work displays a great…

What is pen and wash sketching? The initial sketch is done with black waterproof pen and watercolour is added. A sketch is a quick and spontaneous response to a subject or place. Drawing is a detailed and exact representation. A “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC) Access as much information as you can on basic drawing skills, including figure drawing. There is a lot of information available on both drawing and watercolour techniques. The quick sketching process comes with practice. Often a few important lines or dashes of colour are more meaningful and interesting than a laborious and detailed drawing. Attend some workshops or go on Holiday Sketching art tours, where you will receive individual tuition, hints…

Subject: Angel Furnishers – Swan Valley Western Australia Medium: Rotring (rapidograph) 0.25 Technical pens There have been many artists over the years who have worked primarily in pen and ink as a means for illustrating their work, and many examples can be found in historical book and museums, for the use of pen and ink as medium goes back many thousands of years indeed as an art form working up a composition using multiple fine lines with a pencil or pen often called “rendering”, works extremely well for subjects where caricature will be an important part of the finished work. Old buildings, boats, barns to name just a few, a pen can enhance the caricature and in a way that’s difficult to with paints. The advantages of working in this…

This painting was inspired by a photograph of a country pub in a little town called Wooroolin, which is situated only a short drive from my home town of Kingaroy, Queensland. I called on some reference photos to set a scene in the 1970s, and the colour palette I have chosen was aimed at recreating the look of an old ‘70s photo. STEP ONE To transfer my design onto my paper, I used an A1 sized sheet of paper that I had rubbed white pastel onto one side of. This makes very effective transfer paper. I start my paintings, by blocking in areas with a hard pastel or Conte sticks. STEP TWO After the base colours are blocked in, I apply softer pastel over the top, working from the dark…

I was fly fishing on the Mitta Mitta River, carrying my camera with me as always – hoping to catch a trophy fish. Along the bank, a gum tree caught my eye. The tree had old bark and the river was low … I could fix the water level back in the studio. STEP ONE In my art studio, I used a small brush or pencil – roughly sketching in the composition. I repositioned the tree and raised the river water level further up the bank. STEP TWO I kept to the rules of traditional oil painting, working dark to light and thin to thick; starting from the bottom of the canvas. For the foreground, I used a Burnt Sienna and Viridian wash on the ground. I used Burnt Sienna…

But ‘still life’ has broadened its subject base in recent years. Artists have grown braver with compositions, to the point that any inanimate object has become fair game. Speaking of game, Kate Bergin’s quirky pictures of taxidermied fowls and foxes come to mind. Also, Deb Mostert’s depictions of children’s plastic toys are unusual. These are two painters who have found subjects well outside the traditional square and made them popular. Here, though, is where I focus on four painters whose subjects are somewhere in the middle between ‘Old World’ and ‘New World’ still life. “Artists have grown braver with compositions, to the point that any inanimate object has become fair game..” Firstly, Ross Harvey. This masterful painter pays homage to Dutch traditions in each picture he completes. While superbly portraying…

If you were to think about the entire process of drawing a freehand work in graphite from a blank piece of paper to a finished signed original as 100%, the first five percent and the last five percent in some ways can be seen as by far the most crucial as far as producing a successful drawing goes. The very start and the very end are also most definitely very different and separate phases of a drawing in terms of techniques used and thought processes involved. The first few percent concerns the all important initial sketched layout and the last few the final touches to the innumerable details expressed as outlines and shapes. The other 90% is really in a lot of ways just one long refining and adjusting of…

May 2012 will mark the sixth anniversary of buying my first art canvas, when I deciding to try my hand at painting. Much to my surprise and the surprise of others, on that first canvas appeared a beautiful portrait of my dad, his brother and a green Holden that was looking a bit worse for wear!! I titled that first painting ‘Summer of ‘66’. And so began my love of painting, with my next painting ‘After the Storm’ winning my first award and gracing the cover of Artist’s Palette magazine, Issue 57, in 2007. I have since been fortunate enough to receive many awards for my paintings over the years and to see one of my paintings, ‘Train Spotting’, off to its new home with an art collector in Switzerland.…

I seem to make a habit of challenging myself more than is sensible (often in retrospect). Last issue I threatened to write this article about making a painting using everything but my beloved chisels. Since then, I’ve managed to break my finger quite well, requiring surgery, and yes, it was my painting hand. So as well as being out of my comfort zone with my brushes, I’m dealing with a mild handicap (steady on, I know what you’re thinking - be kind). To be honest, I have wondered about this for a couple of weeks. What do I do? Choose a painting in which that process is easier? And thereby get myself out of trouble easily? Or choose something that I would paint ordinarily, and try and make it work…