Table of contents for Issue 28 in Creative Artist

From a space in her home overlooking a significant wetland system filled with waterbirds, at the headwaters of the Coldstream River, NSW, artist Kathleen photographs, paints, illustrates and writes. She has built up a catalogue of completed works and reference material from her current home, her travels and from previous places she has lived and worked, as she studies the environment around her. Kathleen first exhibited some of her artwork at agricultural shows while still in primary school. In later years her illustrations, paintings, photographs and writing have found homes in many public and government publications, park signs, private collections and more. “I’ve always painted, collected specimens to study, and written about these things. Photography followed soon after and with digital cameras that has become even easier. “I’ve worked with…

I began my journey to painting in 1987 at a Council of Adult Education watercolour course. At that stage I had no idea what I wanted to paint, but felt that being able to create a painting would be a great creative outlet. I had this misguided idea that watercolour would be easy. Wrong! While on the course, I also learnt about gouache, or opaque watercolour, as opposed to transparent watercolour. That was a medium that I had never heard of. I tried various subjects, mainly landscapes, but eventually settled on wildlife, as I have always loved birds and animals and felt I could be more passionate about these subjects. Wildlife presented a problem in that you have to seek it out. Unlike a landscape, which sits and waits for…

I grew up in country Victoria. I think I was born to create, and as a child I was passionate about anything with a creative aspect. I particularly had a love for drawing, and spent many hours drawing caricatures. I went on to study art in high school, which was primarily art history and appreciation. Unfortunately, my art teacher was a substitute and really had no creative interest in the students and as a result my attempts at painting were not encouraged. I moved on to the real world, training as a nurse. I continued my creative journey through craft pursuits such as knitting and sewing, and even sugar art and cake decorating, which my mother taught me. I married in 1980 and had two children and it was during…

As a wildlife artist, one of the best ways to get my artistic message across is through the use of composition (the way you arrange the visual aspect of your art). You can be as complex or as simple as you like, and you can use your imagination as much as you wish, but I believe it’s really important to think carefully about composing your art well. The rule of thirds Firstly we can explore the most basic, but useful, of compositions, the rule of thirds. This means that you put the focal point of your art on an imaginary line drawn a third of the way in/down/up your painting or drawing. It creates a pleasing and balanced aspect. If you place your focal point right in the middle, it…

MATERIALS • Clean lint-free cloth • Primed stretched canvas • Paints – Prussian Blue – Carmine – Titanium White – Cadmium Yellow Light Hue – Vermillion – Lemon Yellow – Black – Cadmium Orange • Brushes – 000 – No 4 – No 10 Step One Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular expressions of nature, but they can disappear so quickly. So, to capture them in all their glory I wait and watch with my trusty DSLR Nikons on hand to capture the changing spectacle, whether frosty morning or smoky, heat hazed evening. Taking care not to aim straight into a bright sun, I use both the telephoto and the wide angle to capture particular images to choose from. The telephoto allows me to get up closer to cloud structures, particular…

Materials List • Paper: – Fabriano 600gm hot press paper – White Saral Transfer paper – Black carbon paper • Brushes: – NAM 12 Red Filbert – 70mm hake (Francheville #6) – Holbein two inch and one inch goat’s hair hakes – Windsor and Newton Series 7 #2 brush – Roymac 3550 Golden Sable 00 brush • Holbein Watercolour Paints: – Neutral Tint and Sepia • Art Spectrum Gouache: – White – Black – Vermillion – Burnt Umber – Burnt Sienna – Primrose Yellow – Middle Green – Naples Yellow – Sky Blue Before any painting is commenced, a number of decisions have to be made. The first for me is the subject. I have thousands of photographs of wildlife (mostly but not exclusively birds) and a decision needs to…

Step One My selected reference photo is one I took while camping at the Cooloola Beach National Park just north of Noosa in Queensland. I start by applying two coats of gesso with a ¼ inch flat brush. I mark in the horizon line with masking tape. I mix Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue and White, and, starting at the top, I work down through the sky - adding White and Ultramarine Blue, ensuring the sky is lighter toward the horizon line. I then mix a little Dioxazine Purple, White and Ultramarine Blue, which results is a very pale mauve colour which is muddled on the horizon line. The water is then blocked in using Pthalo Blue, a touch of Prussian Blue, blending in White and Cadmium Yellow as I move…

Steeped in history, the Federation Gothic building housing Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) in the lower Hunter Valley of NSW is an awe-inspiring example of early 1900s architecture. Officially opened in 1910, it was constructed to house the Maitland Technical College, which it continued to do until 1987. Technical education experienced many changes during this life of the building, and only two years later the building behind the Gallery was added to provide more class space. If you look closely at the brickwork of the two buildings, it is clear that they were to be eventually joined by a walkway. The main building at the front of the site which now houses the Gallery is not only vitally important because of its role in technical education; architecturally, it is one…

I first began painting in the early 1970s – a great time for emerging artists. I had just returned to Australia after spending 10 years of my youth in England with my mother and stepfather. I had a baby and young child, and was looking for some form of work that could be done from home. So when I was reunited with my natural father after my 10 year absence it was fascinating to find that he had become a professional artist and was making a good living out of his art. He was very well known in the ‘70s – ‘80s, and living a rather exotic lifestyle on his boat, moored in Sydney harbour. Coincidentally, at around the same time, I met a young woman who was also painting…

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