There is a wealth of untapped Power in the Line waiting for the beginner artist to learn to use. Lines are an intriguing and fascinating part of art design and is one of the most versatile tools the artist has to work with. The voice of a Line can whisper, beckon, gently guide, hug or […]
As I paint, my goal is to create the sense of seamless progression of back to front, i.e. background into the middle ground and then foreground. The prior post Depth, shared information on how Colour is a great tool to create the illusion of this kind of depth in a painting. Edges and Tonal values […]
One of the challenges for beginners learning to paint is creating depth in the landscape or still life. Often areas appear flat, floating, lacking depth. Why? How can you prevent it? Depth: Back, Middle and Front In order for the painting to read as if it has depth, the beginner needs to understand the […]
The shock of the nearly overpowering cobalt blue sky is what grabs you first when you step out of the cool four wheel drive into the stark outback wilderness. Miles and miles of endless red dirt and cobalt blue sky. I loved it! Acrylic Landscape The only break is the occasional outcrop of rock […]
Photographs of simple common subjects with intriguing textures and patterns often create stunning images that capture the artist’s and the viewers’ eyes. Fallen Leaf photograph taken in Canning Vale, WA has great Soft edges in the background which creates recession in the photo, whereas the sharp detailed textures and patterns in the foreground bring it […]
Loose, free, colourful, impressionistic – thats how I love to paint landscapes. Using the Impressionistic approach I’ll use my hand, my brush, a colour to put my own personal interpretation of the subject into the paintings. I enjoy bold colour applied with confidence, something that looks like I was having fun! I really don’t […]
Early mornings and late afternoons are the ideal times to capture the serenity of nature whether I’m painting or taking photos. The tranquil setting along with the soft edges and cool lavenders create the perfect relaxing mood in the photo “Serenity.” Water is always a great subject for portraying calmness, especially using cool colours. If […]
Limiting my watercolour palette to cerulean, indigo and a hint of cobalt violet helps to keep the colours clean. The watercolour landscape with trees and foliage reflecting into the water combined with the cool colours creates serenity and calm. I wanted to maintain a good balanced ratio of light tone, mid tone, dark tone throughout […]
Simple designs often work out better than an elaborately constructed composition. This simple watercolour in a limited palette works well with the stark white of the paper as the background. The watercolour paints used were terre verte, indigo and burnt sienna. The branch has adequate tonal value shading, being lighter on the top and […]
Prussian Blue, a deep midnight black blue. Pairing it with cobalt teal blue is sheer paradise. It packs a punch when used in mass tone, it is so dark and powerful. Prussian Blue pb27 is one of my staple blues for color mixing, especially for foliage. The closest I can get to mixing a […]