One of my favourite vases caught my eye today. Its deep indigo, ultramarine, cobalt teal, yellow green seemed to call out to me to look, to pay attention. The vase had been tucked away behind many of my art supplies for a number of months, but today I saw it with new eyes. As I […]
I want powerful, dynamic brushstrokes! I want them lively, not boring. And, I want 1 brushstroke to do the job of 20……. Its not that I’m slacking off, I tell myself I’m ‘efficient.’ I’d like my time, effort and energy to be optimised to the maximum possible. You too? I thought so! Let me tell you […]
Zen of Art. How to tame the Dragon called Perfectionism? In search of perfection. A tantalising empty promise. An Illusion. “How Good” does my art have to be, before I’m satisfied? When will I be content and not frustrated? What does it actually take? And hey! why should I bother thinking about this anyway?! […]
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 […]
Bold colours and tones give this watercolour outback landscape the impact and drama I was aiming for. The spacial flattening out helped, in this case, to create the desired atmosphere and vertical sensation. My good friend Jan Vincent, an artist as well, had taken me on a great driving tour of the surrounding hills […]
Who couldn’t do with a little bit of fresh, new artistic vision to invigorate their creative side? Sometimes its risky. Going out into an unfamiliar area and not feeling in control is not always the most beckoning of ideas. But that is exactly what I need to do to bring out more of my own […]
Daniel Smith watercolors… they make it so difficult not to play! And I’ve been playing and discovering new things with D.S. paints for over 25 years now. Whilst teaching my experimental Daniel Smith watercolor demos and workshops at their Seattle and Bellevue stores, a friend who was on staff there, chuckled abit at my out […]