Acrylic Painting

After Lucian Freud

This year I have been doing an introductory course in acrylic painting at the local technical college. We have mainly been learning about colour mixing and copying works by known artists in the first semester. All paintings are approximately 12 x 16 inches (30.5 x 40.6 cm).

Norman Lindsay Gallery Life Drawing School 2008

I was lucky enough to attend a 4 day school at the Norman Lindsay Gallery in the Blue Mountains. The instructor was Jeff Rigby. Jeff is currently teaching at the National Art School after a career at TAFE. He is best known for his landscapes, particularly with architectural subjects. Jeff proved to be a great teacher and good company. We were privileged to have four wonderful models at our disposal in this magnificent setting.

Day 1: We sketched in the small stdio adjacent to Lindsay's studio in the morning and finished off after morning tea in the garden. I wasn't very pleased with anything I produced day one but I felt I learned a lot.

Day 2: We again started in the small studio and moved to the area around one of the fountains later.











































Day3: Commenced in the garden near the fountain near the gift shop. Jeff had us willow charcoal the paper and draw into it. High lights were lifted out with a putty eraser and tone added with willow and compressed charcoal. This was a good day as we all started to loosen up.


Day 4: We could use any medium and most people opted to continue with the method from the previous day. I wanted to build up tones with charcoal without covering the whole page first.

Classical Drawing Group

I have joined a recently formed Yahoo Group that focuses on Classical Figure Drawing. The first group project is to draw some feet. I chose to copy a drawing by the German Renaissance painter & engraver Albrecht Dürer (1471 - 1528), titled Feet Of A Kneeling Man. I found this image on the excellent Art Renewal Center.

Life Drawing W/E 27/07/07

I am doing a life drawing class on Wednesday and occasionally I also get to a group that draws for two hours in the gallery above our local library.

The first 3 images are from class.

2 minute warm ups, 4B pencil on A2 newsprint

A2 cartridge paper, 4B woodless graphite pencil, 25 minutes

A2 cartridge paper, 4B woodless graphite pencil, 25 minutes

Drawing Group, both drawings below were made without a preliminary pencil sketch

A2 bamboo pen indian ink, 25 minutes

A4 Copic Multiliner 0.3mm, 20 minutes

Tasmania

My wife and I had a great holiday break in Tasmania earlier this month. Good food and amazing scenery. I even managed a little sketching.

We stayed in a great little cottage in the pretty seaside village of Swansea.

I also made a quick pen and wash sketch of the cottage in the little guest book.

We also sampled plenty of the local coffee and I squeezed in a couple of pen sketches. This was the first time I have sketched people (or bottles) in public.

I visited Hobart Art Gallery and made this 30 minute pencil sketch of a statue.

After we returned I had a chance to do this pen and ink wash of Coles Bay from a photo. The rocky peaks are called The Hazards. This was my first attempt at this media and I am interested in pursuing it further.

On the way home I made a few quick pen sketches of my son Start reading a comic. He kept changing position every minute or so.

EDM #76 Draw some flowers

I've always had a soft spot of thistles (excuse the pun). My much loved grandfather emigrated to Australia from Scotland as a young man. I have always identified with my Scottish heritage and so was enthralled, as a schoolboy, with the tale of how the thistle became the national emblem of Scotland.

You probably know the yarn already, but, just in case, the story goes that a Viking raiding party was trying to effect a surprise attack on a group of Scottish fighting men who were resting in a field one night. In the interest of stealth the Norsemen had removed their boots. When they stumbled onto a patch of thistles their cries warned the Scot's who went on to defeat them. To this day the thistle is the universal symbol of Scotland

EDM #124 Draw something yellow

This a view back to my local town, Tamworth. I always meant to exaggerate the colours but it's not really the effect I was hoping for but I guess you you need to have warts and all. The only thing I was vaguely happy with has the sky which was a fair representation.