Artist's Drawing & Inspiration - USA (2019-09)

ArtistDrawingandInspiration 61

demonstration

I paintmostofmypastelsen
pleinair– it mustbemyEnglish
background.If it’sdaylightandnot
toocold,I wanttobeoutsidepainting;
withbinocularshandyincaseany
interestingbirdsarearound.While
paintingthiswork,I wasjoinedbya
familyofRed-tailedBlackCockatoos.
Thesemagnificentbirdswere
feedingonthenativeTerminaliaand
Canariumnuts,witha babycrooning
monotonouslyfroma leafytreenearby.
ForthispaintingI usedthesmoother
sideofredCansonMi-Teintespaper.
Thispaperis inexpensiveandreadily
available,soI don’tmindusinga lot
ofit,howeverit hasitslimitations.It
canonlytakesomuchpastelbefore
thesurfacestartsbreakingup.I chose
redbecauseI liketoletthepapershine
throughinsomeplaces– it creates
warmthandI didnotwantdullblack

shadows.I usedonlya halfsheetto

besureofcompletingthework.

STEPONE

I needtobeinspiredbymysubject

matter.Comingfromindustrialised,

crowdedEurope,tropicalnorthern

Australiais stillfullofunexpected

beautyandsurprises.Anyshortwalk

inthebushprovidesinspiration.This

groupofrocksintheMaryRiver

NationalPark(proposed)is oneof

many– butthepeculiaruprightstone

cappedwithanotherboulderhasa

special,commandingpresence.

Havingselectedmysubject,I

exploredit fromseveralangles

andpragmaticallylookedfora

viewpointthatprovidedtheartist

withsomeshade.I hitchedmy

tarpaulinundera smallrockfigtree.

STEPTWO

I carrya smallsketchbookinwhich

I tryoutseveralveryquicktonal

drawingstoestablishlight,shade

andalternativecompositions.

I realisedI hadtocaptureand

emphasisethemorningsuntomake

thetonalvaluesinteresting.

STEPTHREE

GracePalegintroducedmetothe

ideaofapplyingpasteldirectlyonthe

paperwithone’shands– andthenew

PanPastelsareidealforthis,even

if thismethodis notrecommended

bythemanufacturer.I established

basictones,compositionandshapes

usingblackandwhitePans,applied

withtheheelandsideofmyhandto

createdrywashesandsubtlemarks

thatwereeasytochangeorpaint

overasthepaintingdeveloped.

STEPONE STEPONE

STEPTWO STEPTHREE STEPFOUR