Artists Drawing and Inspiration

Hi I am from Rockhampton Qld. I am a late starter to Art. Only enjoying this in my late 30’s. Being creative all my life I happened to see a girl on the side of the road in Byron Bay sketching and I thought what an amazing gift to give to yourself! Took myself off to lessons in watercolour to find myself loving life art and portraits. I love pencils and sketching! I've included a sketch of my late Brother. He passed away in August of 2015. Sketching him has brought my love of portraits back to me, with my art space being set up permanently! Would love to share my passion with you and your readers! Love your magazine and can’t wait to receive it in my mailbox! Tracey Gale My name…

Perseverance. My key word. If I can instil one word in anyone wanting to pursue art, it is to persevere. It doesn’t always work, it doesn’t always go your way, but keep at it, as good things can happen if you want them badly enough to work hard, and if one person can take that away from my story then I feel I have passed on some important knowledge gained through being knocked down, getting up again, brushing myself off and persevering. It is the key you are never taught or told about, talent is only part of being an artist. Perseverance and practice combined with talent make an artist. As far back as I can remember, I have loved drawing, colour pencils and crayons. All the colours of the rainbow…

MATERIALS • Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils– Walnut Brown– Cold Grey II– Burnt Ochre– Black– Caput Mortuum– Earth Green • Prismacolour pencils– Light Umber– Warm Grey 30%– Warm Grey 50%– Cloud Blue– Peach Biege– Sand– Eggshell– Kelp Green • Caran D’Ache Luminance– White– Violet Grey • Clairefontaine Pastel Mat360gsm Dark Grey • Pencil sharpener • Kneadable eraser • Gouache paint – White • Long fine paintbrush • Soft brush to sweep pencil crumbs off your work • Tracing paper to put under your hand. • Spray fixative • Matt varnish STEP ONE For this drawing, I am using a Clairefontaine pastel mat in Dark Grey. It has a slight sanded texture to it, but it doesn’t chew your pencils up like some pastel mats can. Place your drawing on the pastel mat paper using a light colour. When using Black I use a light hand and…

When an art tutor opened a studio in the mid-1990s in the suburb where Gail Higgins lives, she enrolled in the pencil drawing lessons. Though leading a very busy life at the time she absolutely loved the classes and believes enrolling was one of the best decisions she ever made. “I think I was always the first to arrive and the last to leave!” she said. That basic graphite drawing instruction laid down all the foundations for her future artwork – the importance of tone and the attention to detail. “I was amazed at what could be achieved with a pencil in my hand,” said Gail. The Faber-Castell 9000 series of pencils were the pencils of choice then and they are still the only graphite pencils she uses. After nine months of…

There is something magical about pastel. The luminescence, the immediacy, the vibrancy and the feeling of that small stick of pigment being an extension of the hand all contribute to pastel being my favourite medium. Pastel can be used in so many ways to complete work in an artist’s chosen style. I like to use it to achieve the fine detail required in my paintings of wildlife, particularly birds, and can be carefully blended in backgrounds to suggest environment. Apart from oil pastels (a totally different oil-based medium), hard pastels (square-based sticks), pastel pencils and soft pastels are the basic pastels available. Soft pastels contain very little binder, in fact some are pure pigment, and are generally round in shape but they do come in all shapes and sizes. Because they contain…

I love the “Olden Days”! The horse and cart era has a special place in my heart. I loved the stories my Grandmother used to tell me about riding around in the cart and the fun of picnics when the family set off together. Then there was my uncle who had a fruit and vegie business delivering the goodies in his horse and cart, people would flock to the back of his cart and buy freshly grown produce, home delivery at it’s best! STEP ONE I’ve chosen to work on a quarter sheet of 600g hot -pressed watercolour paper. I have air brushed on some colour using a mix of Prussian blue and white My sketch up was done with an H grey lead pencil; this makes it easier to erase any…