amazing art • gallery • murals • painting classes • Brisbane, Australia
I had a question from one of my art students today: I see lots of things around that are lovely to draw – a statue, some street art or graffiti, a design on a piece of material etc, but at what point is it “cheating” to use these ideas in your own work? Or is […]
For small card size, a good phone camera shot that’s square on to the painting is fine. For poster size you would need a good camera and have it on a tripod. For anything bigger, or for great quality limited edition reproductions I would recommend outsourcing to a professional fine art house that specialises in […]
The way to know how to make colour sing is by knowing about the colour wheel and how complementary colours work. Here is a tutorial to understand the secrets of complementary colours. You’ll be making colour sing in your artworks in no time! If you know how to use complementary colours, you can mix any […]
Hopefully you already have your brushes in a way that keeps the bristles in nice shape, but doesn’t allow mildew to grow. Brush wallets are the perfect solution and one of my favourite ways to store my brushes safely not just for myself ( one pack for each medium. all clearly labelled) but also for […]
What is Glazing – Why Use it? Glazing can really add some zing to your paintings. It is amazing the difference it can make. Glazing consists of thin, transparent layers of colour laid over the top of one another so you end up seeing glassy depth to the surface. When you add glazing layers to […]
My two favourite mediums that I use come from the Atelier Interactive range. I quite like that range because it is designed to “stay open longer”. This means that if you spray the paint with a light fine mist of water then the paint stays wet and “open”, ready for blending. I really like the […]
This is my personal Must-Read list of books that I believe every artist should have in their collection. Or at the very least, have read once. Recommended books for techniques, inspiration, creativity, overcoming blocks, blank canvas fear, and procrastination. I have been promising you this list of my favourite art books that have changed my […]
This is an incomplete and ever-evolving list of some of my favourite artists who paint using a soft semi abstract style which brings the focus strongly to the central focus point of the composition. This particular style I like is quite a Zen, minimalist style where the majority of the composition contains a vastness of […]
This Part 2 explains how to varnish, step by step helping you with correct application and finish. To read the introduction to why we have to do it, and which varnishes to choose, take a look at All About Varnishing – Part 1. Pouring & Brushing Varnish On – Step by Step On a table […]
Why Do Paintings Need to be Varnished? Varnishing has several purposes: most of all, protecting the painting and evening out the surface shine. Specifically, the purpose of varnish is to: To protect the paint from atmospheric attack To even out the mixture of matte and gloss areas of your painting that have occurred due to […]
