THIS ISSUE PAGES
2009 DEMONSTRATIONS MAY TO AUGUST
RUSS CULVER ~ May 2009
Russ used Canson mi teinte half tone paper with soft pastels and pastel pencils.He placed the most important part of his composition in the 'golden section', that is two thirds up from the bottom and near the centre, Portraits of animals and people must have the correct proportions and angles, so check in a mirror or turn upside-down.
The painting should 'tell a story'. Russ included an horizon line in his portrait of a dog.
RUSS'S TIPS
Work using the whole arm in order to be more creative.
Portraits should only have one subject.
The background should not be intrusive, and should not be too dark or too light.
Take a break after painting for two hours.
SHARON ROGERS ~ June 2009
Sharon mixes 50% diluted watercolour paint with 50% gum arabic to achieve more vibrant and transparent colours. Gum arabic is also a useful wetting agent enabling the blotting and movement of pigments to produce texture. It should not be used for underpainting as it will lift out when another wash is applied.
SHARON'S TIPS
Test your colours and note which ones leave a stan when lifted out e.g. alizarin crimson and phthalo blue.
Splatter gum arabic on rocks to make wave shapes.
Press on cling-film to create texture.
HELEN TALBOT ~ July 2009
Mixed-media artist Helen Talbot uses collage to create entire artworks or to add textre to paintings. She has also used it to create a family album using photocopies of photographs.
Torn strips of all kinds of decorative paper may be used, such as: magazines. tissue-paper, scrapbooking paper, home-made paper and sections from her old paintings. Apply the paper with a glue-stick, white gesso or acrylic paint, not PVA adhesive which discolours. Allow each layer to dry before adding the next.
The collage may be overpainted with acrylic paint, pencil, watercololur stick or oil pastel. Stencils may be used to create repeated motifs as well as other techniques, such as a candlewax resist .
Three-dimentional texture could be used by using strips of paper for tree-trunks or distant hills. Thickened conrstarch may also be mixed with pigment and applied.
HELEN'S TIPS
Start a collection of interesting scraps of paper for future use.
Newspaper discolours with time, so use photocopy instead.
Cover a flower painting with tissue using spray adhesive and draw or roll designs in ink on top.
GLENNIS COURTNEY ~ August 2009
Expressive paintings usually employ a 'fast and loose' technique and Glennis demonstrated how she uses it to paint two very different subjects: flowers and animals. She began with wetting the backgound and dabbing on colour allowing it to flow together in places. Glennis's backgrounds are in soft focus.
The brushes were washed and paint was applied to the main subject, parts of which had masking fluid obscruing the lightest areas. Glennis pays particular attention to the negative shapes, for example between leaves and flowers.
The driest details are added after the painting has dried. She also uses bright colours which may be glazed at the end in order to harmonise the painting.
GLENNIS'S TIPS
Use a different brush for each colour.
Lift out patches, for example animal noses and add nostrils detail later.
Do not be afraid to dampen hard edges or fix mistakes with clean water.
All images are copyright
Photos: Di Alexander ©
Totton Art Society
