Drawing with Freedom & Expression for BEST RESULTS

Drawing with Freedom & Expression for BEST RESULTS

The key to good drawing is OBSERVATION!! Having the ability to observe the subject and represent it on paper doesn’t have to be a laborious exercise. Instead, by keenly observing the subject and allowing your pencil the freedom to record what you see AS YOU SEE IT you can create a drawing that has personality and is much more expressive. This type of drawing will convey a feeling rather than recording a photographic likeness. This is my favourite type of drawing.

In this video I show some examples of figure drawing done during a Drama Festival while I was watching young actors on stage. Then in my sketchbook, back in my studio I draw my daughter in the same style and this time create a composition with abstract shapes, line and markmaking. Watch to see how I integrate the drawing with the painting and use different media within the work.

When and How to Create Large Paintings

When and How to Create Large Paintings

Is it time to upscale your Art? In this video I discuss why people often go large too soon and what you need to consider before you decide to create larger work. I share my process of painting large scale, show the tools I use and invite you to come along with me as I work on a large painting.

Avoid the Blank Canvas - Use Gesso to Paint

Avoid the Blank Canvas - Use Gesso to Paint

Starting a painting and making that first mark on a blank canvas can be daunting. In this video, I show you how to avoid this nervous starting point by using Gesso to create a beautiful surface instead of a flat blank canvas.

By painting with Gesso, applying it with a variety of tools, and allowing water to flow through the thick paint, you can build depth and subtlety into those first layers. Before you know it, you’ve started a beautiful and exciting painting and avoided the nervousness altogether.

Watch this video and alternate between Black and White Gesso to create depth and interest to your canvas. Using a variety of tools, from squeegee to comb, you can experiment and discover the effects you love as the foundation to your next painting.

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A Quick Exercise to Create Good Design

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A Quick Exercise to Create Good Design

Recognizing good design in your painting is imperative to being able to create successful artwork. So exercising your ‘design muscle’ so that you can recognize and create good design and correct bad design is part of an artists creative fitness routine! In this video I show you a quick exercise you can do in your sketchbook using pages from an old Calendar. Ripping these up to create new and interesting shape and linear combinations, and then improve the design by layering more collage over the top. All you need is some bold graphic collage material and some glue. Within a fun half hour you will have created a bold design that could be the inspiration for new work. Have fun!

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My Painting Process from Beginning to End

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My Painting Process from Beginning to End

In this video I’m creating a big red painting from beginning to end. I’m often asked how long it takes to create a painting. Well this video will give you an insight into my process. My paintings are created by going on a journey: playing, experimenting with media, and looking for direction in design by what excites me.

👉Take note of how I alternate between using acrylic paint and dry media: pencils, pastels and oil sticks.

👉Look at how I integrate collage at the beginning of the painting to provide surface interest.

👉Watch me use templates to create unique and interesting shapes.

👉Listen as I explain how I know I’m finished at the end of the video.

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Playing in my Sketchbook before I paint

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Playing in my Sketchbook before I paint

Playing in my Sketchbook before I paint on canvas is like stretching before going for a run. It reminds me of what I want to see in my work and sets the intention for a playful, exploratory studio session. Sometimes when trying to ‘finish’ paintings there can be a tendency to tighten up as we don’t want to mess up the good work we’ve done. But I want to remain loose and in exploration mode right up to the end - so limbering up in the sketchbook ensures my painting will stay loose and I get the effects that I love. In this video a quick 30 minute painting, starting with collage and ink led me to create a painting with loose fluid shapes and line to provide structure. Allowing the paint and ink to mix and flow provides beautiful accidental effects that speak of freedom and flow - which is exactly how a painting session should start. Try starting your painting session with a quick play in your sketchbook to set the intention for your exploration in paint.

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How to Paint the FEELING of a Garden in COLOUR

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How to Paint the FEELING of a Garden in COLOUR

In my sketchbook this week I explored painting some Canna Lillies. I didn’t want to paint how they looked - I wanted to paint how they felt - focusing mainly on their vibrant colour and the movement of their broad leaves and upright sturdy stems. Watch in this video how I build depth through layering with thick and thin paint, suggesting details with loose drawing and build a rich vibrant colourful painting. Pick a few stems from your garden, take time to colour match in paint and then build your beautiful paintings in layers too.

How to take MORE RISKS and create successful Paintings

How to take MORE RISKS and create successful Paintings

To relinquish control with paint and mixed media requires risk which can be scarey especially when we have paintings that we care about and don’t want to ruin. When creating abstract paintings it’s essential we explore and experiment with paint, ink, drawing media - everything! So how do you take the risks when painting and try out new techniques and methods but still ensure your paintings are successful? In this video I talk about how I learnt to have confidence in taking risks. I give you my top tips: 1) Practice in a sketchbook where mistakes and messes don’t matter. This is where you can discover painting techniques that work and how to combine wet and dry media successfully; 2) Use a notebook to jot down your discoveries so that you don’t waste time in the studio and can pick up where you left off easily; and 3) When you feel confident, use the techniques and painting knowledge you’ve learnt on your paintings to create strong, exciting work.

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The Best Way to Get Looser with Paint - Without Losing Control

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The Best Way to Get Looser with Paint - Without Losing Control

As we get more confident as artists we often want to paint with more freedom and become more loose with media. Our abstract painting can seem a little tight and contrived to begin with. So how do we let loose with the media but still maintain control with our work to achieve great results? It all comes down to how we use the tools: paint brushes, colour shapers, pencils, pens and dry media. We want the media to flow and make marks that are free and loose, we don’t want to impose too much control when using wet media: paint, acrylic ink etc. And when we use dry media we control the types of line and marks by how we hold the pencil, pastel or pen. In this video I demonstrate how to hold brushes, colour shapers, and dry media to allow the media to flow loosely while also maintaining enough control to get the painting results you want.

Acrylic Ink in Abstract Mixedmedia Painting

Acrylic Ink in Abstract Mixedmedia Painting

In this video I explain how to overcome a common problem artists have when they fall out of love with their paintings. This can happen when our style evolves and we grow in our artistic preferences. But what do we do with the older paintings that are still lingering and no longer reflect our new aesthetic?

I discovered a new technique by using Acrylic Ink to loosen the surface of the painting and freed me up to finish the painting again, this time in my new looser style. There were still aspects of the original paintings that I loved and I was able to integrate these with my new style and create a finished painting that I am much happier with.

In the newly finished paintings I used drawing with oil stick as well as flooding the surface of the painting with Acrylic Ink and water. I used these techniques to provide variety in both wet and dry media which enriches the surface and offers the viewer a broader range of experience when viewing the paintings. I was trying to move into a looser style of expression so I needed to soften edges and lose more control of the paint, ink and drawing tools.

I encourage you not to Gesso over older paintings and lose all your beautiful painting. There will be parts that can be integrated with your new style while still maintaining your authenticity. Decide what new media you can bring to the work and without a backward glance forge ahead to bring your work up to date with your growing artistic style.

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Your Guide When Mixing Colour in Abstract Painting

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Your Guide When Mixing Colour in Abstract Painting

In this video I demonstrate how to use your first colour choice to guide your second colour choice…. until you have a beautiful harmonious colour palette to create an abstract painting. This is simply knowing the right question to ask about the colour you have already mixed when faced with the conundrum about what colour to mix next! Watch the video and then get colour-mixing!!

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Exploring Ideas from Collage with Acrylic Paint

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Exploring Ideas from Collage with Acrylic Paint

In this video I take ideas from a collage and develope them with acrylic paint. Integrating line, texture, shape and using a limited colour range I demonstrate how to create a composition different from the original collage yet still maintaining some similarities through the elements used. This is an exercise in restraint as it forces the artist to focus on just a few elements to integrate with new media. Watch the video and then have a go working from a collage or another painting done earlier in the same way. 1. Identify the elements you want to focus on, and then 2. with different media create a new composition using these elements again but this time in a new way.

Discovering Depth in BLUE Acrylic Layers

Discovering Depth in BLUE Acrylic Layers

In this video I demonstrate how to build depth by using a range of Blues. By varying transparency and opacity and building the surface in layers you can create beautiful effects in Blue.

Inviting your BEST into your Painting

Inviting your BEST into your Painting

Taking the best elements from past work for direction to move forward is the best way to develop continuity and strengthen your own personal style. Watch as I review paintings and collages I’ve done over the past year in my sketchbook and then create a new work bringing those ideas back into play.

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Don’t PLAN - Just PLAY to create an abstract painting

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Don’t PLAN - Just PLAY to create an abstract painting

By combining paint, pencils, pastel and a little collage, you can create gorgeous effects and surprises that add life to your painting. In this video I’ll show you a few different techniques I use by combining a range of media to create an abstract painting. Keeping your work fresh and playful by varying the media and how you use it, you can create a playful abstract composition. Watch the video and then give this a try!

How to draw with character and expression

How to draw with character and expression

This is my favourite drawing technique - it results in drawings full of expressive character while also developing strong observational skills. I love this style of drawing because it’s quick, but the results are powerful and surprising. Still life, portrait, landscape drawings can easily capture the essence of the subject and offer creative options for future explorations in paint.

How to Create Abstract Artwork from Still Life

How to Create Abstract Artwork from Still Life

You may not want to go entirely abstract so by following these 3 simple methods you can explore 3 very different styles of abstract art. I show you how to start with drawing and then by combining drawing with simple shapes, collage, and easy paint effects you can easily abstract your still life with exciting results.

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The right mindset and the first moves to ensure success

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The right mindset and the first moves to ensure success

Starting a painting can be daunting - that blank canvas is like an empty stage waiting for brilliance to arrive! This can be a huge hurdle to overcome when expectations are high. So in this video I’ll share with you how to adopt the right mindset to allow yourself to freely create your best work, and what are some of the first steps you could take on that blank canvas to lead to success. Watch and then let yourself loose on your next painting journey!

Collage & Mixedmedia: Create a Strong Composition

Collage & Mixedmedia: Create a Strong Composition

In this demonstration I start with collage and build an abstract painting in layers. Watch as I play loosely with paint, ink and pencil to create a beautiful surface and then find structure within it by creating edges with value contrasts. Butting up light with dark, looseness with structure you can create a beautiful painting by following this experimental process.

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How to use the COLOUR SHAPER

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One of my favourite tools is the Colour Shaper. In this video I show you how I use it to build beautiful layers of transparent and opaque layers into your painting surface. It's great for creating sharp edges along with gorgeous 'accidental' marks and depth into an abstract painting. Once you know how, this will become one of your favourite tools too. It's easy... watch and see.