Page 69 - Australian_How_To_Paint

INSIGHT

Chapel Street, Prahran 86.5 x 40.5cm Oil on Canvas

for eight years. When I returned to it
I commenced a passionate practice of
watercolour in the belief that it could
be light and portable. My earliest
tutor - Andrew Gemmill - promptly
relieved me of my need for preciseness
and steered me more towards a looser
impressionist style. This is something
for which I am eternally grateful, for
it now underpins all of my work in
watercolour and oil.
I practiced watercolour exclusively
during my breaks from work,
participating in the workshops of
several noted Melbourne artists.
In 2011 I succumbed to a desire to
turn my hand back to oil painting,
and applied a lot of accumulated
knowledge in art into this medium.
Watercolour had given me greater
skills in tonal balance, colour
mixing and applying paint with an
impressionistic flair. My work now
follows a process that starts naturally
from inspiration - what excites one’s
creative passion? In my case this is
light and atmosphere on any natural
or man-made scene. Follow this
with careful observation and then
apply skills in drawing, composition,
colour and tonal relationships and
technique.
Afternoon Glow on Swan Street - Richmond 56 x 76cm Oil on Canvas