Watercolour Paper
CHOOSING YOUR WATERCOLOUR PAPER By Charlene McGill Choosing your watercolour paper is more important than you think, and can definitely affect…
Jacky Pearson
ABSORBING WATERCOLOUR
“I have gradually become absorbed by the need to paint and draw all the time. It is really what I have always done from a very young age.”
You might have come across this talented lady’s work in a book or magazine or even a calendar. Although no one in Jacky Pearson’s family painted, she was encouraged to do so because she was so passionate about drawing and painting which she took to A level standard in high school.
Kellie Edwards
A FOCUS ON LIGHT AND AMBIENCE
Kellie Edwards spends a lot of time outside her studio thinking and planning, and as a long distance runner she has plenty of time for thinking.
When she is not running, Kellie works part time-caring for children of local families. This time spent with children has been a good counter balance to her work in fine art, being the opposite of contemplative studio time. The transition back into almost full time art has helped her work past being the perfectionist, and having less studio time in the week has been great leverage to keep her fearlessly moving forward.
Kim Crosland
WINDOWS TO THE SOUL
Trained as a graphic designer, Kim Crosland is a largely self-taught artist who says she picked up a great deal of her artistic knowledge by joining online art groups and watching various You-tube tutorials.
“This approach helped me to ascertain what is going on in the wider art world, what techniques other artists are using and learning how to develop and apply a distinctive style of my own,” Kim reveals. Kim has carried an inherent ability to draw and paint with her from an early age; her father and grandfather were both portrait artists. She took up painting again about seven years ago, after her father had passed away and also because a friend asked her to paint a few musicians portraits, which were hung in a bar. After that she couldn’t stop. She says she feels indebted to both her late father and her friend for encouraging her to get back into art after 15 years of not touching a brush.
Alan Waters
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
Mistakes are wonderful learning tools – if one analyses the process honestly and comes out the other end more determined than ever.
This is the personal philosophy of Alan Waters who has been described as New Zealand’s answer to Rene Magritte, a Belgian painter and one of the leading figures of the Surrealist movement. In fact one of Alan’s favourite pieces of art is `Clairvoyance (Self Portrait) 1936’ by Magritte. He says this image was one of many that really excited him and started his career as a full-time artist 19 years ago.
Bernd Huss
MOMENT IN TIME
For someone who has not had any formal training and who only started taking his craft seriously two years ago, Bernd Huss has attained an extremely high standard and received numerous accolades for his work.
As long as he can remember Bernd has enjoyed drawing. At first he restricted himself to copying photographs of people from magazines always trying to capture as much detail as possible.
Tanya Finlayson
CARVING A NEW FASHION
“Have a goal, have something to achieve and then go and fulfill it. It always a nice feeling to look back on the journey of how you realised your dreams.”
So says Tanya Short, who some may remember as Tanya Finlayson making and selling handmade jewellery and sewing children’s clothing at the Whangarei markets.
Reading Oil Paint Labels
ARTIST QUALITY PAINTS Every pigment has a unique Colour Index Name, consisting of two letters and some numbers. It’s not a…
Watching Oil Paint Dry
UNDERSTANDING THE DRYING TIMES FOR OIL PAINT Traditional oil paints are bound with drying oils. This is what gives them their…
Matt Diamond
MATT DIAMOND EXPRESSIVE
Throughout his life, Matt Diamond has had an interest in drawing, endeavouring to put to paper that which he saw, developing his talent through the years. He travelled Europe and the Middle East for four years, returning to New Zealand to train at Aucklands Freelance Animation Studio.
After working in 2 and 3 dimensional animation and spending time doing animation for Maori TV, he realised his creativity didn’t really flourish in an office environment and decided to start travelling again. Whilst in central America he spent time sketching people in cafés, without them knowing, and then presenting them with the drawing when they had finished their meal. Sometimes he just made a new friend, other times the unwitting model would buy him a meal or tip him. However, although this was entertaining, it did not satisfy his overwhelming urge to create huge artworks.