Artist's Back to Basics

I had the good fortune to be born to an artistic mother who had been one of Australia’s early women potters, running a studio in Clarence Street, Sydney, where she employed 10 people. That came to an end with WW2 when she was obliged to contribute to

• Canvas (182 x 122cm)• 10cm brushes• Large brush• Rags• Tape or Blu-Tack• Old toothbrush• Acrylic paints• Raw Umber• Raw Sienna• Red Oxide• White Preparing your canvas is just as important as the artwork. Most canvases you buy today are already prim

Born in Paddington, NSW, Kim Staples grew up mainly in the northern beaches of Sydney. Here is her story. My first introduction to art was in high school. Unfortunately our art education was more about history and not much on practical. Our instructi

It’s autumn and the ornamental grape vines are turning the most beautiful shades of purple and red. I’ve picked some of these lovely leaves and I’m going to do a watercolour painting showing some of the colours. I will include a number of superb blue

Birds or other pollinators can enhance a painting with added information and interest. They can add life to an otherwise basic painting and can make your work glow and stand out from the crowd. They are a definite enhancement for any botanical painti

When I decided on this subject I had a picture in my mind (as I so often do) of the finished painting. However my journey to capture this on my paper took considerably longer than I could have imagined! I didn’t want the plums to outshine the birds o

I was always going to include half a dozen pastel articles in this issue but I really had to ‘lay my cards on the table’ as well to give the full account of actual drawing practice, round here anyway. Although the freehand graphite will always be the

• Canvas (182 x 122cm)• 10cm brushes• Large brush• Rags• Tape or Blu-Tack• Old toothbrush• Acrylic paints• Raw Umber• Raw Sienna• Red Oxide• White I wanted to tie in an Australian landscape image with the body of work I have been currently creating.

Nowadays all of a sudden there seems to be a whole world of newly designed playing cards out there, the scene has changed hugely since I began doing it only a short decade ago (before things like social media, crowd funding, and custom deck programs

Contributed The imposing neo-gothic building in which the Arts Centre is housed has a fascinating and varied history spanning more than 150 years. Starting its life in the 1860s as a convict-built lunatic asylum, this evocative limestone building has

I’ve travelled extensively, pursuing subject matter to capture and translate onto canvas. I’ve covered thousands of kilometres on foot and have slogged my way through the Barrios of Spain, the medinas of Morocco and across the provinces of France, Cu