Of Workshops And Such...

I attended a one-day soft-pastel painting workshop last Wednesday taught by Jennifer Hockey, an established artist and a fellow of the Royal Australian Society of Arts, a long standing member of the Adelaide Arts Society and joint founding member of  the Pastel Artists of South Australia (PASA).  Her  works displayed  in her studio are just wonderful pieces, done in her distinct painting style which look more like a harmonious marriage between realism and impressionism. I just love the way she captures light and shade in her works!

At first, we were asked to choose a subject from among several pictures depicting children or people in the beach having a leisurely time. We were then asked to do a composition using these pictures and I ended up with a penciled picture showing a father with his two small children enjoying a leisurely stroll in the sand. My attraction to this particular  subject is the challenge of being able to show their reflection in the wet sand.

It is enriching  to interact with another artist through  comments and feedbacks as I went on  to do my work (e.g. “Don’t use heavy strokes when applying the pastel”, “ Don’t rub yet”, “The man is tooooo fat” *ouch*,  etc). It is just so mind – stretching to work in a style that is different to mine and see the whole painting process from another perspective. It is through these observations that  one learns, and then the processing follows. How that gained knowledge integrates into one’s way of doing things, whether it is to absorb  or to depart partly or completely from it. One has to choose. At the end of the day, the quest is for the development of one’s own unique style.  Internalization of new knowledge eventually leads to artistic maturity.

I have not done much about the exercise since I took it home (see attached picture). It was not to be a homework but it took a long time to do the composition and we didn’t have enough time to finish applying the colours. One of these days, I will get to it and finish. 

New Work - The Lake Bridge

            

           Choosing a painting subject   can be a tedious  task.  Even though the universe has given artists inconceivable number of  potential  subjects, picking one sometimes, can still be a painful process. And for some artists ( who do not mind using photos as reference) photos  are quite handy and convenient. They provide  a convenient vehicle to work with and usually are  a good starting point. For what is a picture but usually a  creative expression in itself , a flat representation  of the artist/photographer’s  creative mind/eyes ( or how he chooses to see the subject)  and the physical subject in front of him. 

           Personally, I do not mind working with pictures. Those are my pictures anyway. My own product. As I snap a lot pictures for future reference, only a handful of them make it to the canvas or paper. In fact, very few, only the ones that I find interesting and unique.

          A photo should have some elements in it that give it character to inspire an artist to turn it into a painting. For example (as shown in the painting), the shape of rocks or how it is arranged to form a stone bridge going off somewhere. No big deal, but somehow it lends character to the picture/painting. Ultimately, photos are great reference, but the artist’s hands and mind give the painting its finished look.

          This painting is of  a Lake in Belair National Park in Adelaide. A less-than-an- hour drive by car from the CBD. Nice to explore in summer. It must be freezing cold there by now. 

"The Lake Bridge" 2011 , Soft pastels on Watercolour paper,   Size 38 cm x 57 cm

          

The Lake Bridge

Calm water blue as the sky

Little waves wiggling like a  lady shy

Little ducks merrily swimming without a cry

Flapping their  little wings attempting to fly

Rocks feel hard on the feet

As they make their way through the heat

Forming into a bridge like a feat

Leading someone into the fairies’ fete

Previous Works No. 1 - Australian King Parrot

           

             Last year, I went on a trip to Melbourne. The trip includes a 13-hour long tour-bus ride into the Great Ocean Road, culminating into the famed “Twelve Apostle” rock formations. There where about more than 10 stops before reaching the final destination. At each stop the group were given ample time  to take photos and enjoy the beauty of nature.

"Little Birdie", Soft Pastel on Watercolour paper, A2 size, Nov. 2010

           One of the more interesting  stops is a Koala sanctuary where we saw a few of them perched on branches and all you can see from below are their butts! Not a cute sight at all even for such cute animals! While here also, a  totally unexpected delight came from the sight of a variety of birds, including the Australian King Parrot (shown in the painting). The group had a grand time snapping pictures and getting up-close and personal with the birds during  the bird-feeding time. They are so tamed and inquisitive, such that if you raise your palm towards them (with some seeds on it, of course) they will swoop down into your open palm and feed, obliviously.  The bird shown in the painting is a female king parrot, shown about ready to jump on a tourist’s outstretched hand to feed.

From My Sketchbook No.1

         The Wikepedia define  sketchbook as "a book or pad with blank pages for sketching, and is frequently used by artists for drawing or painting as part of their creative process." Recently, I have turned to sketchbooks to document ideas and I find it quite handy. I scribble ideas down in the sketchbook  so I would have a record of what I have in mind, as ideas can come in  a snap  and gone as fast as one can say "hello".  In it could just be pencil sketches, usually very rough ones, a hard copy of  my mental process. A sketchbook therefore,  is largely  like a record of an artist's  internal journey as he develops compositional ideas into final painting. 

          Once in a while I will be posting some sketchbook paintings/sketches here. It could be just a glimpse of a process or the  final painting itself. Anyways, hopefully you have fun viewing these! 

          Belated Happy Easter to everyone!

 

"Looking Back", Soft Pastel on sketchbook, A4 size

                                                                             Quick! Look Back!

        Most of the time we move forward

      But sometimes, we need to look backward

          In order to know where to go towards...