Yes – we have a name! And yes it is all coming together spookily well! So without further ado…

I hereby launch the new exhibition website and invite you to have a look.

Most excitingly I have released four paintings for pre-sale. These pieces will still form a vital part of the exhibition of course – but they will have that all-important red sticker. If you want to make sure you don’t miss any information about the show or secret sneak-peeks all you need to do is subscribe. You can do that here or from the exhibition site.

I’d love to know what you think and if you have any hot tips for getting the word out about the show.

The second market was at the Convent where it was very quiet. Reports of a possible weather-wrath repeat had people in hiding. So at the market we amused ourselves and I painted most productively.

Here is a little of what I painted.

Aboard the steamer she posed for my Mondoodle.

Monday March 8, 2010.

You may have seen me working on this one at recent markets. Well, in the last week I’ve moved it and the cafe rabbit down to the living room to finish them off (too hot upstairs!) and here he is. I’m still making slight adjustments to the chair and background tones… but otherwise he’s about done. I’m really happy with the colours and his presence in the picture.

Happily he’s going to make his card debut soon too. We’re making a few of my recent paintings into cards which should be around in the next month I hope. I can’t wait to see how they turn out. With this picture, although I did try out different designs that placed him in a fully developed scene (like a library or study), in the end I really wanted this to be a portrait, where he is the only focus and all other details (especially colours) are designed to help show him off to best effect. I’ve created a spotlighting effect too by darkening the edges to further concentrate our focus.

#1   Stick to your strengths.

Some people develop one strong style because it is all they want to do, or even all they can do. Nothing wrong with that – it’s actually a slightly enviable position. But those who have a broader range of skills, perhaps without one particular leaning, are met with a bit of a dilemma. What style? What medium? What subject matter? They, like me, often learn to be all things to all people – turning their hand to whatever is needed. For the artist it is very satisfying. You broaden your skills and you can make sure that you address the needs of the story rather than bending it to suit your style.

But unless you’re working with a publisher all the time, not many will think of the all-rounder-illustrator when a book comes up. They tend to read the text and someone’s style pops into their head. And that’s who they contact first. If you’re writing your own work it isn’t much of a problem. You can present yourself as a whole package. But it wasn’t until I developed a distinctive style (going back to my strongest loves) that publishers contacted me more regularly.

So, what do you like doing the most – what do you doodle, what do you always fall back into when sketching, what do you do that you love – however unpopular? What is your most successful use of line? What design elements do you personally love to death? That’s You. That’s your style. Now – play with it, perfect it. How can you use that in illustration? By all means practice lots of techniques and mediums if you like. There is always more to be learnt, greater skill to be attained, nuance you would never have dreamt of nuancing. You will find new elements that are invaluable and mean that you can play with confidence. And there are certain things that every illustrator will need some confidence in – drawing people especially.

But don’t think you have to be someone else to get work.

Top row – A sketch done in my undergrad days at melbourne uni. I loved doing pencil and detailed pen sketches around the campus.  Beside it is a recent pen drawing in Carlton (using crosshatched pen) with an added storytelling flair – lots of cats on the rooftops.

Middle row – A figure study done in life class and illustrated characters for ‘The Elephants’  Big Day Out’. Similar use of colour, stroke and tone and both done in oils. The illustrations tend to be a little more crisp in their execution – probably owing to the smaller brushes and need for finer details.

Bottom row – Florence painted on the spot (one-off landscape painting) and an illustration from Where’s God?’. Both in oils. In the illustration I have warped buildings for a more looming effect – but use the same techniques as in my regular painting.

1. The actual surface people mix their paints on which can be anything from an icecream tub lid to a beautiful wooden thing with thumb-hole and all.

2. The range of colours that the artist uses when painting.

One of the things that I noticed when I was growing up and painting is that there seem to be different groups of colours. There are what I call the Natural colours (think of the Australian bush) – ochres, umbers, dull eucalyptus greens… colours that seem to have a little grey and dust to them. In this group are Raw Sienna (light browny-yellow), Raw Umber (grey/yellowy-brown), Alizarin Crimson (transparent pinky red), Yellow Ochre (translucent sand), Sap Green (like shrubs), Cobalt Blue (Aussie sky), Paynes Grey (gumtrees) and others… These are the colours I started with, those that were in my mother’s collection.

Then, when I went to tutored classes with Maxwell Wilks for a while, I was introduced to lots of colours that I hadn’t used before. We’re always told that with the basic palette – red, blue, yellow (and white) – you should be able to make just about any colour… But there were always colours I could never achieve through mixing – especially things that needed to be BRIGHT. So I have really enjoyed buying the odd tube of perfect colour, extraordinary colours which are light, translucent and fresh.

And now, finally, through trial and error I have arrived at a palette that seems to mix well together and allows me to create all the colours I want.

It’s split into a few groupings as there are colours you need in specific situations but don’t necessarily mix with everything else. Most colours are Art Spectrum brand. The artists quality colours are actually subtly different (in colour and quality) to the student quality, so beware. Colours vary between brands too.

• Burnt Sienna – rich warm browns. Often use it when I’m sketching in a painting too.

• French Ultramarine – dark very intense deep blues. Think deep ocean, evening sky.

• Turquoise – sensational greeny blue – Venice’s canals, Broome’s waters.

• Viridian – my standard green. Very versatile and blue-based. I’ll mix it with Indian Yellow if it want to make it warmer.

• Cerulean blue – very beautiful lighter blue. It’s like it has a tiny touch of green or lemon in it. An exotic blue that can be turned into just about anything.

• Lilac – lots of white in it so is good for mixing and lightening things. Goes interestingly into greens and skin tones to cool off a colour that’s getting too hot. Be careful though as too much can deaden the painting a little.

• Tasman Blue – a light nebulous blue. Also has lots of white in it. Again for skin tones and mixing – interesting with Indian Yellow.

• Indian Yellow – beautiful translucent colour. I use this a lot as a mixer. A touch in some Turquoise makes the most beautiful old warm green – like on posters from 1900s Paris.

• Permanent Rose – a pinky red that is great in portraits. Mixes well with Indian yellow, Turquoise & Cerulean (wow)… with lots of colours really. Put some in your Burnt Sienna to darken and warm it. This is what I use when I want to redden a blue-based colour.

• Cadmium Orange – mixed sparingly into skin tones, with Tasman blue and Lilac.

• Cadmium Yellow – my other yellow. It’s a normal sunflower kind of yellow. Warm. Won’t mix well with everything but is a standard yellow.

• White – I don’t notice the difference between the whites really. Titanium usually. I use it a lot.

• Black – I don’t use this much. It makes things a bit dead. Usually I darken with a dark blue and/or brown.

• Cadmium Red – bright red, opaque. Tricky mixer – you just have to experiment. Obviously will go well with the other Cadmiums and with yellow greens but not so well into the blue-based colours (try Permanent Rose instead). Brilliant when you want a vivid red.

New/odd/non-mixers
Prussian Blue – has a bit more cool darkness to it. It’s Nice and new to my palette.
Cobalt Blue – A sky blue – more in the Natural colour group (tricky mixer with my palette but sometimes just right).
Lemon yellow – sparing mixer for a pick-me-up in a colour that needs yellowing but not heading to an orange. Interesting in greens. Makes my colours go a little fluoro!

It’s fascinating to see how the changing palette alters the look of my work over the years. When I first discovered Lilac and Tasman Blue I used them everywhere and I can pick when things were painted because of them. Different colours are exciting – colour is exciting! Even though I try to be limited and mature with my colour use – I just can’t help letting it explode sometimes. Those of you who have seen my lion picture will know what I mean Oh and the cat I painted last market – as soon as that deep reddy-pink background went in you should have seen the turquoise jump out of the canvas.

Magic!

Ivanhoe yesterday was a bit quiet. That was my swan-song. (ooh – where does that come from? …I think I remember something about swans singing as they die…) Anyway – I won’t be at that market again. I’ve met some nice people and I’ve given it more than a year but it’s not right for me. It’s been interesting to look at the different dynamics of the two locations. For some reason I just fit better at the Convent. Does that mean something? The Children’s Farm probably brings the families, but the crowd is just generally more my style. I really respect Jenny who runs Sunday Arts at the Convent (on the 1st Sunday each month). She hates it being called a market and all that the term conjures. I can understand that, although the set-up is market-like in the best possible way. Yesterday at Ivanhoe I looked around and really felt like I was at a church fete – the music, the crafts – something about it made everyone there look like they were indulging in a hobby. The right atmosphere and mix of people is so important. Despite the aim of being an art market (named after the Heidelberg painters) – it seems you just can’t put Olde-crafts and modern artists next to each other and have it look right. Jenny’s event, while having struggled at times, has kept its authenticity and I really appreciate it. It works beautifully.

I’m back to the Convent next Sunday for the Maker’s Market. It’s a mixed bag of artisans and there’s a lot of very fine work there, then add the Shirts & Skirts market outside as well… it makes for a good day!