I took a series of sequential action photographs and the reference chosen was a combination of the front of the horse from one photograph and his rear from the next. I was initially going to suggest a background with a stormy sky and grass, but got c

I guess not every child had the opportunity to live in three different African countries by the time they were 14 years old but I was blessed. I was born in Uganda and grew up all over East Africa. My father worked on the railways, building bridges f

Scratchboard is an extremely versatile and forgiving medium. When people tell you that you need to get each scratch in exactly the right place first time or your board is ruined, don’t believe them. If you are painting in oils and make a mistake, you

I want to take you back to 1993. I am a horse-mad girl with long brown hair and utterly lovesick. I love horses. Then along comes the Arabian horse. On the outside, this breed of horse is famous for its beauty, refinement and movement. This is all ve

I have selected one of my own photos featuring my muse, the Arabian horse. Technically speaking this photo is not focused correctly, but is good enough as a reference. I know I have a great photo reference when I keep going back to it and feel excite

I grew up in Sydney. After leaving school, I won a scholarship and spent three years full-time at the National Art School. Leaving there, I went out into the world to earn a living. In the early 1950s you could count the number of artists actually ea

Ian Reardon first became interested in art through his grandfather who worked in pencil and watercolours and also painted window-front signs for shops in Grafton. Ian took art as a subject at the Southport school on Queensland’s Gold Coast when he wa

My works start long before lifting a brush. To gain familiarity with my subjects, I have visited many properties in different parts of the country. I have attended shows and events. I have sketched and taken many photographs. To study the action and

I believe every painter can only be taught the basics. After that, we are on our own. Nature has all the answers, and will provide them to painters who ask the right questions. In the early eighties, Gloria Ransom and Allan Fizzell were instrumental

I saw all these amazing coloured pastel papers in one of the art shops I frequent, and the blue colours really caught my eye. I bought a bunch of different hues of blue and couldn’t wait to get started. For this piece I chose one of the darker colour

Why do I paint? Because I was born with a tremendous passionate love of horses... and I didn’t have one of my own! Let me explain. Painting and drawing – especially drawing, has been an integral part of me for as long as I can remember and so has the

Jenny Greentree resides on an ancient red ridge overlooking Gidgee Lake – quite literally out the ‘Back of Bourke’ in western New South Wales. Her home has been a source of inspiration which has helped to unlock her exciting God-given talents. Jenny

Brenda Holden spent her formative years in the foothills of Adelaide. Hiking around waterfalls in the area, she grew to love the abundant birdlife. While young, she spent many years in Broken Hill and outback Western Australia – all the while develop

Bushwalking near Lawson in the upper Blue Mountains can be a sheer pleasure. As you descend down the mountainside through Dante’s Glen, you can follow a mountain stream with huge beautiful cliffs and high waterfalls. The terrain is breathtaking and f

After deciding on size and format, I drew the foreground objects to size with as much detail as possible before transferring them onto my prepared board. When I airbrush a background (as in this painting), I mask the bird and the branch with masking

In my hasty sketch (although it was done very quickly), I attempted to capture as much visual information as possible with a few strokes of the pencil. My intention was to use the study at a later date for a painting. Instead, I have used the sketch

Glenn Demnar, my art mentor for many years, used the term ‘loose’. Looseness has become a predominant feature of my style. With oils, being ‘loose’ engenders minimal risk … it’s only paint. So-called mistakes can be corrected through overpainting; sc

Richard Rogers lives and works in Strathalbyn, South Australia – far away from his birthplace at Kyogle in northern New South Wales. He discovered that he had some talent for art during his high school years, and has dabbled with painting and drawing

Jenny Hartley is a Queenslander who has been an active painter since 1990 – creating works of art in graphite, watercolours and acrylics. Her childhood, spent on the family farm near Casino in New South Wales, installed within her a deep love of the

I had been out to Colby dam, near Toowoomba. I had seen this old gate beside the road and stopped to photograph it. What I saw inspired me and the idea for this painting of ‘Country Cousins’ was born. From when the initial idea was formed, the proces

My reference photograph for this demonstration was a picture of a dry creekbed in the Flinders Ranges. The picture was taken on a painting trip to Angaritchna Station. Although the photograph was vertical, I chose a horizontal format for my painting

Murray Charteris is quickly gaining a reputation for his dynamic energy-filled fine art. His bold colours and powerful compositions come together to produce artwork that is increasingly sought after. His original paintings are seemingly being snapped