Sunday, May 19, 2013
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Kata Tjuta - Acrylic painting by Linda MacAulay

Linda's April Blog- Painting shrubs in Acrylics

At the moment I am working on an exhibition of Australian outback scenes for my exhibition at Uluru (Ayers Rock) in September. I have chosen to do most of these paintings in acrylics because of the intensity of the colours and the ability to work large scale. The sheer size of these works helps convey the vastness of the outback. 
 
One of the true joys of painting in acrylics is being able to use lots of watercolour techniques allowing you produce some truly wonderful effects on canvas. I love going up to the studio each day and experimenting. Not everything always turns out the way I expect and some times that’s a good thing. Other times it’s a disaster but you just paint over it and move on.
 
 
One of the things I have enjoyed most about living in the shire of Nillumbik is the opportunity to meet and work with other artists. Nillumbik has a long history as an arts area and is home to many working artists. During the Artists Open Studios program 31 artists working in 24 different studios open their doors and lives to the public. Visiting the various studios is a fantastic and often enlightening experience.  Come and visit me in my studio and see a range of artworks in various stages of completion or visit any of the other artists.  Every studio in the program has something interesting to offer.  I love seeing the creative gardens as well.  Spend the day in Nillumbik and have lunch and may be a glass of wine in some of our beautiful wineries. 
 
The next round of Artists Open Studios is on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of May, 2010. Just follow the link to find out more information on the studios or email me your address and I can send you out a booklet.
 
 
 
  
In this newsletter I am going to share some techniques for painting bushes or shrubs in acrylic that I used in this painting of Kata Tjuta. I am using the Matisse flow range of paint.
 
 
Painting with a sea spounge in acrylic
After painting the background and some shadows on the ground I am ready to start the bushes.  The first step is to mix some Dioxine Violet which is a very dark purple colour with some Pthalo Green and apply this over the shadows with a piece of sea sponge.  I am just lightly sponging the paint on to try and create some texture and provide a base dark for my shrub. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
Step by step acrylic painting by Linda MacAulay
Once this base colour has dried on the canvas I sponge over it again with a slightly lighter blue grey.  I make this colour by adding Australian Sky blue to the above mix.  Again I leave this to dry.
 
 
 

 

 

 

   

Mixing colours in acrylics by Linda MacAulay

Using a fan brush I partially mix together Cobalt Blue and Magenta.  Never over mix your paints.  I think this is one of the most important techniques to use regardless of the medium.  Once I have done this my brush has a variety of colours in it which I use to add more interest to the shadow areas of my shrubs.

 

 

 

 

   

Sea spounge paint application by Linda MacAulay

After this has dried I sponge Australian Grey Green over the base colours and again I wait for this to dry.  I usually work on a number of paintings at once so I go on with something else while this is drying.  Most times I wait for about an hour between each step.

 

 

 

   

 

Painting with a fan brush with Linda MacAulayUsing the fan brush I apply another layer of partially mixed Cobalt Blue and Magenta.  At this stage you can see the colours and tones beginning to layer up and create the illusion of a 3D shrub.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Adding the details in acrylic paint by Linda MacAulayUsing a smaller brush I now start putting in the highlights using Mauve, Australian Sky blue and the Australian Grey Green mixed with some iridescent medium. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Acrylic artist Linda MacAulay demonstrates her techniques

I try to vary the direction of my strokes and keep in mind where the light is falling on the shrub.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Saltbush in acrylic by Linda MacAulayThe finished shrubs have a variety of colours, tones and different brushstrokes that combine to create the illusion of a shrub.

 

 

 

 

 

   

Classes for Term 2
 
At the moment I am teaching 4 classes a week and all the current information is on the website under the workshop section. 
 
I will be emailing out details of some up and coming workshops in the next week or two . I have some weekend workshops in the pipe line in both acrylic and watercolour. 
 
 

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