November 2011
2 posts
Free Kindle Books: Writing and Publishing - Free... →
I don’t know about you, but I love books and I love free things… so the idea of free books sounds like a perfectly wonderful prospect. Here I have collected a bunch of free Kindle books about…
Abstract Shield →
I haven’t really felt a great pull to abstraction. I’ve always wanted to do figurative work, typically people and portraits. Though lately I’ve been thinking geometrically – in shapes, and lines,…
May 2011
2 posts
I Shall Be Telling This With A Sigh →
Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken is familiar to many of us. While I’ve mused over the meaning of this poem elsewhere, today I want to really focus on the part that stays with me. Specifically…
Acrylics: Possum Magic →
I started going to art classes four weeks ago. And as much as I enjoy them, I often find them frustrating because even after having something explained to me I’ll still be clueless and lost. After…
April 2011
2 posts
Art Lessons →
It’s been too long between posts, I know. In my defense I’ve been sick in bed with the flu for much of the week. My recovery seems to be a slow going one, but I’m hopeful (and impressed by the…
Pastels: Dan - Limited Colour Scheme With Pastels →
Still enjoying Derwent Pastel pencils. I was keen to seen what I could do with a limited colour palette and blue pastel paper. Initially it was monochrome – just white pastel pencil – but it didn’t…
March 2011
1 post
December 2010
3 posts
Archibald Portrait Prize Finalists 2010 →
Today I went to visit a local showing of the Archibald Portrait Prize Finalists. [The Archibald is probably the most publicised art prize in Australia.] It was wonderful to see the artworks up…
Painting: The Badlands - Tribute To Adam Devenish →
I’m not really too sure what to say about this painting. I wanted to pay tribute to someone who has been very supportive of me in recent times, artist Adam Devenish.
The Badlands …
November 2010
3 posts
Pencil Sketch: Ewan - Artwork In A Greeting Card! →
I working under the presumption that the more I draw the better I’ll become. It might be a fool’s paradise but only time will tell. I remember hearing about a young prodigy who would do lots of…
Permission To Want - Spoil Your Inner-Artist This... →
Sometimes it can be hard giving yourself permission to want things, giving yourself permission to pursue those things for no better reason than you ‘want’ to.
YouTube | iTunes…
Moving Beyond ‘The Talent Quest’ - Claire Watson... →
I spent the morning drawing and I really enjoyed it. Then I spent much of the rest of the day debating whether what I’d done was any good or not. To be honest I realise this preoccupation with…
October 2010
2 posts
Sketch: Self-Portrait (Reflection) - Christening A... →
It’s been a while since I’ve done a self-portrait. I thought I’d break in my new sketchbook with one.
Sketch: Self-Portrait (Reflection) 2B Mechanical pencil sketch with tortillion…
Artist Trading Card: Dave - Happy 21st Birthday! →
You probably can’t tell from the scan what makes this pencil drawing so different to the other things I’ve done. It’s the size actually. I’ve never done anything this small before.
Let explain,…
September 2010
8 posts
Soft Pastels: Dni - Experiments With Pastels →
This is only the second time I’ve tried using soft pastels. To be completely honest with you the last time left me feeling like I would never use them ever again. But actually with a…
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Divergent Creativity Links - Interesting Things To... →
A lot of blogs feature ‘link roundups’ and this has been something I’ve been reluctant to do in the past. However ocassionally something really interesting will flash across in front of me that…
Pencil Sketch: Mike - The 'Muso' From San... →
I don’t usually ask people if I can draw them. Infact I don’t usually tell them I am drawing them. I find a photograph somewhere to work from and then do my best. Eventually I make a decision…
Pencil Sketch: Daniel - Artwork By John Lacey →
Another pencil sketch. 2B mechanical pencil with tortillion blending.
Based loosely on a photograph of Dailybooth user @Dni.
Related Posts:
Pencil Sketch: Child With Toy Lamb
“No, I want you to put in a real profession” -... →
Oh who hasn’t enjoyed some variation on this old chestnut? You want to be creative? You better have something to ‘fall back on.’ You best have a ‘real job.’
Watercolour…
Pencil Sketch: Child With Toy Lamb →
Child with toy lamb. Quick sketch from this morning. 2B mechanical pencil with tortillion shading.
Pencil Sketch: Thumbs Up →
Thumbs Up. Quick sketch from this morning. 2B mechanical pencil with tortillion shading.
August 2010
15 posts
Congratulations; You’re Doing It! →
It’s 10:44pm Monday night as I type. I’ve been in a weird mood all night. I watched a documentary on sensory deprivation which both fascinated and horrified me. I listened to a podcast (a sermon…
Pencil Sketch: Self-Portrait Study →
I’m getting into the habit of doing a little artwork every single day. Hopefully I can keep this habit up.
Pencil sketch (2B pencil and 2B mechanical pencil) with tortillion blending.
Face On Black Paper →
This is the first time I’ve drawn on black paper. This is a combination of coloured charcoal, coloured pencils and metallic pencils. I’ve bought a few different pads (black, assorted colours,…
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Pencil Sketch: Austin →
By rights I should know better. I mean I am always posting encouraging videos, I’m always quoting supportive passages of The Artist’s Way. But a part of me was beginning to think that the ability…
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Margaret Fabrizio: Commitment, Not Complaining →
This video seems very timely for me. As Margaret explains creative people are bombarded with ideas and projects they’d like to do and sometimes this can overwhelm us to the point where we don’t…
Knowing When To Stop… →
I’ve often been a little bemused watching some of Gary Reef’s videos. He’ll present something that, to my eyes, looks extraordinary. But sometimes you’ll detect a note of unease, a kind of…
Backup Automatically And Remotely With Dropbox →
Dropbox is a most remarkable service that allows you to sync your files between multiple computers and devices. This in itself is incredibly helpful for anyone who works on more than one computer…
Reports Of My Death Have Been… →
Just checking in, really. This has been a frustrating week dogged by illness and inner-critics and technical problems. (My laptop has picked up a nasty piece of malware which should, in theory, be…
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Sometimes I take inspiration from nature. I...
Art Practice: Meditation Versus Action →
Where do ideas and art come from anyway? It’s all well and good to talk about ‘artistic process’ in an abstract fashion but it really is all about doing something – anything – and then doing…
July 2010
21 posts
My personal Tumblr account. →
The link goes to my personal Tumblr. The one you’re looking at right now will feature my art work (and that’s about it). For reblogs, commentaries and random information from my life follow this link to the other account.
Virtual Careers Expo →
I’ve been musing over careers and industries and opportunities lately. While I do have specific artistic aspirations these aren’t things that necessarily follow an obvious career arc. I clearly need…
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In The Beginning...
A little buzzed on coffee, I need to get back to more mundane (and far less enjoyable) daily activities than creating art. Sadly. But I thought I’d try to think out loud here for a moment. When I first worked up the nerve to tell someone that I wanted to make art - and it was a surprisingly difficult thing to do at the time - I blurted out, “I want to paint!” Actually it was...
Painting Rage (Digitally Enhanced) →
I’m going to level with you – I’m not really in the mood. Not really in a mood to do much of anything if I am being completely honest. But that doesn’t matter. I mean I wasn’t ‘in the mood’ (that…
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Watch
“Just get started!” It’s an instruction often heard during Tim Pychyl’s iProcrastinate podcast. And frankly it is good advice… When I admitted to wanting to paint some years ago I went as far as buying art supplies but no further. I couldn’t bring myself to start – and, perhaps most annoyingly, I didn’t understand why.
Subscribe: Creative Concepts Podcast via iTunes
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Thinking Out Loud: Humanity
I have so much to do, so much to post – here and elsewhere. Though what I really want to is download my thoughts. To make art, to be moved by art, is to be human. So why do I want to be anything but human? Why am I so painfully aware of (and annoyed by) my limitations? Why do I want to be less human and more automaton? In a perverse way I want to be less human because of a very human set of...
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