Hakea Laurina: Cranbourne Workshop #2

 Hi all! Well, this Wednesday past was another great day at Cranbourne Botanical Gardens with the Botanical Illustrators Group. This workshop was a continuation from the previous Wednesday and artists developed their graphite techniques further, building up to an A3 drawing on Hot Press paper. I was really impressed and delighted with the results all the members created. From absolute beginner to quite advanced exhibiting artist, each seemed to enjoy experimenting and developing their technical and artistic skills with graphite. 

My workshop demonstration was of Hakea Laurina seed pods. The reference was supplied to me by the Group from their treasure box of botanical bits and pieces:

Photo of Hakea Laurina reference
(ignore the Coastal Banksia cone in front, not included in the drawing)

Part of the lesson from week 1 was to sketch your subject and create a composition. I had done this during the workshop and decided to 'trim' a few of the the branches, remove a few leaves and added the little seed cast by the pods. An outline drawing of this sketch composition was created which was then transferred onto Art Spectrum 300gsm Hot Press paper.

I began drawing the work before the 2nd workshop so I would have progress and techniques to show the class. But boy, did I struggle! Although I had really enjoyed working on that paper with the little banksia cone in water soluble pencil (see last post), with dry graphite I found I was fighting with the paper. I didn't like the grain mesh that was appearing, and I felt the paper wasn't holding a line as sharply as I liked. So after 2 hours of drawing I abandoned that work and began again!

My second attempt uses Fabriano Artistico Hot Press 300gsm and I was much happier with the feel and result. I was able to complete the far left pods, stems and several leaves before the workshop. This gave me a good demonstration piece to show the students while explaining and demonstrating on the rest of the work how I had achieved those results. I was able to continue working on the drawing off and on during the day with the group, finishing the work bar the cast shadow. The cast shadow was added in my home studio - and here is the final piece:

Hakea Laurina by Linda Weil © 2022

Anyway, I hope to show this in the upcoming AGRA AAEA show in November - probably along with the little banksia as well. So watch this space for notice of that show when it comes up.

And thank you to the Cranbourne Garden Botanical Illustrators Group for a great workshop!

Coastal Banksia - RBG Cranbourne workshop #1

 This past Wednesday I had the great pleasure of  running the first of two workshops with the Botanical Illustrators group at the Cranbourne Royal Botanic Gardens. This group meet every first and third Wednesday of the month in the Elliot Centre at Cranbourne and are an integral part of the Friends of the RGB. 

The theme for this two day workshop is 'Nuts About Graphite' and is exploring all the different ways and techniques to use graphite pencils in your botanical drawing. Our subject is 'nuts and cones' - primarily things like Banksia, Hakea, Casuarina, etc - but no eucalyptus or gum nuts due to the danger of bringing the Myrtle Rust fungus into the gardens. It was a full class of 12 which is great to see - and although it was a little squishy room-wise, everyone gets on well and are wonderful artist friends.

We began with a series of basic exercises in different graphite techniques including both 'dry' graphite and water soluble graphite. I did a little demonstration work to show how these can work together:

'Coastal Banksia' Demonstration in 4B w/s graphite, Graphitint and graphite pencils on Art Spectrum 300gsm hot press paper.
by Linda Weil ©2022

 From there we moved onto discussion of our subject, composition and planning. To scale planning sketches were created in our workbooks at A4 size to be transferred to A3 300gsm hot press paper. Next week we will proceed with this finished work using all the graphite techniques we explored during the first day. I will be working on a hakea laurina drawing based on a specimen supplied by the Group.

This is a fun collection of artists who are very involved with the Gardens and its' conservation. They have several workshops a year featuring different artists - Geoff Sergeant will be doing a color pencil workshop in Grevilleas there soon. If you are interested in botanical art or taking part in any of the Friends activities please click the links below for more information:

Botanical Illustrators Information 

Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne

Substrate Opening

What a great opening last night at Tacit Gallery for Substrate22! Some fantastic works with interesting approaches to the surface. Many treated the surface like a standard canvas, but some worked it in other ways, printing/silkscreen onto the surface, building up materials into 3D forms, scratching and etching to reveal the shiny aluminum underneath and even cutting it up and creating a sculpture from the square pieces.

Gallery hang of works by Linda Weil

My works are positioned in one of the best spots in the gallery, visible just as you enter. Right next to Lana De Jager's beautiful somewhat Pre-Raphaelite work 'Study for Repose'. 

It was lovely to see a couple of you there and have a chat. Thank you for coming, it is wonderful when 'my team' come along and support me as opening nights can be a bit fraught. Your presence makes the night much more enjoyable.

And for those of you who Instagram, Asheg Brom, Australian author and blogger has posted my work on his Instagram account and you can see his review HERE.

Substrate22

 

I have just completed all three works for the Substrate 22 Group Exhibition opening next Wednesday evening. This has been and interesting, if somewhat challenging exercise. 

Each artist received 3 x A4 primed 3mm aluminum substrate panels on which to create an artwork. Each panel is primed with Golden GAC-200 Acrylic Medium. There was no theme or restriction of mediums you could use, and you could have, if you wished, draw or produce a work on paper then stick it to the panel. But that seemed a bit like cheating to me and I wanted to try out the surface and see how it handled.

The following is the work process for one of the pieces I am showing, titled 'Brass Hopper'.

Planning stages and sketches. These were done during my Covid Isolation where I only had a few materials available - an A4 visual diary, a 2B pencil, a Blackwing pencil with eraser and a couple of sheets of tracing paper.

The final planned concept. Note how I flipped the Brass Hopper direction from the original sketch. You can also see how I altered the rear front leg - cut and stuck into its new position. This is an outline work on tracing paper that was used to transfer onto the panel.

I am using Graphitint pencils (Chestnut and Dark Indigo) and Derwent 4B water soluble pencil, washed, to create a soft tonal underpainting onto the panel. The acrylic gesso takes the wash well but is a bit slippery to work with.

Progress of the addition of dry graphite pencil and dry Graphitint. This surface draws nicely, but there is little tonal variation in the pencil grades. A 6H draws quite darkly! I worked with 6H, 4H, F, HB, 2B, 4B and the Chestnut Graphitint.

Progression and build up of tones requires careful handling. A Staedtler Mars Lumochrom 240 Blue pencil is used in the belly area. The graphite smudges easily. 

Progression; I wet the brass area with clean water and moved the layer around somewhat to get a more even tone. Then a Staedtler Karat #16 Gold Ochre was added to the copper area to brighten it up a bit.

The completed work: 'Brass Hopper' by Linda Weil ©

I do hope to see some of you on opening night, Wednesday August 3 where you can see the other two works created in this series.

Out of lockdown!

 Well, I must say, there are a lot worse places to have to isolate with Covid than with good friends in their wonderful B&B apartment! Luckily I was not very sick thanks to my vaccinations, and just felt tired and a bit miserable for a few days. It became an extended 'holiday' with some 13 days in isolation waiting for the RAT to test negative - but I was looked after in style by my wonderful friends Mags and Sam - who cooked for me, looked after me and made my enforced stay a pleasure.

And if you are ever looking for a place to stay while in Tasmania, then look no further than 'Thistle Doo' in Shearwater. A comfortable two-bedroom flat with kitchenette, wonderful hosts, Hawley beach a short walk away, close to all the beautiful sights of northern Tas, and the B&B caters to the disabled as well as being dog friendly! Check it out here: THISTLE DOO

Early morning walk on Hawley Beach, Tasmania July 2022

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And to catch up on some news - just before I departed I was told I had won 'Best Drawing' in the 2022 Camberwell Art Show! I have been entering this show for many years, and although I have won the occasional commended award this is the first time I have won a major award. Very thrilled.

'Eyrie' by ©Linda Weil: Best Drawing, Camberwell 2022

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And coming up soon is the group exhibition 'Substrate' at Tacit galleries where I will be showing 3 new works (drawing like a mad thing to catch up!). Would love to see you there at the opening!

Yuck

 Damn, guess who contracted Covid in Tasmania and is currently in isolation down here. I'm down for the count and won't be seen for the next 7 days.

😰😰😰

Visiting MONA

 Greetings from Tasmania!

I have been down here on this beautiful island part of Australia since Saturday. Based in the Devonport area we travelled south to Hobart over the weekend and spent all day Monday at the MONA museum. What a fabulous art gallery this is, with some amazing art work on display. Some of the works can be confronting but never boring. If you haven't had the opportunity to visit yet I can highly recommend it, it is an extremely well curated collection of art. But for those who would like to see some of the art I have found this online to give you a bit of a taste: Tour

MONA is underground, and the sandstone walls of the dug out area are kept on display - natures art (1.20 time). The water wall is amazing (1.25) One of my favorite pieces was the Leda and the Swan sculpture (at 2.45 time). The cabinet of wonders holds rare book editions and a delightful collection of antique hand held globes (3.14). People are confronted by the vulva wall (5.42), and the bubble car is a hoot (5.46). As I said, it is a wonderfully astonishing collection of art, very well presented.

We drove the Midland Highway down to Hobart, and on the way up and back I had fun trying to spot all the silhouette sculptures of 'Shadows of the Past'. I managed to see 12 of the 16, so a pretty good score.

A fabulous weekend  - oh, if you are considering a trip to Hobart, I can highly recommend the Waterview B & B in Margate. It's a bit out of town, away from the horrible Hobart traffic. The bedroom views are stunning, the host welcoming, the breakfast substantial! A lovely place to stay.

Charcoal Studies

 Playing with charcoal is fun... messy, but fun. Here are some demonstration works from my recent Thursday morning classes:

Reductive drawing of Sunflowers by Linda Weil ©

Reductive charcoal drawing (or reverse/negative drawing) is a creative method where you first darken the entire sheet of paper with the side of a charcoal stick, then smudge back with your hand or rag to create an even grey tone. Your eraser then becomes your drawing tool and you use a white eraser to define the main forms. A kneadable eraser or blue tack or even tape can be used to further define white highlights. Darker elements are added with soft charcoal. It is a very malleable and almost sculptural way of drawing - but make sure your paper can handle the process.

Positive charcoal studies with white charcoal highlights on toned paper by Linda Weil ©

Drawing in a positive method is often more intuitively comfortable for students, and charcoal is a quick and expressive medium for fast studies. By using a toned paper and white charcoal for highlights you can get some good effects. The top page are all studies where each was done in under 3 minutes. The bottom studies took a little longer, each shell between 5 to 15 minutes. 

Inktober52 & upcoming shows

 All caught up!

#22 Mountain: by Linda Weil©

And the new prompt for this week is: 

𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗𝄗

Two local shows coming up soon - I will have works in both. 

Camberwell Art Show 2022

25th June to 3rd July 2022
First started in 1969, the Camberwell is one of Melbourne's oldest and most respected Rotary Shows. It's a big show, with lots and lots of works on display - so plan on spending a good few hours there. Information HERE

Moonee Valley Art Show 2022

St Bernard's College, Essendon West
9 & 10 July, Gala Opening July 8 at 7pm

Since its inception 10 years ago the Moonee Valley show has grown in size and prestige. Relocating this year to a newer, larger venue this show makes the trip across town worthwhile. Information HERE

Inktober52 catch up

Whew! I have really fallen behind the eight-ball with these Inktober52 drawings. No excuses, just plain lack of motivation really. But I sat down on Thursday and started from where I left off and now I only have this weeks to do, which is:

 #23 Mountain.

But until then, here are the last four:

#18: 'World' by Linda Weil ©- the Earth map is always shown with the Northern Hemisphere prominent. Just thought I'd show it the 'right' way up as seen from space. Australia in its proper ascendance. 

#19: 'Origin' by Linda Weil © The news out of the US over the past few weeks has been very sad and disturbing - which is what influenced this take on the prompt.

#20: 'Flower' by Linda Weil © For this week's class I set a Charcoal Reductive drawing of sunflowers as the exercise. As I had a few sunflowers left from the session I thought I would try them in ink.

#21: 'Mouse' by Linda Weil © This one was easier - one of my 'Mecha-Mice' in ink.

Good news!

All three of my submissions for the Camberwell Art show were selected. So look out for them there this year at: Camberwell 2022

As well, my little echidna sculpture will be shown at the National Awards Exhibition of Miniature Art, NSW. So for all my Sydney friends, or if you Victorians are travelling north, do drop in and visit this rather wonderful exhibition

Catch ya's later!