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Being a finalist in Australia’s richest landscape art prize this year was an experience that I will always treasure. Since 2017, the prize has attracted artists from a variety of art disciplines from across the country. The location for the exhibition in Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart is truly wonderful. The hotel has been fully restored to its former glory by owner Don Neil and his family, who also sponsor the main prize.

I have entered before, but without success. How could an artist working mainly in coloured pencils stand a chance against some of Australia’s top painters? Would the judges even consider coloured pencils as a worthwhile medium? I’m convinced that some don’t. Not to be deterred, I kept on entering, as I do with several annual major art awards. On this occasion I was successful. Joy, shock and amazement followed upon receiving the news. I was told by a friend to ‘enjoy the ride’. I did and my entry sold which was an added bonus!

My entry, “Ancient Light”, 103 x 82 cms, coloured pencils and ink on paper, came from my experiences following trips to the North East of Tasmania, along the Ralph’s Falls track below Mount Victoria.

This part of northeast Tasmania, not far from Mount Victoria, looks ancient, undisturbed, with the appearance of being in a time capsule. Every time I visit it looks the same. That’s why I return. Fallen timber and man ferns keep the landscape a prisoner from the rest of the world and that’s a good thing. If I’m there early enough, I’m greeted by a warm, reassuring golden light that lifts one’s spirits as well as those that dwell there.

I’m working on an entry for next year’s prize despite little chance of being a finalist again, but I’m up for the challenge!

Richard

As we get older, most of us spend time in various waiting rooms, usually associated with health issues. Often these places feature locally produced artworks that grace the walls and give us something to look at and can be a welcome distraction to playing with our phones. The standard of these artworks can vary immensely and they either attract our attention for a period of time, or receive a passing glance. I’ve seen some inspiring artwork and others that I would categorize as ‘terrible’. People waiting to see a health professional are often anxious, why then hang artwork that’s only going to increase their anxiety? Of course, there are waiting rooms devoid of anything creative. What does one look at to ease one’s anxiety?

Art has the potential to relax and calm, especially art that is appropriately chosen. 

I have examples of my artwork in our city’s (Launceston) major hospital and at a  doctors’ surgery and plans to feature a collection of recent work in a medical centre later this year.

I believe that art in a waiting room needs to be ‘curious’ as well as calming, as this a  ‘different’ audience than one would expect  in an art gallery. Artwork can be offered for sale, but it’s rarely sold. It’s more about a public service than a commercial venture. What examples of artwork should be found in a waiting room? Obviously, the art on display needs to be calming and engaging, not upsetting or alienating. Triggering one’s curiosity will go a long way to relieving stress and anxiety. How does one do that? A warm, bright colour palette can certainly uplift one’s spirits, but there is another way, one I call ‘Where’s Wally Art’. In book form, ‘Where’s Wally’ has long been a hit with children as they pour over the illustrations to find ‘Wally’ or other specific subjects. Adults like such challenges too!

 Stones From Anniversary Bay, WIP. Coloured Pencils and Ink, 82 x 56 cms.

I’m taking a different tack by creating seemingly ‘mundane’ drawings of objects such as beach stones, hundreds of them. The rational being that people will stare at such drawings for long enough to take their mind off their anxiety. They will ‘see’ things ‘hidden’ in the stones, or simply look for things that aren’t really there, but their imagination tells them other-wise.

I have included a photo of a drawing that I’m currently working on of beach stones from Anniversary Bay in North West Tasmania. Interestingly, I have found creating this particular drawing extremely therapeutic and hope its audience will feel the same. At 82 x 56 cms, it’s a reasonably large drawing, but I’m also considering one mush larger and more detailed to increase the ‘curiosity’ level.

Hopefully, on this occasion, ‘mundane’ will prove to be an attention-grabbing artwork in an anxious environment.

Richard

It starts with a dot, maybe a short line followed by a multitude of longer lines either straight, twisted or curvy. Dots may suddenly appear everywhere. It doesn’t matter of what you’re doing makes visual sense. This is about process; calm, letting go of all that’s around you and about you. It’s art therapy time, on this occasion with a pen or a pencil making marks for marks sake.

Most of the drawings I create are therapeutic, but not all. If you enjoy drawing, regardless of what you draw, then that’s a good thing with positive personal benefits. Such drawings more often than not, don’t require planning, they evolve. You draw what you like, when you like. It can be in colour, black & white, or both. I find that my most relaxing drawing are with  black pens or graphite pencils. Sometimes colour isn’t required probably due to the world being full of all sorts of colour combinations. Back and greyscale drawings when displayed alongside coloured artworks can draw the most attention because we see so much colour in galleries. Printmaking too, with its strong contrasts readily attracts attention.

But why just black mark-making? The secret lies in its simplicity; just varying widths of black on a white surface will suffice. An occasion to cut yourself off from the rest of the world and just ‘make marks’. Usually this involves us drawing something we like. Patterns, often repeated are great to draw for example. Maybe a memory, something your recently saw or something that you completely make up through random thoughts. It’s all valid.

Most of these drawings are done in diaries and are usually private. I have folders full of these drawings that I occasionally publish on social media. I’m thinking of publishing a print-on-demand coffee table book later this year. And what do I draw and consider my mark-making therapy? Would you believe sticks, stones and leaves?

About 40 years ago while staying at Lake St. Clair, Tasmania, I came across rows of these objects strewn along Frankland Beaches along the lake’s southern end. It was an amazing sight, so much so that I have produced a vast range of coloured pencil drawings (2 of which won major art wards) and many greyscale and at least 250 black line drawings. One from the latter is currently on my easel. Since those early days I have visited numerous other locations both in Tasmania and on the Australian mainland for inspiration, more often than not, in black and white. Some of my best work continues to come while watching TV. I admit that these drawings come from something ‘seen and known’, but they offer me a great deal of possibilities as you can see in the featured work.

This type of drawing would be seen as ‘doodling’ for some and maybe they’re right. For me it’s about creating variations on what I’ve seen but allowing me to add what I like. The whole process is truly relaxing. If you haven’t already tried it, I urge you to gab a pen and a piece of paper and start mark-making!

Richard

Art is about colour, line, shape, form, texture even sound. It can sit there, move, make noises and undertake tasks for our amusement. In this instance I’m mainly interested in colour for its visual impact, emotional response, memory recall and most importantly, its ability to heal. Remembering the details of our past can be overloaded with detail, much of which I doubt bares only part of what we’re actually trying to recall.  Colour on the other hand in such cases, can be a lot easier to remember. A single particular remembered colour has the power to unleash a tsunami of memories that can flood our senses (no pun intended). Whether good, bad or indifferent, colours represent the story of lives.

Dealing with darker moments can be difficult, even painful, while happier moments can be a real joy to recall. Colour adds mood, creates atmosphere and has the power to respond in a way that we often don’t expect.

When I’m feeling ‘flat’, I spend time at my studio desk or easel with one of the templates I’ve designed that have been an integral part of my colour therapy workshops for the past decade. I select a certain number of coloured pencils or paint pens and a particular colour palette and bring my templates ‘alive’.

My first featured template was created with a palette of 15 ‘joyful’ colours and is 18 cms sq.

Limiting yourself to a set number of colours is more liberating than one may think as it challenges you to carefully consider your response (and suitability) of each colour you have at hand in order to fulfil the task at hand. With over 100 coloured pencils staring at you, it demands very careful consideration!

All my templates may appear to be abstract, but actually they are sourced from my own landscape drawings. Some are rural such as aerial studies of the Tasmanian Midlands, others feature my ongoing series of ‘floating objects’. Forest floors also appear from time to time. Each workshop has its own particular templates.

Each template is printed on quality paper to ensure the best colour response. I supply high quality coloured pencils that guarantee a top result. The templates aren’t limited to pencils as the paper allows for paint pens, paint and felt pens. It’s simple, quality art materials will always encourage quality results!

What happens if you’re challenged to produce an artwork that contains equal amounts of ‘happy and sad’ colours? You may be surprised at the result. This workshop task has been the most successful of all the colour therapy workshops I have conducted over the past decade. In this case, 9 ‘happy’ and 9 ‘sad’ colours representing particular memories in one’s life, ‘confront’ each other for mediation and it works!

I’m currently editing my second colouring book, ‘Abstracts from Nature, Colour Therapy That Works’. Once it’s printed it will be available directly from me or over the counter at the Harmony On High Street Gallery in Campbell Town, Tasmania. I will post ordered copies locally and worldwide. The A4 size book will be printed on quality recycled 190 gsm paper that will handle both dry and wet mediums.

Have you tried mark marking as art therapy? I have and I will ‘tell all’ in my next blog post.

Richard

WHAT’S WRONG WITH ART?

Technology is developing at an increasingly faster rate than anyone could have ever imagined. Just think about what we have today compared to 25 years ago. Go back much further (like I can) and the difference makes one feel like saying ‘how did we ever cope’? But we did and did pretty well, too! People are great at adapting to what resources they have.

Art is no different. The quality and variety of art materials available today are the best they’ve ever been. I’m amazed at the variety and quality of coloured pencils one can buy, both locally and on the Internet. I’ve recently started using acrylic paint pens. Wow, what a joy to work with! The quality of oil and acrylic artists’ paints have never been better as is the situation with soft and oil pastels. Tutorials abound on the Internet as are the range of art workshops that one can find locally. Aren’t we lucky!

Not everyone though is happy. The rise of AI is already having a significant (and worrying for some) impact on both the media and art world. There is anger and fear from many who believe it will control the world of art before too long. Will it?

Whether we like it or not, we are basically a conservative society, one that doesn’t like change in any form. When change does happen, such as in politics for example, reactions can be mixed to say the least! The world of art is no exception. Take the Impressionist painters whose art was heavily criticised by the establishment as being vulgar, shapeless rough sketches, with overly bright colours and visible brush strokes. This was not the way academic painting was done! Well, excuse the Impressionist artists for being different!

Attitudes for being different haven’t really changed. We’ve always done it that way so why should we change? What we know is safer than the unknown. Fear of failure runs deep.

The development and use of digital technology especially over the past 30 years has had a profound impact on art; for some anyway. I’m part of the latter group who continues to enjoy the possibilities of digital technology, not in a big way, just enough to ensure that I have control over what I create. Maybe I’m a conservative rebel!

AI has certainly arrived with great fanfare along with great fear. What will its impact on Art be? Time will tell. Artists will no doubt use it in various ways and I suspect the results will see a major shift in thinking, but is that a bad thing? Is there room for such methods in the art world?

Artists create in various ways and they all result in artworks of some kind or another. There are those who work plein-air or solely in their studios, at different times of the day and night. Others work from their own photos or use copy-free images from the Internet, while others are spontaneous or feed off their own imagination. Then there are artists who trace their subjects using various devices. This method is frowned upon by some as are artists who employ digital technology in part or all of their artwork. 

We all have our own ways of ‘seeing and creating’, that’s what art should be about!

There’s nothing wrong with Art today, it’s all about our attitudes to change and innovation. Conservative thinking has no room for anything new. We can’t live in the past we must show tolerance to difference because the world we live in is changing rapidly. As long as the artist has control over their work in a least some step in its creation, new ideas and new technologies can be embraced and utilised. Don’t despair, we are in exciting times, just remember how the French Impressionists fared!

On a different note, I was very honoured to receive notice from Feedspot.com that my blog is ranked 4/20 of the top coloured pencil blogs worldwide. I haven’t been very active in the world or blogging of late, but it’s time that I was!

Keep enjoying your art, however and whichever way you create it!

Richard

Wishing everyone a year full of good things and importantly, good health!

Last month I was invited to exhibit at the Poatina Tree Art Gallery in Northern Tasmania as there had been a cancellation for a scheduled exhibition for mid-January through to almost the end of February. Should I accept the invitation?

Such an invitation isn’t a matter of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’, because exhibitions cost money (and time) and require a good deal of preparation. To add to this, I am already committed to another solo exhibition in March that follows a 5-day Coloured Pencil workshop I’m conducting. Framing a collection of work at such short notice was out of the question.

Fortunately, I was able to get together a collection of framed drawings that would relate to each other when displayed. So, I agreed.

My March exhibition, ‘WATERSound’, is ready for framing and my forthcoming workshop is in the advanced planning stage, so why not accept the invitation?

I chose work that I had completed over the past 3 years that feature aspects of the Tasmanian landscape. The island has many fine examples of diverse landscape and all are indeed precious and beautiful in their own way. Economic prosperity and development is a major part of modern life, but at what cost?

We need to pay greater attention to, and place greater value on our landscape. We are already paying the price for greed and neglect. Why hasn’t the message sunk in?

I value all aspects of our landscape from thundering waterfalls, babbling creeks, to forest floors and tiny shells. Every object should be regarded as precious and beautiful, because they are.

Richard

Abstract art enjoys a love/hate relationship with art lovers. Coloured pencil abstracts are often shunned for a variety of reasons, primarily due to the medium which doesn’t enjoy the status of paints and pastels. It’s a grim reality that I have faced every time I produce an abstract drawing. Realism in coloured pencil however, enjoys a fairly good relationship with both lovers and buyers of art. Am I mad holding an abstract exhibition in my home city of Launceston? Time will tell.

‘DRIFT’ is a collection of drawings based on my observations of objects floating, sinking & sunk in ponds & creeks. All my abstract work comes from ‘known, real’ subjects, something I’ve always followed since I graduated from Art School (last century).

My venue is Stillwater Restaurant, Launceston, one of Australia’s leading restaurants. Such venues are a challenge because people go there to eat and socialize, not to primarily view artwork. I’ve shown there before and sold, so patrons (or at least some) notice and take the time to view the work on display. The hanging spaces allow for 11 artworks to be featured and after they were installed last week, I was very pleased with what will be on show for the next 3 months. If I’m fortunate to sell, I have other work ready for replacement.

Each drawing is presented with a white frame, art glass and double chalk white mats.

Why create abstracts that are hard to sell, when my realistic drawings have much more commercial appeal? Each week I usually work on both realistic and abstract drawings in my studio, depending on what motivates me on the day. I like the switch and often work on both on the same day. Realism gives me a satisfying outcome whereas, abstraction is ‘colour therapy’ where the process often outweighs the product. I still enjoy the abstract product, but the creation is often such a joy!

Landscape Adrift

Richard

I am very honoured to be the feature artist in this month's (August) edition of Colored Pencil magazine.

The article focuses on a selection of my abstract drawings.

Digital and print copies can be bought from:

coloredpencilmag.com

“Mersey Riverbank Stones.” 40 x 60 cms

Derwent Lightfast pencils on Canson pastel board. Own reference.

As soon as they had been released, I was keen to try Derwent’s latest range of coloured pencils. With the name ‘Lightfast’, it was obvious that these pencils were aimed at the top end of the coloured pencil market and that made me very happy! Lightfastness has always been of concern for professional artists in all mediums and indeed for anyone who exhibits their art. I have 39 different sets of coloured pencils, the majority having a good lightfast rating, while some haven’t. The pencils that have a high rating are the ones I use for any work that I try and sell or enter in art awards.

What’s the big deal about lightfastness? It’s simple, one doesn’t want their work to fade within 12 months, do they? Always choose a quality pencil with a high lightfast rating, because you’ll also work with high quality pigments that give excellent surface covering and ease of

application. Cheap pencils cost too much!

Before I ‘saw the light’ and ‘converted’ to Cps, I worked with oil pastels, soft pastels and finally pastel pencils. My first set of Cps was a 72 tin of Derwent Cumberland Artist’s and they were a joy to work with. Because I’d favoured coloured papers with pastels, I continued this approach with my pencils, with greys and ochre colours being my favourites paper colours. The pencils’ coverage was excellent with good results and I was rewarded with several art prizes. That was over 30 years ago and since then my Derwent Cp arsenal has increased dramatically. I now have Derwent’s Coloursoft, Inktense and Procolour pencils, with Coloursoft being my favourite. That was until Lightfast pencils arrived.

Last year Derwent (for whom I’m a Cp tester) sent me a tin of 12 to try and this year I received a set of 72 and so far, I’ve completed 2 drawings. I’m looking forward to receiving 28 more colours (that have recently been added) in the next month. A set of 100 coloured pencils will make Lightfast a strong competitor alongside Caran d’Ache, Polychromos, Prismacolor and Albrecht Durer brands.

PACKAGING: The strong metal tin looks impressive thanks to Jesse Lane’s ‘eye-catching’ artwork (pun intended). The pencils themselves are clearly labelled and as is a Derwent tradition, coloured at the top end. I was a little disappointed though at the lack of strength of the plastic inserts, fearing the possibility of disturbing the pencils if they were mishandled in transit.

COLOUR RANGE: Landscape colours were well represented. The overall palette was somewhat subdued and I hope that the additional 28 colours will contain some warmer even brighter examples, such as brighter blues, turquoise, deeper greys, a vermilion and a strong pink. Not sure about the 3 shades of black.

APPICATION: The pencils sharpen easily to a point and lay down their respective colours well, very well. I find high quality pencils perform best when they are warm and these are no exception. They were a joy to work with on different coloured supports (papers). The pigments are strong and cover exceptionally well. I was impressed! For those (like me) who often use Luminance pencils, you will notice that the 2 brands are very similar to hold and work with (and are about the same size as each other). Both brands are very responsive with Luminance being slightly ‘oilier.’

BLENDING & LAYERING: I usually apply a maximum of 3 layers in my drawings and I experienced no concerns with Lightfast pencils in that regard and the same applied when working under or over layers of both Luminance and Prismacolor pencils.

Lightfast White with Mid Ultramarine

 HIGHLIGHTS: WHITE is a prized addition when working on coloured supports and Lightfast White won’t let you down. I tested what I believe are the top  5 coloured pencil whites on Canson Red Mi Teintes paper with the strongest being, Museum Aquarelle,  Prismacolor, Lightfast, Luminance and Supracolor in that order. All 5 pencils performed admirably and confirmed my opinion concerning their status.

YELLOW OCHRE, SANDSTONE, FLAME, BURNT SIENNA, MIST, TURQUOISE GREEN, PLATINUM, GRASS GREEN (LF11), LIGHT BRONZE, SCARLET, DERWENT RED and MUSTARD are personal favourites.

THE COST: I’ve read that there is some concern regarding the ‘high’ cost of both sets and individual Lightfast pencils but as the saying goes, ‘you pay for what you get.’ Yes, Lightfast maybe more expensive than most of the other brands but it must be remembered that these are high quality coloured pencils. Cheap pencils cost too much!

I believe that Lightfast pencils are the best product Derwent has produced and the release of a set of 100 is something worth looking forward to.

Richard

“Coastal Rocks”40 x 60 cms

Prismacolor pencils on Canson Pastel Board. Own reference.

Today’s featured coloured pencil drawing happens to be my biggest selling print as a greeting card not only in Australia, but overseas. For some reason this drawing has universal appeal. Is it the subject, the medium, or the colours and shapes?

I recently took part in ArtWalk 2019, an annual local council arts initiative at Port Macquarie (Australia) where I’m currently residing. For 3 hours on Thursday, July 18, between 6-9pm, about 11,500 people visited the CBD to witness a massive range of visual and performing arts. This event gets even more popular with every passing year. I wish though that it be held over a weekend, not simply an evening. On my stall I offered cards and prints for sale and my return this year exceeded my participation in last year’s event, so from that point of view I was successful. Unfortunately, I was situated well away form the fine art stalls and performers, limiting the amount of customers I could have had if I were nearer to the ‘action.’

What pleased me most was the reaction of people to my work. The vast majority were amazed that my cards and prints were derived from actual coloured pencil drawings. Two comments stand out: “They’re only photographs,” and “I wish I could take photos like that.” I’m not sure what to make of either!

Despite the popularity of my work, why has it been such a challenge to sell my original drawings?

Creating art is part of a process that often involves extensive research, planning, making, framing and marketing. If you simply create art for your self, then it’s about the processes involved in making something and keeping it for yourself. Sharing one’s art is a very different matter and can be classified as the ‘serious side of art.’ It also can involve a great deal of expense for materials, framing and promotion. The latter can also include gallery representation, a website and market stalls. include gallery representation, a website and market stalls.

A selection of my recently released prints of some of my coloured pencil drawings that are also available as greeting cards.

For a long time I’ve been of the opinion that we first and foremost create art for ourselves, enjoy the process and take solace from the products that result. When one crosses the line into the commercial art world, strange things can happen. One can be seduced by the market’s demands and produce work that’s popular. ‘Popular’ has a great chance of selling. If that’s the way you want to go, you can expect a reasonable financial return for your efforts. But what if you want to simply ‘be yourself’ and create work that has personal meaning? Starve?

There are a number of artists who have succeeded being ‘themselves,’ I’m not one of them. The past few years have not been good for me sales-wise in respect of my coloured pencil drawings. I am however, enjoying success with my greeting card range and lately, with my recently released range of prints. Despite some limited commercial interest, I’m wondering though if it’s all a waste of time. I get depressed when I see art on social media that is popular, selling and what I consider insincere and of questionable originality.

I promote my art as one should on various social media outlets, my website, online galleries, my RedBubble shop, this blog, through my art workshops and in 3 galleries for (lately) very little return. Having been away from my home state of Tasmania for the past 3 years hasn’t helped maintain the sales I was experiencing before I left. Breaking into new (local) markets has been a challenge that has eluded me. I’ve been featured in national art magazines as well as overseas publications and books. This ‘promotion’ has resulted in no sales of my work whatsoever. I’m beginning to question if it’s all worth the effort and I believe that I’m not the only one who thinks this way.

The art market seems to pay little attention to the skills of artists. If people like an artwork and are prepared to pay for it, then a sale is made. Producing ‘commercially popular’ artwork sits way above any comparison to artists’ skill levels in many instances. ‘Nice, happy, friendly, non-offensive’ artworks will more often than not, sell. I can understand that if art’s your living you have to make art that brings in the dollars, but is the joy of creating art diminished? For some, maybe not and good luck to them!

From time to time I’ve questioned my skill level, but with 50+ art awards to my credit, I must be doing something right now and then. Maybe my subjects are too personal; what I like to draw lacks ‘commercial appeal.’ It may be the fault of my preferred medium, coloured pencil. The latter is a point worth consideration and is worthy of a blog post itself. There is (still) a deep misunderstanding concerning the merits and value of coloured pencil drawing as genuine artworks of merit in the Australian art market, especially away from the big cities. Why are my greeting cards so popular, while many of my originals still reside in my studio?

Next year I’ll be returning to Tasmania and to my own studio as well as re-connecting to the local art scene. This will be the ideal time to re-evaluate my involvement with art. Should I continue with drawing with coloured pencil or should I return to painting or my love of digital art/photography? Can I combine them all? Should I continue teaching? If so, should I change my approach? I want to write a book about my art and after several starts it’s still a ‘work in progress.’ Maybe it’s time to get it done. Are more public art demonstrations and art markets the answer? If all else fails, it’s back to fishing and golf!

Before any decisions can be made it all depends on whether or not I can continue to find ‘joy’ in anything creative, for without a love for what one does, how can joy be found? Why one does art is just as important as the art one creates.

At the end of the day, our priorities in life will determine the journeys we take.

Richard