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Exhibition by AWAS member Alison Percy
Please support one of our AWAS members Alison Percy who has a wonderful solo exhibition on at GIGS Art Gallery from 21 May to 14 June 2015 – FROM LIFE : the figure. Click here for more information.
Watercolour Workshop with Julian Bruere
This will be an exciting workshop with one of Australia’s newest watercolour sensations. Julian has been highly recommended for his watercolour skills, subject matter and generosity as a teacher. He is very passionate about water colour and his enthusiasm is infectious. The theme we are adopting for this workshop is “water”. Painting water in watercolour requires a different application of painting skills and a new learning for all of us.
Click here for the enrolment form, so get your deposit or full payment in as soon as possible. Class size is limited to 12 participants. It will be 1st in best dressed – that means a deposit paid to the treasurer. If you have any questions please ring Jenny Wallace 02 6026 4800.
About the Artist
Julian paints his subjects in watercolour with a strong drawing basis. Landscape, City Scenes, Marine and Maritime are his preferred subjects but he also values the disciplines of Still Life and Portraiture. A very specific theme of Alpine Snowgums has been the work that has most brought him to the attention of the art community. Involved well drawn paintings with a confident textural use of watercolour are features of Julian’s artwork.
Painting, Teaching, Workshops, Demonstrations, Judging and an active involvement with the Victorian Artists Society and other Art Societies is his professional domain after many years in Advertising, Publishing and Animation. This has shaped and provided an ongoing joy and appreciation of drawing, design in painting, control and understanding of watercolour and a respect for all other mediums and artistic styles. Painting tours of Europe and New Zealand in recent years has provided an ongoing stimulus for his work, particularly landscape and marine painting.
Julian studied Graphic Design at RMIT and quickly established himself as a freelance artist in Advertising and Publishing, illustrating educational children’s books. He worked for a time as a designer and background artist in the animation industry. He later became more active as an artist, teaching, conducting watercolour workshops, demonstrating and judging. He is a regular exhibitor in exhibitions around Melbourne, and for the past six years has been involved with FIVE, an annual group exhibition of select VAS artists.
He has twice been awarded VAS Artist of the Year, 2010 and 2013, The Kenneth Jack Memorial Award 2010 and 2014 and the AGRA Medallion Winner for 2013, with multiple awards for watercolour in various Suburban and Rotary Exhibitions including Mt Waverley, Camberwell, Yea, Parade, Warrandyte, Alexandra Bacchus Marsh and Box Hill. He is the Victorian Vice President of the Australian Society of Maritime Artists and a past Treasurer of the Victorian Artists’ Society. He is also a member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and Watercolour Society Victoria and has recently been elected to the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society.
Mixed Media Workshop
Report from Stephen McCall Workshop
A good time was had by all on the weekend of the 18th and 19th July at the Stephen McCall mixed media/pastel workshop. On day one, using white suede paper, we were shown how to do a complimentary or contrast underpainting using watercolours or acrylics to paint a seascape. Some of this underpainting was allowed to show through on the finished art piece which really had the colours bouncing off each other and gave great depth to the painting.The use of clear pastel primer on a headland gave us texture to then go over with our pastels. On Sunday we were shown how off-cuts of matt board can be recycled as painting boards using paint with or without clear pastel primer or Art Spectrum coloured pastel primer…We then worked on our own photos with Stephen as our guide, using the skills we’d learnt the day before. Morning and afternoon tea was delicious thanks to Judy Balfour and participating members.
Carol Gilbert
Local Bright artist Stephen McCall will be leading an AWAS Mixed Media workshop on the weekend of 18th and 19th July 2015, to be held from 10am to 4pm at the Paintbox studio, Gateway Island, Wodonga.
Do you use acrylic, inks, watercolour or pastel? This workshop will use these mediums in a mixed media format. You can use two or more mediums combined with pastels and learn some new, innovative techniques. If you don’t use pastels here is your chance to give it a go! You do not need to buy pastels as Stephen will provide a wide range of colours for you to use, but if you have your own pastels please bring them along.
Stephen paints mainly with acrylics and pastels, but in this workshop he will be pushing the boundaries in a number of ways. We will be using texture mediums, be doing under painting with with watercolours, acrylics and / or inks and combining these with some pastel work. The amount of pastel is up to you; you may only use pastels for some final detail, (just add a few lines or add some subtle texture) or you may like to mainly use pastels over under painting.
Stephen will demonstrate watercolour under painting on white suede finish Colourfix pastel paper. (I will have this available for us and also some sheets of Colourfix pastel paper. I will also have Colourfix texture medium for us all to use.)
So come along and be excited by a different approach to your work and learn some new skills.
Complete the workshop enrolment form click here and pay the deposit or full amount promptly to ensure your participation. Class number is limited to 12 participants so don’t delay. FILLING FAST!!!!!
If you have any questions please e-mail or phone me. See contact details on enrolment form.
Judy Balfour
Mixed Media Workshop Co-ordinator
Circuit Open Studios Weekend
On 19th 20th and 21st June, our studio will be open as part of the Circuit of Open Studios happening on that weekend. All AWAS members are invited to come along and participate. We will be starting on Friday evening with a still-life setup, and growing/transforming for inspiration over the weekend for anyone to try their hand at creating an artwork.
Over the course of the weekend, members will be demonstrating painting in different mediums and there will be a portrait session with a model on Saturday afternoon, 20th June.
Launching artmegallery and “Amazing Australian Artists”
On 20 March 2015 at 6.30pm, the new artme gallery on the Lincoln Causeway will open for the first time. artme gallery is the brainchild of AWAS member Alyssa Constable, who has been involved with our society for some time, publishing many of our AWAS artists’ work on her website.
Now Alyssa is proudly opening her new gallery to the public for the first time, using it to launch her new book “Amazing Australian Artists”. Alyssa and Danielle Gilbert have put together a beautiful coffee table work which celebrates the talents of many local artists, including:
- Kathy Blakemore
- Meg Brown
- Trevor Ierino
- Stephanie Jakovac
- Lizabeth Souness
- Heather Sparks
- Katharine Rattray
- And many more….
For more information about the book visit artmegallery.com.au
For the book launch and opening, there is a $5 entry fee, which will be donated in full to Country Hope.
Tips for a Well Hung Painting
Tips for a Well Hung Painting (from Christina Zey, our Studio Hanging Team Coordinator)
Measure a third of the way down from the top of your frame or stretched canvas on the left and right sides and mark the spot where the screws will go;
Make holes to insert screw eyes. Please do not use the ring and hook style screws as they do not lie flat and project out, which becomes a danger to other works if and when stored against another’s painting. Screw eyes or D-rings are the acceptable hanging method or stapled cords done by professional framers.
Measure about one and a half times the length of the space between the screw eyes for ensuring the correct length of wire/cord for hanging.
Feed the wire or cord through the screw eyes and loop to fasten securely. If using wire, wrap the extra wire around itself ensuring that it is not protruding or hanging loose to cause injury or damage.
The wire should not come further than half way up the frame or canvas from the screw eyes.Test this from the middle of the wire or cord.
Frames are themselves considered a work of art as are the sides of stretched canvases. It is therefore important to ensure that when presenting a stretched canvas for hanging, either the painting should continue around the sides of the canvas or, alternatively, the sides should be painted in a single or toned colour or left clean. This method presents a more aesthetically pleasing appearance for an exhibition.