The Lake House Studio in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Art school

The Lake House Studio

Locality: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Phone: +61 417 715 946

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• Arts and entertainment
• Art school
• Artist

25.01.2022 My week appears to be in fast motion as Tuesday & Wednesday have merged into one..... Our exploration of the techniques learned over the previous few weeks have developed into a new understanding of how to expand inspiration from one artist and to recreate your own individual artwork from their works. The following artworks were from many students who are still to conquer the difficult medium of watercolour, but with enthusiasm moved forward to try to extend their new knowledge into their own interpretations.....

22.01.2022 Another wonderful start to our creative week with waterproof ink, walnut ink , watercolour & fountain pens.... I can never have enough art materials!!!! Play time is learning time & my students always enjoy these creative ideas. ... What watercolour artists do when challenged to re-create an artwork in a different medium is something far more technical than most realize.

22.01.2022 And that’s a great week again! Wednesday group tackled the ink & watercolour task with pleasing results!!!! Australian flora is all the rage in the artworld ATM!

22.01.2022 Sometimes it’s the simplest of subjects that make the most interesting paintings. This weeks follow on from learning the technical exercises of last week, our group was able to better understand the light, mid tones & shadows with a tonal exploration in monochromatic artworks..... with this weeks group of paintings you can see it was was a real success!

21.01.2022 So many techniques to learn and so many ideas have been in my planning! Monday nights group ticked one of those ‘fabulous ideas’ boxes with a study of Erin Hansen’s wonderful impressionist landscapes along with a favorite, Vincent Van Gogh. Each student created a mini segmented version from numerous samples of erins works. Together we created an mini panel artwork joining all artists works together to form a 20 panel series of impressionist works. ... The vibrancy of Colours & expressive brushstrokes became the consistent theme across the multi artist project. See our Slide Show in comments!

19.01.2022 Another fun day working through this weeks challenge of contemporary impressionist landscape panels..... A fun task for individual students and really rewarding when the group work is shown together as one artwork!

13.01.2022 How fun are Monday evenings in my studio!!! Tonight our class tackled the ever confronting decision to add extreme tonal contrasts to an artwork. From sampling layered tones in one Colour to finding the lights, mid tones & darks with the use of filters, there is so much to explore in this subject area. Building the knowledge in how to apply watercolour is so important. ... Using a limited palette, we discovered the tonal variations that can be created with monochromatic artworks. With glazing layers & glowing under Colour these fun exercises were a winner for all. Now to build on the confidence to take these lessons to a larger artwork will be the challenge.

12.01.2022 Tuesday’s group continues our weeks challenge to introduce multi layering with watercolour & gouache as we continue our journey exploring Artist Olivia Pendergast’s fabulous art style. Always looking for ways to help my students develop, this weeks techniques were a new vision to everyone. Taking a leap into the unknown, these fantastic artworks show our days success!

12.01.2022 The Artist Kristen Vestgard , from Norway has inspired my classes this week! In the following statement she describes her visual interpretations of the beautiful whimsical artworks that she creates..... In my work I can create my own paths. Sometimes it is as if I try opening a door to an otherness or otherworldlyness where there is a place for me a place where I can belong, a hopefull and more gentle place to be..... think I sort of protest quietly against the harshness of... this world! After our exploration of tonal & monochromatic artworks last week, kristen’s work reminds us to be gentle with Colour. From the delicate pastels , to the subtle dark Colour ranges, reminding us that Colour choices always will enhance a mood within an artwork. Her artwork tells story and we can learn a lot from developing our ability to tell our story in our own works. Artists have been learning from artists for hundreds of years & each week as we explore artists of the world, we too learn so much. Kristens beautiful works created a lot of fun & encouraged our art group to look beyond reality and create dream-like artworks. They were encouraged to ‘take the idea & transform it’, as learning from another artist is not just about copying their work , but learning how they applied Colour, brushstrokes & atmosphere. So some students decided it was best to learn by re-creating the original, while others took their idea to a new composition , all using her style as inspiration!

11.01.2022 Monday night in the studio...... our challenge to develop the new styles & techniques we have been learning & create an artwork with a ‘new story’ from art samples. The lesson to ‘copy like a master but make it your own’ was an important discussion. For centuries artists learn from other artists, but it is only owned by yourself when you develop the confidence to be inspired but do not copy! The following artworks are all created using an original idea and developing the composition, changing the story & make a new ‘unique artwork’

08.01.2022 A fun project I’m working on with my students..... Inspired by my visit to see the Van Gogh exhibition.

08.01.2022 This evening I am excited to share some of the fun we all had while we explored Artist Olivia Pendergast’s oil painting ideas, compositions & process. So many artists of the world continue to excite our developing learning in watercolour. It was an interesting development from last weeks Nordic artist with similar concepts of simplified figures with little features to tell the story within the work. We moved from Norway to Africa and beyond to find new ways of painting fi...gurative works. However...... a big component from the lesson tonight was to learn how to apply multi-layered watercolour & gouache to resemble an oil painting! A very new process to all of my students, however their wonderful results are something to behold.

05.01.2022 Meet me in Tuscany 2021 !

05.01.2022 Learning watercolour is like learning a new language...... you can pick up the basics, quickly learning ‘good morning’ or ‘good evening’, ‘thank you’ & how to order a coffe or a wine..... then you progress toward a small conversation, but to have an in-depth discussion and understand regional dialect, it takes time! With watercolour, you first lean about the wet-in-wet & dry techniques. You then progress slowly into an incredible variety of technical styles, that individual...ly may seem easy to learn, but applying this knowledge takes time, patience & like languages, a whole lot of practice. It is in the practice you gain the confidence to develop your artworks. This weeks tasks for my classes took a step backwards to remind each artist of the importance of tonal variations in their work. Learning to understand what an incredible tonal range each pigment can offer & how contrasts can give that zing to an artwork. As students we all need to remember that practicing technique will make you a better artist. As a mentor, I am always watching, helping & demonstrating how to ‘see’ in new ways. How brush strokes are applied, how an extra little stroke can help develop a composition to a new level. My students are mostly new to watercolour & some are new to painting, so each step they take opens up a new level of understanding & encourages each person to take a painting a little further as they progress their abilities in this beautiful but hard to master medium. The technical exercises today were created to have fun, learn new ways of developing an artwork, but most of all , new ways of understanding the pigments. With lots of giggles, sighs & chit chat, we had fun!

04.01.2022 How amazing is it to teach watercolour! This weeks topic of tonal exploration has been rewarding to all. Every day my creative mind is pulled into so many different directions as each of my students take on a new task. My job is to open their mind to developing their technical skills while guiding them through a new artwork...... however with each individual artist working on a unique piece , my mind jumps from one composition to another as I work with each of them to bring out the best in their work..... this in turn brings so much energy to the room and I can assure you it is truly contagious! My Tuesday group all tackled quite complex paintings and in just three hours worked towards achieving these pleasing results......

03.01.2022 Another great evening as we learn from the masters...... Tonal exploration comes in so many different forms when applied to different compositions. Tonight’s artworks are just a start the the importance of finding lights, mid tones & shadows.

02.01.2022 Our fun whimsical week continues as we were inspired by Norway artist Kristin Vestgard. Her inspiration enabled us to discuss , discover & learn about ‘visual story telling’. With child-like drawings, we find our inner child has a lot to say! From learning about her Colour, soft light, contrasting shadows & subtle decorations, Kristin has taken all our students into a new world of discovery with their art practice. ... A wonderful magic daydream can be so much fun to paint!

01.01.2022 How wonderful to be a part of my students developing knowledge into watercolour! This beautiful artwork was a task we started in class , then completed at home & now sent to me to share with you all! Congratulations to my student for a successful artwork developed through a genuine interest to learn the magic of watercolour!

01.01.2022 As Picasso said It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child. Our Wednesday group continued our theme of the week as we explored Olivia Pendergast’s beautiful oil paintings. Re-creating a simple version as we layered up with watercolour & gouache, our groups paintings remind us that Picasso, a true master, spent many years refining his portrait skills, to then go onto simplify the details to produce the body of work we know of him today...! I just love how simplified brushstrokes can produce so much meaning & art that is fun to explore.