Category: Sydney

5 exercises to help you warm up your creativity

Do you want to make art but feel a bit unmotivated? Don’t over think it… just start making something. It’s like getting your butt up to exercise, the hardest part is to just get to the gym, once you are there it’s easy.

Below are some places to start:

  1. Copy a master/inspiration.
  2. Pick up an old book and flip through it, draw images that inspire you.
  3. Make marks on a paper, just scribble…
  4. SWATCH, make swatches!
  5. Doodle items you see in your room.
Study of Hubert Green

The image above is a copy of a piece of art I like, I really enjoyed making it and learnt a lot about the joy of playing with colour, making marks on a piece of paper and composition . SIMPLE but so beautiful and intentional!

Pencil: Prismacolor Pencils

Paper: Cason Drawing Paper 110 gsm

Van Gogh is a bad ass in the art world. You cannot go wrong with studying Van Gogh. The two above images is a Van Gogh interpreted by me in line drawing style.

Medium: Digital Ipad with Rubber Stylus

Original Art by Teresa Dang

I didn’t quite find this image in a book however it was an image I came across that inspired me to use my Huion Tablet. I used Adobe Photoshop and my tablet to create the image on the right.

Sketch book page by Teresa Dang

Yep, the above is literally a doodle of the things around me like laundry, my lamp and my hand. Plus a few random things here and there.

Swatches by far are my favourite exercise. So simple, meditative yet fun at the same time. Check out my Weekend Mindfulness Art for ideas on how to make mindfulness art.

Pencils: Jasart Colour Pencil 72

Paint: Cotman Watercolours Winsor and Newton

Original art by Teresa Dang

This is a fun little drawing of my room. I was sat on my bed and I drew the view of my room with a fine pen on some scrap Muji Paper.

Paper: Recycled Paper Note Pad/Plain $1.60

Pen: From Vietnam Brand Name Ben Nghe it’s blue and super fine and scratchy

I hope you get back to creating and do a little scribble. Have Fun!

Have an awesome week!

Teresa XX

New Year Ritual 2023

Some years will be like this but you’ll just have to keep showing up!

Last year I created a post titled “New Year Ritual” this ritual helps keep me grounded and I have returned to these exercises for 4 years now, yay me!

So this year I wanted to set some goals for myself to keep me motivated to make and create. I also wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the year of that was.

Thank you 2022

I have been blessed this year with a number of great milestones and I am super grateful and not at all disappointed when I look back and see that there was a huge gap between my posts.

When I think about the amount of projects and art I have made, I wish it was more however I do remind myself that I have also had a very busy year! With this being said, I am pretty pleased with the projects I have completed. Some years will be like this but you’ll just have to keep showing up!

Projects:

  • Clay projects with my nephews and niece using air clay
  • Europe sketch book
  • Painterly faces

Start, Stop, & Continue

What do I want to start doing this year? Create a cohesive collection.

What do I want to stop doing this year? Maintain too many social media outlets at once. Ultimately to focus my attention and decide where I want to spend my energy.

What do I want to continue doing this year? Making physical art.

This year I noticed that I have been into using an inky consistency to paint. I continue to enjoy drawing buildings and am getting faster and more confident with my art making.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2023 filled with art making and fun projects ahead.

Love,

Teresa xx

Painterly faces

A minimalistic style piece inspired by Henri Matisse portraits

Want to know how to create your own prints in Matisse’s style?

Inspiration

These faces have been painted with Gouche using a paint brush. A minimalistic style piece inspired by Henri Matisse portraits.

This painting style is called Fauvism characterised by strong colours and fierce brushwork (Tate Museum).

“Fauvist art is characterised by its bold colours, textured brushwork and non-naturalistic depictions. In some ways, Fauvist artists emerged as an extension of the Impressionist artists working at the turn of the century.”

What I love about this style is that it really highlights the use of colour and the way in which you can still see the brush strokes. It illuminates the artist’s process as it looks unfinished, like a work in progress.

Interested in reading more about Fauvism see #source1 #source2 #source3

If you want to find out more about inky paintings see my post on Sumi Ink

Original art by Teresa Dang – Mahogany Girl

What you need for this exercise:

  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Gouche (HIMI #link) or Watercolour paint (Koh-i-Nor #link)
  • Round paint brush size 6 (ROY MAC paint brush #link)

The process:

  1. Find photos of faces you want to paint.
  2. Look for shapes in the image that you can sketch out as larger shapes.
  3. Once pencil drawing is laid down, load up your paint brush with a good amount of paint.
  4. Use the lightest touch to line the pencil drawing. It may be useful to practise a few strokes before hand to get the feel of the paint brush and to see what lines you can achieve.
  5. Fill in the rest of the area of the painting with quick bold brush strokes, be guided by the image, looking for area of shade and light.
  6. After you scan the painting on to the computer you can use the Magic Wand Tool to remove the textured paper background.
  7. Use The Bucket Tool to fill in the light areas.
Original art by Teresa Dang – Green Girl

Some tips:

  • Trace trace trace so that you have a base image to experiment with. Use a window, glass door or the screen of an Ipad to illuminate the image so you can trace it.
  • Practise using your brush to create various styles of strokes so you get a feel of the different lines you can achieve with the brush.
  • Load up the brush with lots of water and pigment.

This style of painting would look lovely in a vibrant blue, enlarged and framed for home decor.

Good Luck with making your beautiful master pieces! Hope you are all having a fun holiday season with family and friends.

Teresa xx

Random summer nights – a poem

Photograph of Sydney CBD.
North Sydney.
A  night, unplanned. 
Where the night takes us, who knows.
A gap in the fence.
Moon light, couples in a secret search for a special spot, a sky painted with rich blues, yellows and orange.
A feeling, a place and time irreplicable.
A moment alone. The heat of the sandstone below my feet.
The silence of nature.
A daze as the lights of the city flash.
A dash back in the dark. 
Last ones to leave. 
The trill of nearly getting locked in.

TD x

New Year Ritual

You may have a tendency to think you haven’t achieved enough… perhaps you are naturally pessimistic when it comes to the way you see yourself. Keeping a journal helps you count your blessings, cultivate gratitude and live by your values.

Every year I set up a new journal for myself. I have done this for three years now. It helps me document my year and reminds me of what I care about the most. Keeping a journal helps me review my values, goals and vision for the future. It has helped me to physically see how much I can achieve in one year.

Lately, I have been looking into manifestation and really have experienced the power of creating and holding a vision. I attempted Debbie Millman‘s exercise called “A 10 year plan for a remarkable life” and it was incredible!!

I used the below prompts to help me to reflect on my year and then come up with a vision. This is how you can set up your journal:

1. Thank you 2021

Say good bye to the year that has just passed, say thank you for all the moments you’ve experienced this year. A few headings that will help you to reflect on your year are:

  • In 2021 my greatest achievements were
  • Things I struggled with in 2021
  • Three words I would use to describe 2021

2. 2022 Time Line

Draw a line in the middle of the page and the months of the year down that line. List events, milestones and projected deadlines e.g. birthdays, deadlines. This will be how it would look: link 1 & link 2.

3. Passion Road Map

  • Life time
  • 3 years
  • 1 year
  • 3 months
  • 1 month

Make sure you record the date. This exercise is inspired by the Passion Roadmap Planner.

4. Start, Stop, & Continue

  • What do I want to start doing this year?
  • What do I want to stop doing this year?
  • What do I want to continue doing this year?

Example of this: link.

This will do for now, next time I will share what I do on a weekly and monthly basis in my journal to self reflect and reconnect with myself.

Remember not to get too caught up in the details, the magic is in the process. Celebrate what you have accomplished and review what you haven’t, this way every year you become more you.

Have an awesome new year kids.

Teresa xx

Part 5: Lockdown hobbies – painting with oil paints on small canvas’

Hi friends,

I had to joy of painting this weekend. This is my second attempt with oil paints. I found some close ups from Vincent Van Gogh’s painting and attempted to recreate the images to learn the techniques that he used in his vibrant art works.

Best part of this painting:

  • I love how the paintings turned out – they have a lot of character.
  • My favourite painting is the one of the flowers – I enjoy the value range and the placement of the white flowers.

My process:

  1. Look at images on Pinterest and choose a few to recreate – as a study!
  2. Think about how much paint you need for the painting.
  3. Prepare your palette, I stuck an A4 piece of paper onto my wooden board.
  4. Squeeze out the paint on to the palette based on how much of that colour appears in the painting.
  5. Get your paint brushes ready, look at the strokes on the painting and pick paint brushes you think might do the job. (It’s a good idea to do test swatches to get an idea of the brush strokes at an earlier stage so you’re not fussing about at this point)
  6. Stick tiny canvas’ on cardboard or an old magazine to keep it stable as you paint.
  7. Have tissues next to you.
  8. Set up the work space, with the palette on the right and canvas in front of you.
  9. Paint!

Things I learnt:

  • I would use waterproof surface as a palette. I thought printer paper might work…. WRONG! it just absorbed the oil and made it difficult to mix the paint.
  • The canvas’ were small 7cm x 10xcm so in order to create those lovely brush strokes I could have used a thinner brush.
  • It was hard to apply paint to create those stiff lines by using paint brushes with softer paint bristles. The one you might use for acrylic paint blends the paint and makes the strokes flat, you can see this on the yellow trees.
  • Stiff paint brush with oil paint is better for impressionist Van Gogh type paintings.
  • Working from dark to light works well.

Some tips:

  • Prior preparation: I found photos of art that I loved and made me happy. I pinned these on my Pinterest board.
  • I have a rolling to do list on my Iphone note and wrote this “Tiny Canvas oil paintings” down as one of the fun projects I could do in my spare time in the month of August. This got me excited and geared me up each day to paint.
  • When inspiration stikes me and I have a spare few hours, I take out my paints and act quickly.
  • Painting for about an hour to an hour and a half on small canvas’ is a good amount of time before you’ll become fatigued.
  • The more you paint and mix colours the better you will get at visually identifying the warmth and coolness of a colour and adjust accordingly.
  • Find inspiration before you sit down to paint, the creating process is much quicker. Save pictures and photos through out the week in preparation for the moment you sit down to create.
  • Post editing tricks: 1. Use channel mixer to get the WB levels right, meaning getting the whites as white as possible. You will need to adjust the reds, greens and blues to make the image cooler or warmer. 2. Use Curve layer to adjust the value range which will determine the level of contrast of the photo.

What I used and other resources:

Hoping that you are all safe and well, esp, those in Sydney.

Let me know how you go, you can contact me via my instagram @365daysofscribbles.

Teresa xx

Part 4: Lockdown hobbies – crayon digital drawings

Hey there friends,

Things haven’t changed much the last few weeks, still in lock down and I am grateful to have this time to explore art and drawing.

I spent some time in the sun in my parent’s garden on Saturday. The sun was so lovely on my back. Under the shade of the plants hanging in the garden, I sat with my Ipad and stylus to draw the things I see in front of me. I spent about 1 hour lost in nature and the warmth of the sun just doodling. This is what I drew.

I used the Tayasui Sketches, it’s an app you can download on the Imac and the Ipad. I paid for the extra features and am actually really happy that I did. It’s really easy to use and love the textures and effects you can create on the app. So I looked up the meaning of Tayasui and it actually means easy and simple!!!

What I learnt through doing this:

  • I really enjoy using digital apps to draw textured drawings – it is really forgiving if you make mistakes.
  • The difficulty about using these apps is that you need practise to remember where the controls are. It took me a few months to get into the rhythm of drawing, knowing where the buttons were to increase and decrease brush sizes, picking the right tool for the right stroke, intensity and colour.
  • What helps is having a limited pallet and working with one tool at a time so you get a handle on how it lays on the digital surface … just like mediums in real life.
  • Doing swatches, why do they not talk about this more often!!! It has really been the best thing in my art making practice is to test the tools I have before creating something with it. Make Swatches. They look really pretty as well.
  • Drawing from life is so so so great for your soul. It adds so much life into your art naturally. The colours and movement really pop too!

Take care during this time,

Teresa x

Part 3: Lockdown hobbies – painting with oil paints

Hello again,

…..the lockdown continues in Sydney, NSW. I attempt oil painting on a small canvas. My favourite part of this painting is the texture and strokes.

Scanned on an Epson Scanner

This is my first attempt at using oil in this impressionist way. This was really fun and intuitive, I found the medium much more forgiving then watercolours because you can layer over and over again to achieve the colour you are looking for so mistakes are rectifiable. I only used a bit of paint of each colour, mostly white, red and yellow to achieve these peachy colours.

My process:

  • prep surface by painting one layer of gesso on canvas (10 x 7 cm),
  • once dry, tape the corners of the tiny canvas to a piece of board to stabilise it,
  • set up on an easel,
  • work off a photo on my phone,
  • use two paint brushes, one for warm colours and one for cool colours,
  • work from light to dark colours,
  • block out shapes large to small.

Some things I learnt about using oil paints as a beginner:

  • Adding white gesso helps the paint dry faster and gives your painting texture,
  • Have a rough idea of how much paint you need before you squeeze paint onto your canvas – you don’t need the same amount of each colour,
  • After a while all the colours start looking the same so be intentional with the values you are trying to achieve before you start painting,
  • As tempting as it is …. don’t touch the painting for 24 hours at least.

Hang in there, when this is all over we can embrace the freedom together!

Hoping you are safe and sound!

Teresa xx

Part 1: Lockdown hobbies – photography

Here are a few photos I took the other day.

WFH Winter 2021
Barito in the making
On the window sill waiting for the sun.
Shy

I feel a stillness, coziness and a closeness when I look at them. It’s an ideal state when in winter.

They were shot with a Nikon D90 camera body and 50 mm NIKKOR (5201461) lens with a focal range of .45 to 5 metres. The aperture is 1:1.4 meaning it is great for low light. This lens is great for indoor low light conditions and shooting plans in a shady garden or a dark room. The images feel intimate because you need to be up close and personal. As it is a prime lens (ie. fixed lens) I am forced to move about around the subject. The lens is made in Japan.

I purchased the 50mm manual focus lens second-hand for around $100 at Sydney Camera Market hosted by Ultimo Community Centre. The lens slso came with a nice Cokin 0-52mm UV filer too. The markets are currently on hold due to covid, hopefully one day we can visit them again.

To understand what the above numbers mean I found this article to be helpful.

Stay safe and take care,

Teresa x