Images of Heat and Dust

Stock workers on Australia’s dusty cattle stations inspire this artist. This largely pictorial article shows some of the steps he follows in producing his works of art.

THE PROCESS

Most of my subject matter comes from my immediate environment, memories and photographs. Firstly, I take a picture ‘in my head’ of the subject matter. Then I try to imagine it in my head as a finished work. I use my sketch book to try different compositions of the subject, to see which one strikes a chord. I next produce an A4 sketch – trying to get things as accurate as possible – sometimes doing a watercolour wash to attempt to get a feel for the subject and an insight into how it might look as a completed work. Most of the time (although not always), I will use the image from my sketch and square it up onto a larger surface. I like using Tinted Spectrum Sanded Paper which takes pastels superbly. I