Paintings Melbourne - Art Mediums: Oil on Canvas, Illustrations & Digital

My original fine art works for paintings Melbourne and iconic international locations are painted in oils on canvas.  For illustration works, I use a combination of oils, acrylics and ink on paper. I especially love using oils which are rich in colour and bring vibrancy as well as beautiful pastel tones to my work. Whilst always loving the traditional mediums like pencil, inks, and paint, I have recently created works digitally, enjoying the clean lines and punchy colours that digital technology allows.

I first starting painting with oil paints on canvas and was hooked by the sense of history of the medium - particularly for paintings of Melbourne! The long history of oil painting goes back to ancient times! In the grottos of Southern Europe, early man mixed animal fats with earth and plant extracts to form the very first oil paints. Paintings by famous artists such as, Picasso, and Leonardo da Vinci are well-known for their technique in producing unique and beautiful works with oil paint. Traditionally, paint was most often transferred to the painting surface using paint brushes but there are other methods, including palette knives and rags. The earliest oil paintings were almost all panel paintings on wood, which had been seasoned and prepared in a complicated and rather expensive process with the panel constructed from several pieces of wood. The artists of the Italian regions moved towards canvas in the early 16th century, lead partly by a wish to paint larger images, which would have been too heavy as panels. 

In the present day, oil painting is beloved by artists for many reasons. Oil paints offer great versatility and have a slow-drying time, during which the artist can rework and correct their work. On the other hand artists that produce works quickly but still love using the traditional techniques, can use technology such as solvents & media that allow faster drying times. Impasto medium allows for thicker fast drying applications whilst temporary varnishes give life and richness to the work whilst protecting paintings from the elements. 

Digital art is any artistic work that uses digital technology. Since the 1960s, various names have been used to describe the process, including computer art and multimedia art. Digital art or more broadly used “media art” is essentially the use of digital tools, such as a mouse or tablet, in combination with drawing software, such as Procreate or Adobe Illustrator. 

The digital world is fast moving and exciting, and as a creative I’m loving the endless possibilities media art has to offer, as well as mixed medium art. My current artistic style requires a level of precision. Digital art appears to compliment my current style, giving me the tools to create graphic inspired artworks using colourful blocks of colour, especially for paintings Melbourne and well-known Californian locations. The creative process is more forgiving with digital media. With just one click you can undo or redo your work, experiment with colour combinations, and create amazing textures and special effects using the hundreds of brushes available online. I look at digital media art as an opportunity to be more creative, perhaps more daring, bolder or refined in the designs of my artworks I create in the future.