blueBanksia art directory lists art short courses and events

by Heather Ferguson

Recently I attended a weekend workshop with John Caldwell, a leading Australian landscape artist with many years of experience and I would love to spread the good word! Rather than an ‘art class’ John describes his workshop as sharing both how he has developed his own style, and then looking at developing the work as a series of problem solving exercises.

John prefers to work with acrylics in the studio because of their comparatively rapid drying time. He works on a number of works concurrently, in a cyclic fashion. Producing a number of underpaintings, leaving each one to dry as he begins the next, he then continues to develop them all cyclically in a process he largely sees as ‘problem solving’. This process is very helpful in not getting stuck on any one thing, but allowing each work to develop to its own schedule.

Before this however, John spends a lot of time in sketching in nature. These resources are what he then indirectly draws on throughout the development of the paintings. The importance of this drawing practice, both for its value in developing observation skills, and translating what the eye sees not just into line, but into tonal values is something John sees as imperative for the development of the landscape artist. However his sketches are not preliminary drafts of a final painting. Rather, the information gleaned through this sketching process is internalised and without referring to these sketches, he seeks to evoke the spirit and mood of the landscape through his own compositions.

John uses a limited palette of earthy pigments with masterful manipulation of tonality, to conjure his dramatic landscapes - the contour and texture of the landscape itself rise from the ground of the painting, drawing the viewer into the depth, height, and immensity of a gripping vista.

John structures the workshop to enable each participant to work at their own level. He demonstrates, clearly breaking down the process into manageable steps, getting participants to try these out. Then, ‘problem solving’ with each participant, he goes through each of their work giving feedback and individual explanation, giving each participant a chance to work on each of their works before the next demonstration, when the cycle repeats. This echoes the way he himself works.

Personally, I found John’s approach to landscape painting very freeing. Continually working on a number of works helps maintain a flow of work. Each piece has ‘resting time’ and when coming back to them one can immediately see something that needs to be progressed. Perhaps this is just only a small thing, but once it is done, it is done and one moves on until the next time it comes up in the cycle. It helped me both feel less precious about individual works, as well as preventing the ‘stuckness’ that can so easily arise when I am just working on one work.

I also very much appreciated John’s numerous technical tips, encouraging us to see the landscape and reinvent it for ourselves.

The workshop was held at Waragil Studios in Blackheath. Be sure to check it out!