Shining Bronze Cuckoo

This artist insists that his ‘loose’ approach to drawing should not be viewed as definitive; and stresses that there is no right or wrong process – whatever works for you is right, regardless of the techniques or opinions of others.

Glenn Demnar, my art mentor for many years, used the term ‘loose’. Looseness has become a predominant feature of my style. With oils, being ‘loose’ engenders minimal risk … it’s only paint. Socalled mistakes can be corrected through overpainting; scraping; or just leaving and re-assessing later.

With drawing, however, ‘looseness’ is a risk. Unless one exclusively uses easily erasable graphite, the possibility of correcting ‘mistakes’ becomes problematic. Attempts to ‘overdraw’ often lead to overworking. The delights of a loosely created drawing are the freshness, vitality and surprise that arise from allowing the hand to work (or play) independently from the mind … the drawing seems to create itself and aspects of the subject, hitherto concealed, appear.

Why birds? According to Brett Whiteley, they are simply ‘the most beautiful creatures’. This opinion is supported by many visitors to my recent exhibition ‘Journey Through White Rock and Beyond’, where a series of drawings of birds in the White Rock area (near Ipswich in south-east Queensland) sold quickly.

How can we capture the appealing qualities of birdlife in ‘loose’ drawings without resorting to caricature or anthropomorphising? There is no definite answer – but I will try to explain the process which I use.

STEP ONE