Brett Whiteley, an Australian painter, is widely known for his avant garde style. He was a prolific artist who won many prizes during his lifetime, and his studio in Sydney is now a thriving gallery. He is best known for mixing media in a unique style. His painting called Alchemy, done on three large panels, is one of his best known pieces. He is also well know for a series of bath paintings of his wife and landscapes of the Sydney, Australia harbor.
Drawing
Video of the Day
The use of long curving lines is a technique used by Brett Whiteley. Use your chalk, pencils or charcoal boldly and let the lines of your drawing curve from the outside of your canvas inward. The drawing and lines of your painting are important to achieve this style. When you are drawing, mix the tools you are using like chalk and charcoal in the same drawing instead of staying with one medium.
Video of the Day
Mixed Media
Mixing your media in new ways helps to achieve the avant garde feeling. Using a collage technique of creating textures around your drawing will give paintings a new perspective. Do a painting of a tree and adhere tree bark to the painting in the same way that Whiteley used his own hair to create a self portrait. Painting on surfaces other than canvas like wood panels, sheet rock, and even rounded shapes is also a technique of mixing media. Use shellac, lacquer, wheat glue, white glue, or acrylic adhesive to mix other textures with your painting.
Abstraction
Art that does not portray a physical likeness is called abstraction. Whiteley used this technique in his work. Mixing media and ideas of art and life give you the ability to give your painting a modern feel. Use broad shapes and tones and experiment with splashes of gold and blue for this artistic genre.