Buderim Craft Cottage

What to expect 

Exciting and expressive painting and mark-making using the palette knife.  Don invites you to enjoy a fabulous creative painting experience. Lots of fantastic creative stuff mixed with heaps of easy to learn techniques, all in the company of like-minded artists.  

 

This workshop offers a fabulous opportunity to grow and develop valuable palette knife painting skills and techniques. At the same time, it will be packed with heaps of essential information, painting tips, and tricks, simple, but effective techniques you can take away and use again. 

  

Don does live demonstrations to show you how it’s done, then you will have your turn.  There will be heaps of one-on-one instruction. 

 

The workshop will focus on: 

• Palette knife painting, mark-making for visual effect and interest. 

• Essential techniques explained and applied. 

• How to get the best from acrylic paints and mediums. 

• The power of better colour choices in painting. 

• How to prepare and get started:  

• Learn how to interpret photo reference:  what to use, what to leave out and why. 

• Understand and apply good composition. 

• What makes a great painting & how to achieve using palette knife? 

 

About your tutor 

In Don’s own words, he has been “obsessed with painting and creating” all of his life.  He is inspired by his “environment and the colourful characters who inhabit it”, and works across many genres:  portraiture, seascapes, landscapes, and still life.   

 

Since completing a Diploma of Arts in 1979, Don has had a lengthy career as illustrator, graphic designer, fine artist, art tutor, competition judge, and mentor.  He strives to bring his rich experiences together to give his students insight into new ways of seeing and creating.   

 

Don lives locally on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. 

 

What will I need to bring? 

Morning tea and lunch are included in your fee! 

Materials List:  

(A copy of the materials list will be emailed to you after you have booked.) 

This is the basic range of materials that I require all students have for the workshop.  Most students will already have most of these items and acrylic colours.  If you cannot acquire them, just bring what you already have and can get, and we can usually work with them. 

• Suitable Desk Easel to hold suggested canvas sizes 

• Clothing worn should be comfortable and suitable for painting in 

• Brush Sizes: Hog Bristle Bright ‘15mm’ + Taklon Pointed Rnd ‘4mm’ + Taklon Bright ‘12mm’ + NEEF 95 Bright Stiff Synthetic, #8 + Fine Rigger Brush + Cheap Gesso Bristle Flat - ‘50mm’ 

• Painting Knife for mixing & painting (Goose neck handle) + any that you own yourself + palette knives similar to these + old credit card or scraper 

• Water Container to wash brushes 

• Note pad and pen for taking notes 

• Pencil 4b and Kneaded Eraser (Grey) 

• Willow Charcoal Stick - 6mm 

• A4 Cartridge Pad *  

• Clean cotton cloth or rags 

• Stretched Canvas 1 x (50 x 60cm) + 2 x (30 x 40cm) 

• Fine Mist Squirt Water Bottle (not a garden sprayer)  

• Tablet or Ipad with charger (Optional) (Your reference photos) 

• 25mm (W) Roll of Masking Tape  

• Box of Tissues (Essential) 

• Old towel 

• A Plastic Bag for rubbish 

• Suitable Palette or 6 x White Plastic Dinner Plates (Must have smooth bases) 

• Cover sheet for your table (Plastic or cloth) for a 2m x 1m table 

 

Reference: 

• Useful to bring e.g. (Landscape, Seascape, City Scape, Boats, Flowers, Etc.) 

Colours 

Please note: I use mostly Atelier paints for my workshops and classes, therefore my suggested colours below have been chosen from that range of paint. I always suggest that students purchase the best quality paints they can afford, and other artists quality paint brands are also fine as long as similar colours as these are available. 

Chroma A2 or similar are ideal for Beginners and are more cost effective, however, I do not recommend Jo Sonja or Chromacryl or similar student grade paint.   

 

• Titanium White (Large size) Chroma A2 is ideal 

• Cadmium Yellow “Lite or Lemon” * Cadmium Yellow “Medium” 

• Cadmium Red Light (Scarlet) * Permanent Alizarin 

• Light Red Ochre * Brilliant Violet 

• Pthalo Green * Pthalo Turquoise * Pthalo Blue (Optional) 

• Ultramarine Blue * Cerulean Blue * Purple (Atelier) 

• Burnt Umber * Burnt Sienna * Yellow Ochre 

• Atelier ‘Regular’ Gel (Gloss) Medium 

• Atelier Heavy Gel 500ml (Gloss) Medium (NOT modelling paste) 

• Please note that the Bold Colours are important for this workshop and all the optional colours are just to expand the colour range further if students wish to purchase. Students are welcome to bring any other extra colours they want or just what they have already and we can usually work with those. 

Students are welcome to email Don at: info@donmilnerartist.com.au to get more information and clarify,
details on his ‘Workshops or Art Classes’ or to discuss the materials required. Examples of Don’s paintings at: www.donmilnerartist.com.au/gallery ​