Pattern motif making

In the heart of the Wimmera beside the river, my uncle, the artist Anthony Pelchen, has a wonderful studio and retreat. We spent a weekend late last year painting and enjoying the quiet of the outdoors over chai tea and fresh tomato soup.

One of the techniques we practised was a charcoal exercise where we created a motif and mirrored it by folding. We then applied different mediums and colours to the mirrored version. The aim of the exercise is to open your mind and create organic shapes more freely. 

We used flowers such as iceberg roses, dahlias, and camellias that had grown in our garden as the starting point for inspiration. 

1. Inspiration from the garden, roses and dahlias. 
2. The first stage of the motifs where we used charcoal to sketch an outline and applied colour. 
3. The motifs after colour was applied.
4. The development, painting in Anthony’s studio.