Articles - Yvonne's Artwork

What’s on my easel?

What is on my easel this month? It has been a busy month with a workshop and commissions, and these are three of the ones I have finished. Mike the Greyhound This is Mike, a stunning Black greyhound looking especially smart in his bow tie. This commission was given as a gift and the recipients decided this image of Mike was perfect for painting. The owners wanted a tonal background so I used Phthalo Blue, Bamboo Green, Dioxazine Purple and a splash of lemon Yellow. I applied water using a mop brush to the background, then applied the paint liberally onto the wet surface, I splash the colours over each other to help the colours blend, the paper at this point it is very wet and glossy, I wait for the paint to dry slightly to a “satin sheen,” then splash clean water. I do this several times, each time applying less and less water. The main subject is painted when the background is completely dry. I use my usual colours for the black pets, a mix of Phthalo Blue, Dioxazine Purple, Bamboo Green, Lemon Yellow, a hint of Red Gold, Bengal Rose and Daniel smiths Quinacridone Purple and indigo Santa’s Little Helper Christmas is just around the corner so I have designed my 2025 Christmas card, and will be be adding it to my Facebook page, for preordering. I miss my “Little Bird,” Daisy, so she graces the cards again this year. I would give anything for one more Christmas with her, she was such a beautiful little soul. If you would be interested in buying some Christmas cards this year please let me know. You can message me using the contact commissions form, or email yvonnechapman841@gmail.com They will be sold in packs of 6 for $18 AUD plus postage. The Old Swan Brewery, Perth foreshore, Western Australia The Old Swan Brewery is a heritage building that sits on the Swan River, just under Kings Park in Perth. No longer a brewery, but is now used as apartments. This Acrylic on canvas commission was fun to paint, using bright colours, as requested. I used low tack masking tape to help maintain the straight lines, which made it much easier to paint. I don’t do buildings often so it made a nice change to paint such a landmark.

“Paint your pet” workshop August 2025

What a great way to spend a weekend 5 ladies attended my latest workshop, in my studio in Pinjarra WA. The workshop runs from 9.30 am to 4pm both days. The first day was warm and sunny but the second day the weather turned wet and windy. Our first day was supposed to cover stretching paper to use for the weekend, but as the forecast wasn’t looking great, I pre stretched some Archers 300gm paper onto MDF boards for the ladies to use. One lady used a Langton Watercolour block in a 12 x 16 size, I use these blocks too, being gummed on all sides with just a 2 inch gap for separating the paper after use, they are convenient to use without having to stretch the paper. , Day 1: Drawing and background Day 1 starts with the drawing using a grid to enlarge an A4 photograph up to and A3/ A2 size painting. The grid is a very useful tool for this purpose creating an accurate image, that is proportionally correct to the photograph. All the backgrounds on these images are fantastic. This is a challenging workshop, the artist has to work with a completely different technique than they are used to, plus use colours in a very bold and bright way. They have to think about which colours will work together side by side, as some colours do not mix well with others, plus learning how the warm and cool colours will affect the finished painting. Day 2: painting the subject Now the fun starts. Day 2 is very full on with a lot of work to do. Using my warm and cool colour technique to create highlights and shadows, they begin to paint the subject. I do not expect them to go home having mastered this way of painting, it has taken me years to develop my style, and it is constantly being tweaked and adapted as my paintings are created. At first they are nervous to make a start, but with plenty of guidance they all create such wonderful images. Suddenly the bold and bright backgrounds are no longer the main focus as the subject emerges. Another workshop completed and 5 very happy students have taken away paintings they can all be very proud of. My aim in these workshops is to give the student the opportunity to play with colour and to learn that there are so many colours you can use to create the finished painting, even if they never use these colours like this again, just learning that black dogs, for example, are not just black, but blue, purple, green even pink, that white can also have pale tones of blue and purple in its shadows. If you are interested in attending a workshop or if you have a group that wish to attend, let me know via my contact commission form.

Reflection

Painting reflective surfaces in watercolour I love a challenge almost as I love “My Therapist,” A Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe that I have called Dixie. I have painted this , and other Harley’s in acrylic, so I used watercolour this time. The process is the same as any of my artworks, grid up a photograph for the sketch, and then I paint one small piece at a time. As the engine is the hardest and most visually complicated part I start there first. By concentrating on a small area at a time I can paint what I see, not what I think I should see. It is very easy to get distracted, and often I don’t actually see what is in the reflection until I look from a distance. For the chrome I use a mix of Art spectrum (AS) indigo, and a wash of AS Lemon yellow that I have dirtied with a tiny but of purple to make a brown tint, and diluted. There is also some AS Phthalo blue and a hint of Holbein Bamboo green, the black is a mix of Dioxazine purple and indigo. The tank is Windsor and Newton Cobalt blue light, in places with a Phthalo blue mix. This bike doesn’t have chrome but has a lot of shiny painted surfaces, the red was Daniel Smith Deep Scarlet and Pyrrol red, with a hint of Quinacridone red to create the crimson colouring. I had to change the back of the seat to add the red cover after I had painted the seat, as the client requested it be added, this was not the easiest thing to do, as the paint has a staining quality that can be hard to remove. Luckily the painted area did lift a little with water, but some of the staining remained, so the back cover is not quite the brilliant red of the tank. Not just motorbikes Now this commission was a challenge. My art journey included a BA hons degree in Graphic Design, so Typography was something we covered, and something I don’t do very often. This was commissioned as a gift for the sponsor of the car, Geo Tech, and this was made up from a couple of different photographs, and to add a degree of extra difficulty, from different angles. Luckily both client and recipient were very happy with the result. The Series 2 SS Holden Commodore was a commission for a friends Husband. This was one of the last cars produced in Australia by Holden, hence the number plate 1OVTHELST. I enjoyed this commission but had to brighten the photograph to see any subtle details in the paint work. when I had painted the bonnet it looked really abstract, I had to remind myself, paint what you see. The best part was painting the side of the car, that hint of green in the indigo worked perfectly. My colours were Indigo (AS) Bamboo Green (Holbein)and the browns made from Australian Red gold (AS) and Dioxazine Purple, (WN) with some Phthalo blue (AS) and Cobalt blue light (WN)

Going Incognito for a great cause

This year was the first year I have entered the Incognito Art Show. An amazing 20,000 pieces of art were submitted this year! three of them were mine. Every piece of artwork is A5 in size and is sold for just $100. Profits raised go towards funding programs, supporting artists working with disabilities. There are some very famous prize winning and very well known artists in this show, but that’s the beauty, you don’t know whos art you have until you have bought it. “Our mission… To support arts organisations / To provide emerging artists with professional pathways / To inspire and develop a new generation of art collectors and supporters. The Incognito Art Show is a not-for-profit organisation supporting Australian artists. We run Australia’s biggest and most inclusive art show. “ Give it a go! With this in mind I was eager to have a go. I realised that with so many art works on show, in one place and online, the art had to be bright enough to stand out on first glance, be a recognisable subject that would appeal to a wide audience, be well executed, and a good example of my individual style. So my subjects were easy. Firstly there had to be a greyhound, as greyhound lovers tend to be drawn to art with a greyhound on it, and why not!So my first image was Otis in his sunny spot. Being A5 in size the detail was important to me. I used watercolours, gouache and pen on my finished Image. Second was a Tiger. I love painting tigers, their colours and markings are so beautiful, and they also appeal to a wide audience. I have painted this close up tiger face before on an A2 size. This time I added splashes of gold Alcohol inks to catch the light. With this intense stare it is a hard image to ignore. Thirdly, “The head tilt” a beautiful brown and tan Kelpie. Kelpies have a wide appeal in Australia, the ultimate working dog and loved family pet. Their keenness to work and eager to please attitude makes them a firm favourite. I have painted many kelpies in the last decade or so, some examples were prize winners for me too, so third choice was an easy pick. This one also had that splash of gold alcohol ink to catch the light. So, how did I go? Otis and “The Sunny spot” sold on the first day! My other two sold in the first three days. I was thrilled to be able to contribute to this show and ecstatic they all sold for this great cause.Next year I will encourage more of my students to enter and get a “group pack”. My process will be the same, bright and well executed artwork, plus an appealing well known subject.

Yvonne Chapman-Brooks

Biography I was born in the UK in 1962 and have been painting all my life. After leaving school at 16 I went to art college for 2 years then onto Lanchester Polytechnic, (now Coventry University) in Coventry UK, where I completed a 3 year BA(hons) course in Graphic design, finishing in 1983….pre computers! In 1983 on leaving Polytechnic, jobs were scarce, in 1985 I started my State Registered Nursing at Leighton Hospital in Cheshire. This nursing role took me to Australia in 1989. Sadly ill health meant I and had to leave nursing, so I concentrated on my art as a hobby. I used pastel and acrylics as my main mediums, then began including textiles in 2009. My hobby and passion is my art, and around 2013 I started exploring watercolours, my specialty is pet portraiture, animal paintings and recently tree-scapes. I am known for my very vibrant colours. I have been sending my pet portraits worldwide now for several years and have won prizes for my art in Art Exhibitions in WA. I have given workshops in my rainbow colour theory technique. I am the Artist in residence at Vineyard 28 in Harvey, Western Australia. Painting and textile workshops I also work with textiles and have won awards in the USA and Australia for my art quilts. I specialise in thread painting and have held workshops in this technique. My watercolour workshops are a perfect way to explore the watercolour medium beyond the normal parameters of colours, by using the vibrant colours seen in my portraits. The techniques used to create the signature background of my work are demonstrated, along with the stretching of watercolour paper, and drawing from a photo using a grid. There is a materials list of requirements, paints, brushes etc if you would like to do a workshop with me. The workshops are held over two days as there is a lot to learn, and in groups of 6 to 8 people. I can come to you if you are a group that would like to have a visiting tutor. There is a fee for travel and accommodation. The following paintings shown are students work, so far no one goes home without a painting they are proud of, and an idea of how bright colours can work to create highlights and shadows. Textile workshop students I have held a couple of textile workshops and demonstrations in Perth, for various groups of ladies who want to have a try at Free motion sewing. They are held over an 8 hour day as there is quite a lot of ground to cover. They leave with having experienced the basics of how to reach a finished image using just straight and zigzag stitching. Below is my finished “Out of the Ashes” that they are using as reference for this workshop. Tree scape workshop Some examples of student paintings at the Tree Scape workshop. If you would like to attend or enquire about me hosting a workshop for you please contact me using the commission request, or email yvonnechapman841@gmail.com

The Plight of the Galgo

As you may know I love Greyhounds, I had two beautiful rescued Greyhounds, Daisy and Otis, who I have loved, and sadly lost recently. The story of the rescued greyhound is very similar to another breed, the Galgo, a Spanish hunting dog, very similar to a greyhound, part of the sighthound family, they are used for coursing in Spain. These elegant, beautiful dogs are calm and gentle, like their greyhound relatives, but in Spain they were not viewed as a family dog, but as a “thing” that is disposable. Every year thousands of Galgo and Podenco dogs, another sighthound hunting dog, are disposed of horrifically. It is believed that the more suffering the animal receives in its death, the better luck next season for the Galgueros. This mentality sees the dogs suffering the most inhumane deaths. Thrown down wells, poisoned, beaten, starved, burned or hung from trees, the higher in the tree the quicker the death for the better performing dog, the others hung from low branches, forced to support their own weight on tiptoes, until they tire and hang themselves. This is known as Pianoing. This noble breed is mentioned in ancient history, named “the Spanish greyhound”, and is thought by some popular writers to have descended from Egyptian dogs brought to the Iberian Peninsula the Phoenicians nearly 3,000 years ago.They were protected, with heavy penalties for the abuse or death of a Galgo. Over time these dogs worth has dwindled in the eyes of their hunter owners, it is a travesty that such a wonderful dog has been allowed to suffer brutality and inhumane acts of violence. In Spain they were not given any acknowledgement in the eyes of the law. As a result thousands of dogs have disappeared, unaccounted for. In today’s society Spanish Galgo rescues are pushing for change. A new law, as of January 5, 2022, amends the Civil Code to “provide that animals may no longer be considered ‘things’ but ‘sentient beings’ and family members, and that animal owners are now required to provide proper care to ensure their animals’ well-being in accordance with the characteristics of each species.” I support and sponsor dogs through Galgos Del Sol, a rescue in Murcia, Spain, run by an amazing woman, Tina Wales Solera, and an army of volunteers, Thanks to social media the word is getting around the world about this breed, and its ability to make a perfect pet. Education is the key for the future, teaching the children about respect and love for this beautiful breed. Hopefully they, and future generations will once again regard them as the noble breed they are. I wanted to create the image as a more ethereal version, so here it is black on black with an swirling mist, as the Galgo seems to be invisible to many in Spain, and they disappear without being noticed or recognised. Several animal photographers are bringing the Galgo to the eyes of the world, via social media, with exquisite photographic images. Travis Patenaude of StinkEye Photography, allowed me to use his reference image for this painting. He assists rescues in Spain, and helps with the rehoming of Galgos into the USA. As their popularity grows, Galgos are now being adopted throughout Europe, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Scandinavia. The public opinion of Galgo and greyhounds has shifted, seeing them as worthy, loyal and perfect companion animals. They have waited many years for this, now they are being given a voice.Once again they can be a noble breed.

I have your back

“I have your back.” I don’t get to paint horses very often unfortunately, but when I saw my friends photograph of her two horses, Llewella and Persia, it shouted out to be painted. There is a local art prize exhibition in June so I decided to paint this as one of my entries. It is a large painting (910mm x 760mm) and I decided on mixed media, for me, is Oils (water-based) and Acrylic. The two work well together as they are both water based products, and the acrylic used as a base for blocking in saves time and is a fraction cheaper. I use the oils as my top layers and love the way I can layer them with brush and palette knife. The do take longer to dry but there is a fast drying medium that can be mixed with it which does help to speed up the process. Using a grid I drew the image using a 2b pencil onto the primed canvas. I like to prime my canvasses with a good quality gesso, even though the are pre primed, I find the paint seems to adhere better and more evenly. Once sketched I paint in my background using the acrylic paint. Here I have used Dioxazine purple, Indigo and Blue Violet, with a touch of Titanium White. The first horse, Llewella is blocked in using Dioxazine purple, Indigo, Blue Black, Cobalt Blue light, Magenta, and Titanium White. I try to get as much main detail in at this stage, but the more subtle shading and blending will be in the next couple of layers. It is hard not to do too much at this stage, the temptation to produce a finished image quickly has to be reigned in. I finds it easier to make changes when the whole painting is blocked in. Even if at this stage the painting looks great, I always seem to change things. I have now blocked in Persia and this is where the gorgeous warmer tones come into play, they contrast beautifully with the cool tones of Llewella. I realise that the background needs some warmth over Persia so introduce some Magenta Oil paint with the purple. The oils are evident by their sheen in the photograph. I now begin to finish Llewella using the oil paints, making much smoother blending on her body. I do have to be careful not to let the paint get “muddy,” so I spread the painting out over a few days, using the fast drying medium does helps to reduce this. Now I can focus on Persia, enhancing the beautiful warm colours. I use Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Mid, Orange, Magenta, Dioxazine purple and Titanium White in my oils, over similar acrylic colours. (The orange and Dioxazine Purple make some beautiful browns.) The beauty I find of working with the water-based oils are their buttery texture, they blend so beautifully. The other advantage is no smell and easy soap and water clean up. The drying time is about 2 to 4 weeks, longer if I use the palette knife and thick layers. Unfortunately they don’t have the large range of colours as the mineral oil paints do. When finished, I use the same varnish as I do for my acrylics, 2 coats of Atelier gloss varnish. Almost finished, and I have introduced some cool tones with the cobalt blue light into Persia’s’ mane, plus some warm highlights. A touch of white on the shine in her back and the painting is finished. I have thoroughly enjoyed painting this, I need to paint more horses I think!

My favourite things

My favourite things would definitely be these four characters, Shadow, Daisy, Otis and Charlotte, so I decided to paint their portraits and hang them together as one , as we were redecorating the Background colour was chosen to go with ours new décor. The background is “Atelier Permanent maroon”. The first step was to prime and grid the canvases. Then I sketch in the images. I use a pastel pencil as the graphite pencil can transfer to the paint, and the pastel is much easier to erase. Once my sketches were completed I under painted the canvasses using a burnt sienna, this will help give the white a slightly warmer tone, I find it useful to see where I have painted White areas too, and not missed areas of canvas leaving just primed areas. I use a watery paint to do this and paint the shaded areas in. Once the underpainting is completed I can complete my portraits. Firstly blocking in my subjects then painting in the background. I have demonstrated here with the first portrait of Daisy, the first layer of the background is painted, it needs at least two to cover properly, and I have started to paint the lighter areas of her. The following images of Otis and Charlotte show the blocked in areas, plus some detailed work, Shadow’s face is almost complete, his eyes and the black areas of his body need to be completed. When the portraits were finished I felt I needed to address each character individually, by including their favourite things. For Charlotte it is her ball. She is ball mad and has toy boxes full of them, Her favourite game is to push the ball under something, pool fence, couch, then ask you to come and get it out from under where ever she decided to put it. Once retrieved she immediately pushes it under again… and so it continues. Daisy, being a greyhound was very driven for anything fast moving, her favourite spotting moments were if she saw a rabbit or chicken, she would just stop and stare, in her younger days attempt to chase, but once she had spotted something on her walk, the next few walks she would put the brakes on in that spot and wouldn’t move until she was sure it wasn’t there. Living near orchards and paddocks this made for a long walk. Daisy’s painting shows rabbits and text saying “I Love Mum.” Otis was a very happy boy on his walks, or runs, but he had problems with his toes dislocating and had to wear special greyhound boots, called “Honey boots”. To get ready for a walk meant having his boots on, this lead to a roll on the couch, and the game of the paw of more. Boots finally on he would sprint off into the car. Otis also loved the warm sunny spots in the house and garden so his painting shows a boot and the sun. Shadow‘s favourite thing is easy… It is his Dad. He is a sensitive soul but absolutely adores his dad, he is a very loyal boy, and a wonderful companion. He missed the greyhounds when they died, but needed a dog his own size that would play and tussle, that is why Charlotte came into our family. Charlotte is an American Bull dog, Shadow is an American bulldog, Neapolitan mastiff cross. I hope you have enjoyed the process of making these portraits. My Acrylic paintings are much more detailed and more lifelike than my watercolours. They take anything up to 3 weeks to produce, depending on size. If you would like to see more Acrylic painting examples, have a browse through the gallery section for Acrylic paintings.

Oh My Stars AQC entry 2024

Oh my stars! The 2024 Australian Quilt Challenge theme was “Oh my stars!” which originally bought up images of film stars and pop idols, but I am not so good at people, so decided to go with something I know I am good at, animals. I played around with several images then settled on a dog and a mouse. It had to include stars so I decided a star shaped biscuit was the connection between the mouse and dog. I made a pattern of the head and enlarged it onto brown paper, the acetate pattern was traced from this and would be reversed for tracing the shapes needed for the iron on fusing web. The fused fabric is then cut out and using the correct side of the acetate pattern, I can place the pieces onto the calico backing. I use a Janome sewing machine, very basic, and a hoop to keep the fabric flat whist sewing as the multi directional stitching can make the fabric warp. I use embroidery thread and cottons, with bobbin fill as my bobbin thread in white for the lighter areas and black for the dark areas. As with all my textiles I only ever use straight and zig-zag stitches. Once the dogs head is complete I can cut it out from the backing, then I can begin on the mouse. I tried a few different angles for the mouse, but decided to show the biscuits he was sitting on from the eye level of the viewer, looking at the dresser face on. The background was dyed using Alcohol inks on white homespun. The diluted inks are painted on, then splashed, to replicate my watercolour painting backgrounds. This is left to line dry and then ironed to fix the ink. Constructing the quilt The mouse and dog are cut from the backing fabric and I placed them onto several different layouts, before finally deciding on a dresser that held plates. At first I had the plates way too small, so had to remake them. I settled on a part of the dyed background that complimented the dogs colours, and then began to deign the dresser. This changed a couple of times in the process. Finally I had a design I liked and a dresser I was happy with, so the finishing construction begins. Each piece was sewn onto the dyed background and the mouse and dog appliqued over the top. I added applique stars made from the dyed backing fabric, and added some buttons that were star shaped, you can never have too many stars! I wanted to tie the whole piece together and not make it look so divided by the dresser. I tried to keep the stars the same tones as the background to make them less of a focal point. At last I was finished! “Otis the great Dane is shocked to see someone had helped himself to HIS favourite star shaped biscuits. The Audacity!” The quilting and final embellishment took about 3 days, and in total the quilt took about 5 months to make. It is 90cm square. My quilt entry was accepted as a finalist and was exhibited around the Eastern states of Australia in 2024. It didn’t win any prizes but I hang it proudly on my wall at home.

Yvonne’s Artwork

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