Jack McDonogh Watercolour Artist

Jack McDonogh (1916 – 1994) was one of Australia’s favorite master landscape watercolour artists, art teacher and author. He was widely known throughout Australia for both his paintings and pencil sketches, publications, as well as his private classes he ran in addition to his teaching workload as head of the Creative Arts Department at Charles Sturt University Bathurst. Jack’s national publications were always a sell out success. Back in the day if you needed a watercolour painting tutor, Jack McDonogh ran a famous summer school.

Throughout his forty plus years as a teacher Jack developed his own style of teaching his students to paint with watercolours and to pencil sketch. Jack specialized in painting Australian landscapes using a combination of eleven colours for his pallet. Jack recommended the use of Windsor and Newton paints and of the “artist’s quality” . These eleven colours included: Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Light Red, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Windsor Blue, Antwerp Blue, Cobalt Blue, Payne’s Gray, Cadmium Yellow Pale and Indian Yellow Pale. Jack found that by combining these colours best represented the landscapes of the central west region of New South Wales, in and around Bathurst where Jack lived and enjoyed his watercolour painting.

Jack constantly emphasized to his students the importance of practice. He taught his students to be able to paint proficiently first in the studio environment before they could paint freestyle out in the field. He taught his students the use of some practical watercolour painting tools while out in the field that included an angle stick and mounting board.

Watercolour painting using transparent watercolours can be frustrating as you can not paint over your mistakes. Jack believed to increase your chances of success that each painting should be planned. This planning involved doing a pencil sketch of the scene while out in the field and to take two or three photographs of the scene to refer back to in the studio.

Back in the studio Jack would do further pencil sketches to work out the all important “composition” of the scene. From this Jack would paint a miniature version of the scene to gauge how the finished watercolour painting might look and to iron out any problems so to be able to paint the full size version with confidence. Once happy with the smaller version Jack would paint the scene again full size but this time using larger brushes.

Jack liked to break up his lessons into various segments that looked at the various elements of a landscape: the trees, clouds, sky, reflected light and composition. This way the student became reasonably proficient and fluent in each aspect so to ultimately be able to freely combine all aspects while out on location painting a landscape scene. Although Jack’s techniques have been around for many years now, they still have merit and can still be a big help for the beginner as Jack’s aim was always to have you painting so that you were always improving your watercolour painting.

Watercolour Painting For the Beginner the Jack McDonogh Way is a post from: How to Paint and Sketch

Jack McDonogh Watercolour Artist

Jack McDonogh (1916-1994) believed that it an essential part of being an aspiring artist was the ability to draw scenes in pencil before painting them in watercolour, oil colour, or any other medium. Jack believed in the importance of practice as he used to say “practice, practice – forever practice”  as he believed that there was no such thing as an instant artist.

Sketching the Australian landscape presents a challenge as there are certain fundamental rules that must be followed. Jack believed that there were many ways to sketch with a pencil and his methods were just one way that worked well for him. Some of the fundamentals that Jack covered in his book “An Introduction To Pencil Sketching” included; composition, perspective, geometrical solids, architectural details and sketching the element of a landscape. Jack McDonogh developed an easy to follow step by step approach to teaching his students.

Jack McDonogh believed that perspective was probably the most important aspect of drawing landscapes. You may be able to draw well but this will be undermined by a drawing that is badly composed. Jack believed that all drawings have a centre of interest eg a shed or a gum tree. Jack believed that it was best not to place the centre of interest in the centre of your picture. It is best placed just off centre to either the left or right. Jack believed that it was also necessary to avoid symmetrical arrangements of the items in the drawing both in their quantity and size. Imbalance is the desired outcome for the composition rather than balance and symmetry.

Jack McDonogh believed that in order to become a competent sketcher you must gain a basic knowledge of perspective. He believed that an incorrect perspective in your drawings was the sign of a poor artist. Before you start drawing it is important to establish the vanishing point. To help find the vanishing points for your sketch Jack recommended the use of “angle sticks” . The angle sticks you can make yourself by cutting two thin strips of plywood each one measuring 30cm x 1.5cm (two wooden rulers are also good). Using a small nut and bolt join the two sticks 5cms from the ends. Using a wing nut allows you to tighten the sticks so you can easily position the angle of the sticks.

Jack McDonogh used the sticks by holding the sticks with an out stretched arm in the horizontal position and at right angle to your line of vision. Keeping one stick on the horizontal position move the other stick until it lines up with the part of the subject you are drawing to show the angle of the vanishing line. Becoming proficient with the use of these sticks will give you a good indication of where the vanishing lines are and allow you to find them quickly. Then by holding the sticks near the paper you are sketching on you can transfer the angles onto your drawing.

Jack McDonogh recommended his students practice drawing geometrical shapes. He believed the ability to draw them easily would be a great help in drawing buildings. He recommended his students draw a; rectangular prism, square prism, triangular prism, square pyramid, cone, cylinder and cube. By combining these shapes can assist you to draw buildings.

Jack McDonogh believed that it was very important to put straight into action what the reader was learning from his book. Jack wants you start sketching straight away, so he suggests you start to draw simple items that you find around the house eg a box of matches, a spoon, banana, etc. Starting on small simple items is best as they are easier and quicker to draw. Once you have mastered these items you can progress onto larger and more complex items.

Jack McDonogh had another useful tool to develop the students drawing skills. This tip involves the use of a 35cm square sheet of glass (with smoothed edges and duct tape along all the edges to avoid cuts) and either a felt tip pen of a piece of chalk. Place two (kitchen style) chairs three meters apart. Sit on one chair and place the other at an angle to you. Place the sheet of glass on your knee and keeping your head in a fixed position, with the felt tip pen trace the outline of the chair onto the glass. Now put the glass tracing to one side and from the same position make a freehand sketch of the same chair. Next compare the two drawings to see if your sketch resembles the glass tracing. The glass tracing will be perfect in its perspective and proportions so it can be used to check your freehand drawing. The glass can then be cleaned off with a cleaning agent and used over and over again.

If Jack McDonogh was not Australia’s leading teacher of pencil sketching I certainly believe he was amongst the first to publish a step by step book and no doubt one artist that has influenced many of today’s leading Australian artists. http://www.howtopaintandsketch.com

Pencil Sketching – Was Jack McDonogh Australia’s Best Teacher? is a post from: How to Paint and Sketch