Rachael Lao

This is a watercolour painting of a nebula. I did a variegated wash for the first layer, and then I added various textures and colours to create more interest. I used white gouache for the stars by splattering the paint with a loaded brush and tapping it with another brush. Artist Inspirations:Jackson Pollock’s radical methods … Read more

I first divided the sheets of watercolour paper into smaller rectangles using masking tape. Then, I did the basics of applying watercolour paint: wet on dry, wet into wet, flat wash, gradated wash, drybrush, dry on wet, and two variegated washes. Artist Inspirations: Emily CarrWhat do you think Emily Carr’s most important contribution to society … Read more

I drew the lines with a #2 pencil first, and then I darkened them with a hard-tip brush pen. For the colours, I used wax-based coloured pencils. My initials were warm coloured (red and orange), while the background was cool coloured (green and blue). Artist Inspirations: Edvard MunchConduct an inquiry into Edvard Munch’s painting The … Read more

I used charcoal pencils (hard, medium, and soft compressed) for this drawing. For the blending, I used tissue paper that was wrapped around my finger. I also used a kneaded eraser to add highlights on the banana. This was all done on drawing paper designed for pencil, charcoal, pastel, and pen. Artist Inspirations: Heather HansenConduct … Read more

This is a morbid drawing of a creature attacking a bird perched on a thorny rose bush. I used printed images of ink drawings, which are the skull, bird, ribs, talon, and roses. Parts of the images were removed and glued onto the drawing paper. Then, I drew the rest of them using an ink … Read more

I first drew a perspective grid with graphite pencils and outlined the city with an ink pen. To help show depth and space, I used coloured pencils. The objects closer to the foreground are more vibrant and sharper than the objects closer to the background. Shading was also used for the darker areas and around … Read more

This is a drawing of a homeless man. It was my first time doing this, so it was a bit challenging. I chose words that were related to homelessness and the associated feelings that people might experience. Then, I arranged them in a way that flowed with the contours of the portrait. As for the … Read more

This is a drawing of Jesus Christ wearing a crown of thorns. I used graphite pencils (2B, 4B, and 6B) for the portrait. Then, I taped on a cutout of the crown using scrapbook paper with an autumn-leaves design. In regards to the meaning of this drawing, I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord … Read more