The Artist August 2017

PACKED WITH WIT H INSPIRA INS PIRATION TION FOR WA WATERCOLOURS, ACRYLICS, OILS & MORE! MORE !

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Augustt issue 2017 £4.20 Augus £4.20

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T H E P R A C T I C A L M A G A Z I N E F O R A R T I S T S B Y A R T I S T S – S I N C E 1 9 3 1

Refresh your style

Ideas to try from Ian Cryer, president of the ROI

PLUS!

WATERCOLOUR

ACRYLICS

FLOWERS

Use warm & cool contrasting colours for impact

How to paint a realistic seascape using a systematic approach

Fun & easy ways to depict flowers with collage, acrylics & oils

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How to create whites in watercolour

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Draw & paint selfies to develop your key skills

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Try a new approach to painting summer trees in watercolour

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Maximise the power of shape & suggestion

DREAM BIG & become the best painter you can be!

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Caran d’Ache inoduces MUSEUM AQUARELLE, an innovave approach to the art of watercolour in the form of a pencil. A high concenaon of pients pients and excellent solubili ensure that MUSEUM AQUARELLE pencils are perfectly suited to both watercolour painng and arsc desi. Developed and manufacred in Geneva, they are proposed in three assorents: Standard, Porait and Marine. The 76 colours are also available individually. Caran d’Ache. Swiss Made excellence since 1915.

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WELCOME

incorporati incorp orating ng ART & ARTISTS

First established 1931 ISSN 0004-3877 Vol132 No. 9 ISSUE 1045

from the editor

Publishing Editor: Sally Bulgin PhD Hon VPRBSA Deputy Editor: Deborah Wanstall Advertising sales: Anna-Marie Brown 01778 392048 [email protected] Advertisement copy: Sue Woodgates: 01778 392062 [email protected] Online Editor: Dawn Farley Design: Brenda Hedley Subscriptions & Marketing Manager: Subscriptions Wendy Gregory Subscriptions: Liza Kitney and Nicci Salmon [email protected] 01580 763673/01580 763315 Accounts: 01778 391000 [email protected] Events Manager: Caroline Griffiths Subscription orders should be sent to: The Artist , Circ Circulati ulation on Dept, Caxton House, 63/65 High Street, Tenterden, Tenter den, Kent TN30 6BD. 6BD. Tel: 01580 01580 763673 Rates are: UK – £39.99 (includes (includes Northern Ireland); EC member countries – € 67; USA – $80 (air freight); Canada – $92 (air freight). All other countries £50 (air freight). Payments by credit card are taken in sterling at £50. Foreign currency prices include bank charges. Periodicals postage paid at Rahway, NJ. US subscribers only: Send address corrections to The Artist, c/o Mercury Airfreight International Ltd, 365 Blair Road, Avenel, NJ 07001 News-trade distribution by: Warners Group Publications plc. Tel: 01778 391000 All material copyrighted; reproduction reproduc tion forbidden without permission. Publication of an article or inclusion of an advertisement does not necessarily imply that TAPC is in agreement with the views expressed, or represents endorsement of products, materials or techniques. TAPC does not accept responsibility for errors, omissions or images received in good faith.

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THIS MONTH’S COVER

Want to comment on something you’ve read, or seen? Email me at [email protected], or visit our website at www.painters-online.co.uk/forum

ew visitors with no prior knowledge of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition’s illustrious history, histor y, would not necessarily know that, at almost 250 years old, this is the longest-running open submission exhibition in the world. It attracts over 12,000 works from artists of all skill levels and experience, including a huge number of enthusiastic amateurs who regard acceptance as the ultimate achievement. That it is inclusive and wide ranging is certainly your first impression as you enter the show in the octagonal first gallery, where the message of diversity as a central theme of the exhibition is loudly announced. You are greeted by works such as Nigerian-British artist Yinka Shonibare’s painted angel, with references to the bold designs of African art, and a customised moped used to smuggle petrol across African borders. The focus on younger artists, a broadening of reach to include invited African artists, and an emphasis on the seemingly limitless variety of materials and processes for making art, sets the tone here. This theme of inclusivity alongside different materials and processes continues throughout the galleries. The challenge of collating the work of established academicians with that of invited artists and incorporating artwork by amateurs that made it past the panel of judges is evident mainly in Gallery 1. This is the room that steps closest to showing the spirit of encouragement of the amateur artist for which the RA Summer Exhibition was originally known. It includes lots of work by Royal Academicians sharing space with high-quality works by artists from the open send in, densely hung to be as inclusive as possible. Co-ordinator Eileen Cooper, who walked us round the exhibition on press view day, explained that the judges chose the included representational works for their unique qualities of texture, movement, colour, atmosphere, or just something indefinable that set a work apart from just a simple demonstration of highly skilful technique, or the ability to represent a subject realistically. Representation versus non-representation was apparently a hot topic of debate amongst the artists on the judging panel, reflecting the wider, general debate in our art sch ools, and is clearly demonstrated here when you compare the beautifully observed Pale Green Hydrangea on a plain black background by Melanie Miller with the small, totally abstract Disintegrate by Peggy Cozzi. If you want to get a snapshot of the current conversations defining contemporary art, see eye-catching pieces from celebrated internationally acclaimed artists and British talents, buy an affordable print, or be inspired by the use of unusual materials and ways of making art, there’s no better exhibition to visit. But if you’re hoping to see a high percentage of good honest artwork by skilful and creative amateurs you might need to manage your expectations to avoid disappointment.

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Best wishes

Sally Bulgin Publishing Editor

Ian Cryer Torquay Beach, oil on Belgian linen, 1212in (30.530.5cm). See page 16

thear [email protected] .uk • www.painters-online.co www.painters-online.co.uk/forum .uk/forum Let us know what you think at • [email protected] • www.facebook.com/pain w ww.facebook.com/paintersonline tersonline • twitter.co twitter.com/artpublishing m/artpublishing artist August 2017

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CONTENTS FEATURES 12 A head for heights IN CONVERSATION Janet Kenyon tells Susie Hodge how light and shade help her to achieve her multilayered watercolour cityscapes

16 Brushes and canvas FC MASTERCLASS Ian Cryer reveals how a break with an old habit can open the way for new techniques and approaches

19 Charles Williams’ musings: Galleries and colleges 70 Adebanji Alade’s motivational tips

24 Selfies Phil Tyler urges you to explore the art of the self-portrait in the last of his series

28 How to paint realistic seascapes in acrylics FC Jo Quigley applies a systematic approach to seascapes, with advice on how to make sure your composition works

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32 Consistent, creamy colour Liz Seward loves working with Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle Pencils

34 Negative painting Paul Riley begins a three-part watercolour course by focusing on the importance of negative shapes

38 Street life David Questa is attracted to busy urban scenes. He reveals how he injects movement and energy into his mixed-media cityscapes

42 Summer trees and foliage in watercolour Judi Whitton shows you new ways to approach summer foliage in your watercolour paintings

Dream big

46 Depth and flatness

PRACTICALS 20 Flower painting in mixed media FC Aine Divine gives an infectious account of how she completed a mixed-media painting – you’ll want to try it for yourself

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Martin Kinnear concludes his series on oil painting techniques with a look at perspective

49 Woods and water Barry Herniman reveals the contents of his plein-air sketching kit and how he gathers reference material for a watercolour painting


NEXT MONTH IN FEATURES IN CONVERSATION Richard Burger, past exhibitor in the National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award, shares his approach to portraiture with Susie Hodge u

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PRACTICALS Try Paul Gadenne’s top tips for painting successful watercolour landscapes t

52 Chris Forsey demonstrates how to capture the bright light of a sunny coastal scene in acrylics and mixed media u

52 Shape and suggestion Haidee-Jo Summers shares an approach that can help to add interest and focus whilst maintaining a painterly style

56 Warm versus cool FC Continuing his series on contrasts in watercolour, Paul Talbot-Greaves shows you how to place warm and cool colours for best effect in your painting

61 A–Z of colour

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How to keep your summer greens clean, with exercises to try from Catherine Strong

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Rob Wareing shows how to paint an African portrait in oils

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Paul Riley explains different ways to capture the transparency of glass in watercolour

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Maximise the use of contrast to differentiate your foregrounds from your backgrounds in your watercolour landscapes, says Paul Talbot-Greaves, who sets your next painting challenge

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Use collage techniques to create colourful still lifes, with Liz Seward

V is for value, by Julie Collins

PLUS

6 Your views 9 The Art World 63 Books & DVDs 65 Opportunities 66 Exhibitions

EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS

PLUS l The A to Z of watercolour by Julie Collins: W is for Ken Howard OBE, RA studied at Hornsey School of Art and the Royal College of Art. He is a member of the NEAC, ROI, RWS, RWA and RBA. He exhibits extensively and has won numerous awards.

Jason Bowyer NEAC, RP, PS studied at Camberwell School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. He is the founder of the NEAC Drawing School and exhibits his work widely.

Bernard Dunstan RA studied at Byam Shaw School of Art and the Slade School. He taught at the Camberwell and Byam Shaw Schools of Art among others. He exhibits widely including in the annual exhibitions of the NEAC, of which he is a member, and RA.

David Curtis ROI, RSMA has won many awards for his en plein air and figurative paintings in both oils and watercolours. He has had several books published on his work as well as DVD films, and exhibits his work extensively.

whites l

Max Hale puts Jackson’s hog hair brushes through their paces

And much more! Don’t miss out: our September issue is on sale from August 11 artist August 2017

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YOUR

VIEWS �

Letters, emails and comments

Email [email protected] or write to The Editor, The Artist, 63/65 High Street, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6BD

STAR LETTER This month’s star letter writer will receive a Landscape Selection of 48 Van Gogh soft pastels worth £49.99, courtesy of Royal Talens. For more information about these, and other Royal Talens products, see www.royaltalens.com

When is art ‘inappropriate’? Like most people, I was emotionally wrecked by the recent fire in London. Words failed me and I turned to painting to express my horror, anger and despair. I made a small watercolour painting, completely without a plan, which I posted onto the PaintersOnline gallery. Some viewers took exception and said it was an inappropriately timed posting – too raw, and would upset some viewers. My feelings and intentions have been questioned and I find this puzzling. I had no intention of upsetting anyone, and have no desire for 'likes' or approval. As artists – professional or, like me, leisure painters – are we not programmed to create, be influenced and inspired by our surroundings and people around us, as well as current events? Or do we create to express only our comfortable, positive emotions and 'suitable' events? Are we to ignore and repress the difficult, the ugly, the unspeakable? Every artist will have their own answer to that and every answer should be respected. I posted my painting because I believed it might express what a lot of us were feeling. I do not want to compare my amateur watercolour to any of the masters, but if all artists had repressed their emotions and avoided upsetting people, how many works of art would have been hidden from public view? I believe that ar t can have a larger role to play than simply to please the eye, tranquillise the soul and decorate a room. Art can convey what words cannot, it can make us feel and think. Art can make us question our world and our place within it. It seems strange to me that we can watch horrific scenes unfolding on the television news but are upset by an abstract watercolour painting. Jackie Poulouktsi, by email Art is a great form of therapy. The Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art (ACAVA) is an educational charity that has its headquarters 80 yards from Grenfell Tower. Helping the community to heal in the aftermath of the fire is one of its aims, and ACAVA has plans to discuss with locals ‘how they would like us to use arts and creativity in the healing of our community’ and to develop a longterm programme of artist-led projects. For more details see www.acava.org – Ed.

to treat them like grown-ups whilst offering tasks suitable for junior-school level. We have tackled watercolour, acrylic, fabric paint, puppet making, card making and making paper flowers so far this year – what next? I hope to put on an exhibition of the works we have made for the residents and their relatives. Jan Cantle, by email

Coping with colour blindness Although I gained an ‘O’ level in art and dreamed of being a commercial artist I was advised by a careers officer that, because I am colour blind, I should choose an alternative career. I eventually qualified as an engineer but my career took a strange turn and I eventually worked as a non-qualified architect for 40 years. During my working life I continued to paint for my own amusement. My colour blindness has been a problem but I have managed to learn ’colour mixes’ with the aid of my wife and daughter. I have painted in oils, acrylics and watercolours over the years, with subjects including portraits, landscapes, seascapes, animal portraits and wildlife. Now I’m retired, painting brings joy and relaxation. I find the diversity of techniques and styles covered in The Artist magazine fascinating but I have not seen any articles on colour-blind artists, although I assume there must be some out there. I t would be interesting to know how they cope with this disability. Richard Wadley, by email You can reply to Richard c/o The Artist magazine – Ed.

No pressure

Skill sharing I lead a weekly 'arts and crafts' session at a dementia care home. We may not actually create anything but we have great fun and finish with a cuppa. Recently, one of the residents asked me why I never pick up the items I drop. After telling her I could not bend down because of my arthritis, I turned around and walked into the table. ‘Are you blind or just daft?’ she asked. Then I had to confess to having one prosthetic eye and one with only 50 per cent vision. Instead

of ‘aren't you clever’ or ‘aren't you brave’, she said ‘no wonder you are so able to understand, you are as damaged as us.’ That meant more to me than any praise from the management. I was being accepted on their terms. If you are looking for somewhere to share your skills I can recommend offering your services at a local care home. The only thing to remember with dementia is that the residents may have a chronological age that is decades away from their 'functional' age, and you need

I do like the monthly musings of Charles Williams. I paint for my own, not others', personal pleasure at the age of 82. It is refreshing to read about painting without being troubled with 'the mood of the moment', the spirit of the landscape and other aspects of the numinous of art. I admire plain discourse, the plainer the better and the cheerful attitude of Mr Williams has enabled me to live with my many failures and paint on undeterred. Long may he continue. David Lee, by email

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THE ART WORLD NEWS, VIEWS, INFORMATION AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE ART WORLD

compiled by Deborah Wanstall

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Henri Matisse Safrano Roses at the Window, 1925, oil on canvas, 31 1 ⁄ 2251 ⁄ 2in (8065cm)

Objects of inspiration Objects treasured by Matisse are on display at the Royal Academy of Arts this summer, with 65 of his prints, paintings, sculptures, drawings and cut-outs. This exhibition shows how these objects provided vital creative stimulus, and also offers an insight into


Matisse’s studio life and artistic practice. Matisse in the Studio is at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1 from August 5 to November 12. Admission is £15.50. T: 020 7300 8000; www.royalacademy.org.uk artist

August 2017

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Painting Pop An exhibition to celebrate British Pop painting at Abbot Hall Art Gallery focuses on the years around 1962 as it examines the output of young artists emerging from art school in the 1960s. There are works by Sir Peter Blake, Pauline Boty, Patrick Caulfield, Richard Hamilton and David Hockney, with significant loans from the Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, the Arts Council and the Royal College of Art. Curator Helen Watson says they have also ‘developed a 1960s-style living room...for visitors to immerse themselves in the swinging sixties.’ Painting Pop is at Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 5AL from July 14 to October 7. Admission is £7.70. Telephone 01539 722464; www.abbothall.org.uk

Pauline Boty Colour Her Gone, 1962, oil on canvas, 493 ⁄ 4493 ⁄ 4in (126126cm), on show at Abbot Hall Art Gallery �

EDITOR’S GALLERY CHOICE This month’s editor’s choice from our website gallery is by Bryony Reed, who comments:

‘I have painted all my life and now, at the age of 22, I am an apprentice at the Norfolk Painting School. I am inspired by the Impressionist masters such as Monet and Sorolla, using their traditional ébauche methods combined with modern techniques like sgraffito and working into the paint with graphite. use Gamblin oil paints with resin medium on gessoed wooden panels. I start my paintings with a Flemish bole (yellow background) and work up with translucent dark washes, which is when I begin applying thick opaque paint. I like to use contemporary pigments such as hansa yellows and phthalo greens and blues, which have a high pigment content. I use a lot of titanium white in my mixes to make the colours punch above their weight and appear much brighter. To make my paint thick I add chalk to the mix, which also helps it dry quicker, too!’ www.bryonyreed.com

ArtFest 2017, organised by Droitwich Arts Network, takes place between July 15 and August 5 across the town of Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire. For more information see www.droitwichartsnetwork.org �

Bryony Reed Sorella Sunshine, oil on wooden panel, 30 20in (7651cm). On show in our online gallery at www.painters-online.co.uk �

www.painters-online.co.uk artist

August issue 2017

Shared Perspective is an exhibition of paintings by Carol Randell, Joanna Dixon, Patricia Gregory and Jane Headlam at Weaver’s Gallery, Church Lane, Ledbury, from July 31 to August 13. Telephone 01531 633325; www.sharedperspectiveart.co.uk �

To upload images of your own work and receive valuable feedback, go to our website and click on the link to the gallery. This is a free service.

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ArtBurst, the Painswick Valley arts festival, from August 19 to 28, features 13 exhibitions in eight venues in and around the Cotswold Village of Painswick, and ten artists will open their studios. For details of all events and artists taking part, see www.artburstpainswick.co.uk �

This year’s NiddArt Trail in north Yorkshire is from August 18 to 28. For information about the artists taking part, and their locations, see www.niddart.org.uk �


Venice brought to life Paintings, drawings and prints by Canaletto, famous for his views of Venice, are on show at The Queen’s Gallery in London. This is an exhibition of Canaletto’s greatest works alongside those of his contemporaries including history painter Sebastiano Ricci, landscape painters Marco Ricci and Francesco Zuccarelli, pastellist Rosalba Carriera and the genre painter Pietro Longhi. Canaletto and the Art of Venice

is at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA until November 12. Admission is £11, concessions £10. www.royalcollection.org.uk

Canaletto A Regatta on the Grand Canal , c1733–4, oil on canvas, 30 1 ⁄ 4481 ⁄ 4in (77125.5cm), on show at The Queen’s Gallery, London �

Summer Trifle is a celebration of art, craft, literature, drama and music that takes place between August 5 and 20 at Pickhams, Hayreeds Lane, Wilmington, East Sussex BN26 6RR. http://pickhams.com/summer-trifle.html �

Terry Harrison It is with great sadness that we pass on the news of Terry Harrison’s premature death in June, following a short illness. Terry was hugely popular – as an artist, a teacher and a writer – his approachability and easy style appealed to many. He was an accomplished demonstrator and was in demand from art societies and art shows; indeed, both Terry and his wife Fiona Peart have been regular and popular exhibitors and demonstrators at Patchings Festival. And, of course, there are his many books, DVDs, his own range of brushes and watercolour and acrylic paints. Terry’s last book, Painting Watercolour Snow Scenes the Easy Way, will be published in early August – turn to page 63 to read our tribute and review by Henry Malt. Terry will be sorely missed by his family, friends, fellow artists and his loyal following.

Terry Harrison The Shack by the Stream, watercolour, from his latest book Painting Watercolour Snow Scenes the Easy Way �


artist August issue 2017

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IN CONVERSATION

A head for heights Janet Kenyon tells Susie Hodge how she captures both

natural and artificial light and achieves her multi-layered style in her award-winning watercolour paintings

ith her unique and innovative use of watercolour, Janet Kenyon is recognised as one of the UK's leading watercolourists. She has won many awards and competitions, including, on two occasions, the most prestigious showcase of contemporary watercolour painting in the UK, Smith & Williamson Cityscape Prize in the The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, first in 2009 for her painting Northern Lights, Blackpool and then again in 2016 for Gridlock (Manhattan) (left). As well as being popular with private collectors in Britain and abroad, her paintings have also been exhibited in many leading galleries, including the Mall Galleries in London, The Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh and The Lowry Gallery in Salford.

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Early years Janet grew up in Bolton in Lancashire and on leaving secondary school she went on to study at Bolton College of Art & Design. In her late teens she moved to Leeds to study at Leeds Polytechnic, where she attained a BA Hons in Graphic Design. ‘College gave

Gridlock (Manhattan), 2016, watercolour on Bockingford 90lb (190gsm) Not, 29 1 ⁄ 421in (7453cm). This was the winner of the Smith & Williamson Cityscape Prize in The Sunday Times 2016 Watercolour Competition. It's a view from the One World Trade Centre, looking north. ‘My inspiration for painting this was after a recent trip to New York. Whilst viewing the city from the One World Trade Centre, I was taken by the sheer expanse of buildings all concentrated into a relatively small area. The way the light and shade played on the structures, all fighting for space, organised, yet chaotic, caught in a gridlock with the only option left but to climb ever more vertical.’ t

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‘I particularly enjoy the challenge of capturing both natural and artificial light and how it affects the subject’ me time to explore different techniques in a stimulating environment. I'm still learning now.’ Her career path was quite straightforward: ‘I've always enjoyed painting and was especially encouraged by my teachers at primary and secondary school. My decision to follow an art career was always an easy one.’

Light, structure and reflections After working with many different materials, Janet discovered a love for watercolours, largely because they are unpredictable and difficult to control, with some of the best results being unintentional or unplanned. ‘I particularly enjoy the challenge of capturing both natural and artificial light and how it affects the subject.’ She has continued to push the boundaries and explore possibilities of this difficult but rewarding medium ever since. Generally using a restricted palette of about six colours, Janet mixes many


more. ‘I don't stick to any particular combination of colours, it all depends on the subject and what I want to convey. I mix all my colours from just six: warm black, bronze, fuchsia, medium blue, antique gold and turquoise. I use the same set of colours for all my paintings but mix from them all the different shades needed for each individual painting. For example, in my painting Gridlock, (Manhattan) I used these colours, but added more contrast to create the light and shade. ‘I have tried many types and textures of watercolour paper, however I now prefer to use Bockingford 90lb (180gsm) Not because its fine texture allows my watercolours to flow freely. Although before starting a painting the subject does matter to me, it doesn’t matter as much as the light and colour that affects it. So prior to putting paint on paper, I have to be inspired, perhaps by the way the sunlight is being caught on the edge of a mountain, or the way a neon light from a building plays with its

Skylight, Manhattan, watercolour on Bockingford 250lb (535gsm) Not, 21 291 ⁄ 4in (5374cm). This is a view from the Empire State Building, looking across the East River, Manhattan, New York City p

Janet Kenyon sketching in New York artist August 2017

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IN CONVERSATION Times Square, Manhattan, watercolour on Bockingford 250lb (535gsm) Not, 29 1 ⁄ 421in (7453cm). Conveying the vibrant glow of thousands of lights in this incredible metropolis, this night scene is a view from the Empire State Building looking down on Times Square t

mainly because at the beginning, I'm most likely to make a mistake and if it doesn't work out, I just have to start afresh. Gradually I build up the layers using wax resist sticks to mask off each area I want to preserve, then I move on to the next layer. The end of a painting can also be tricky, knowing when to stand back, which isn't always easy to do unfortunately. When finished, I remove the wax with a hair-dryer, something I accidentally discovered while practising different techniques at college. ‘My style has evolved unconsciously over time by constantly experimenting with watercolour and is still changing. I'm never really satisfied and I'm always looking for more ways of stretching this difficult medium.’

Exhibiting and competitions

‘In my cityscapes, I try to be true to the subject as much as I need to be, as well as leaving a certain amount to the imagination’ structure, or the way the light reflects on a wet pavement.’

Cityscapes ‘I've always preferred landscapes and cityscapes as subjects and have become especially inclined towards cityscapes. Straight after leaving college, I took a temporary position at Salford City Council working as a community artist on a project named “The Changing Face of Salford”. Alongside a team of other artists, I recorded the rapid redevelopment of inner city Salford at that time. ‘In my cityscapes, I try to be true to

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the subject as much as I need to be, as well as leaving a certain amount to the imagination. I like to sketch en plein air when possible, but prefer to complete my paintings in my studio at home.’

Technique To attain her multi-layered style, Janet explains: ‘I begin with a rough layout sketch and then like to coat as much of the white paper as possible before I start. I don't have any favourite colours; it all depends on what I'm painting. Often I start by painting the sky on a landscape, or if I'm painting a cityscape I begin with the most difficult building,

‘I mainly like to represent myself at art fairs and keep it to a small number each year, which I attend with my husband. This allows me the freedom and time to paint, as well as bringing my work into the public eye. I tend to paint only what appeals to me and hope that somebody else likes it too, rather than working to commissions. Janet followed her success in London in the 2016 The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition with an exhibition at the Edinburgh Art Fair at the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh in November 2016. She reflects: ‘Over the years I've been fortunate enough to win a number of competitions, and even though I don't enter many, it's always great to be recognised. After my recent success, it's given me the inspiration to maybe enter more competitions in 2017 and beyond.’

Runaway success It might surprise many readers that Janet has other outstanding achievements to her name. ‘When I'm not painting I like to walk and run, especially on the Fells. In earlier years I was fortunate enough to represent England and Britain on numerous occasions on the Fells. My greatest achievement was when representing England in 1992, I came fifth in the World Cup Mountain Races in Susa, TA Italy.’


The Golden Mile, Blackpool, watercolour on Bockingford 90lb (190gsm) Not, 21 291 ⁄ 4in (5374cm). ‘I was captivated by the way the rain reflected the colours of Blackpool's illuminations on a wet autumn evening.’ p

Evening View from Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh, watercolour on Bockingford 90lb Not, 291 ⁄ 421in (7453cm). This vista was painted in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park, from Salisbury Crags, looking north across towards the Firth of Forth u

Janet Kenyon was born in Bolton in Lancashire and studied art at Bolton College of Art & Design for two years. In 1977 she attended Leeds Polytechnic and gained a BA Hons in Graphic Design in 1980. She currently lives and works from her studio at her home in Carlisle. To see more of Janet’s work visit www.janetkenyon.co.uk


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MASTERCLASS

Brushes and canvas Ian Cryer, president of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, shares his thoughts on canvas and brushes, how one affects the other and how his techniques have developed over the years

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here are many elements that affect the development of our painting technique and style, apart from our personality and conscious intentions. One of the things that keeps painting interesting and challenging is the gap between what we set out to achieve and the actual work that results. An intense and evergrowing knowledge of the craft of painting is a cornerstone in developing an ability to express freely the world around us, including an intimate familiarity with the materials we use.

Canvases I have used the same Belgium linen canvas for nearly 40 years and I have only recently ventured away from it. Increasingly I find that I don’t have as much time available for making up canvases, although for me that is part of the actual preparation for making pictures, along with the mental process. There was also the realisation that

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many notable artists work on readymade boards and canvases and I questioned why I was going to all that expense and time just because that’s what I always do. I have always bought my canvas off the roll, unprimed, from Bristol Fine Art; I glue this canvas to plywood, folding it over at the back, with rabbitskin glue and, once dry, a coat of the same glue is used to size the canvas. This is good for boards up to 1816in (45.440.5cm), after which I find there is a tendency to warp. Above this size I swap to traditional stretchers, which can be very expensive. Cheaper stretchers can be prone to warping when assembled and I often tap them together in the shop to see if they are aligned. Once my sizing is dry I apply two coats of oil-based primer, or acrylic if time is limited, and a scrubbed-in coat of diluted colour to give me a toned ground. A great deal of my work is produced

on location as I love the spontaneity of working direct from nature and under time pressure; however, I don’t like to tie myself to self-imposed rules and retain an option of working up ideas in the studio. When I was starting out I had a heroic concept of working on location but I have mellowed over time. I was addicted to my Belgian linen and enjoyed the benefit of knowing exactly how far a loaded brush might travel over the tooth of the canvas – a heavy tooth will be hungrier in terms of drawing the paint off the brush.

St Ives Beach, oil on Winsor & Newton ready-made canvas, 1418in (35.545.5cm). This was painted on location. I enjoyed the freedom and area I could cover compared to my hungry linen. I have sought a finer linen to replicate this quality in my self-prepared canvases q


‘Saving time and money on making all my own canvases has resulted in finding alternative surfaces to work on’ Nowadays I look for unfamiliarity as a means of stretching myself and avoiding falling into a rigidly prescribed method of working. Saving time and money on making all my own canvases has resulted in finding alternative surfaces to work on. These surfaces have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, which in turn has led to exploring new qualities in paint


handling. I have found that most readymade linen canvases have a finer tooth and this has made me look at my choice of brushes.

Brushes

Torquay Beach, oil on Belgian linen, 1212in (30.530.5cm). I was surprised how hungry the canvas surface was in comparison to a finer weave. Shorter marks with bristle brushes were the order of the day p

Traditionally my choice of brush had been small sables for drawing and mostly short flat bristles for painting. This worked well with the Belgian linen artist August 2017

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MASTERCLASS

but I found the bristles were inclined to slip across the finer tooth of readymade canvases and, as a result, less paint was placed than I might have intended, especially as bristles become more stiff and worn through use. I love using new brushes and my brushes gradually become relegated to scrubbing-in as they decline. Contrary to what many of my old students used to think, brushes do not last for ever and gradually wear down, especially when vigorously used on a coarsetoothed canvas. To overcome this problem, I started to experiment with some of the manmade brushes, which are much softer than bristle ones and give up paint more freely, which allows paint to be placed in quite a precise manner. This factor alone had an influence on the nature of my handling. My work is

overall painterly and deliberately so, and the coarser bristle brushes assist in this regard by breaking the edges of marks. The softer nylon brushes tend to lead to tighter work, which may or may not be desired. The finer, pre-prepared boards and canvases, however, did lead to an option of loading the brush with heavily diluted (using turpentine) colour then scrubbing in large areas a little in the manner of a watercolour; this proved quite liberating, especially for landscape painting, and had the effect of allowing me to work even more quickly and on a bigger scale whilst establishing broad areas of colour. On this slippery surface I would then follow with my nylon brushes, placing specific notes and leaving them. St Ives Beach (page 16) is an example of this quality in practice. I would have struggled to

complete a painting of this size on a heavier canvas in the time frame available. I have not given up on my own prepared canvases, however, and the interesting thing is that I find my handling immediately reverts once painting on the Belgian linen – the coarser tooth dictating how far my loaded brush can travel: the bristles being much better suited to a coarse canvas. Another fact to consider is that nylon brushes wear very quickly on a heavy tooth. The next stage has been to find a finer self-prepared surface to work on, so off I went to the local haberdashery to buy some muslin. The first shop only stocked a fairly heavy example, which has been good to work on but is quite similar to the linen, although cheaper. A finer or at least lighter weave was required. I was able to acquire a finer muslin and a lighter Belgian linen. These have both proved a success and I intend to keep a good stock in hand. I must stress that, for larger canvases stretched on stretchers, I continue to use my stronger Belgian linen. Muslin does not have enough strength on its own and depends on its backing. Choice also extends to primer. Using an oil-based primer will give a surface that is slightly less dry and hence your brush will travel a little further; an acrylic primer will pull a little, rather in the same way as an unprimed surface. I have enjoyed working on readymade linen canvases mostly, by Winsor & Newton, but sizes are limited. In conclusion, I have adopted a policy of horses for courses and I select according to subject and mood – a finer tooth for a sweeping landscape to be rapidly executed and heavier one for interiors. When setting out to learn the craft of painting it is good to have some initial rules to adhere to but experimentation helps to keep the process fresh. I recommend you buy the best you can afford. I find the cheap bristle brushes tend to splay rapidly and will give little satisfaction, and painting is not a pleasure if you ‘can't get no satisfaction’! TA

Ian Cryer is president of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and has exhibited widely. His work is held in many private and public collections, including EWS Railway Company, Royal Mail, Wadworth and Bass breweries, the House of Lords and the Crossrail project. www.iancryer.co.uk

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Charles Williams’ musings:

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often go to the Turner Contemporary in Margate. It’s airy and big, the showing spaces are well considered with good light and there's an excellent shop. They employ quite a lot of people to guide viewers around the shows too, local people who are keen to fill you in on the details. This makes a pleasant change from the grumpy postgraduates employed by Tate Modern who seem to combine contempt with ignorance so perfectly. Turner Contemporary is one of the many contemporary art galleries deployed to rejuvenate local economies. I expect the Jerwood in Hastings was developed with similar hopes, and there are loads of them around the country. A few years ago, I decided to have a look at Nottingham Contemporary. As I approached someone was carrying small brown objects out of boxes and into what seemed to be a fullsized military aeroplane. I asked what was going on and was told that he was a Chinese artist who was filling a decommissioned spy plane with stuffed bats. I asked where the rest of the work was. There wasn’t a permanent collection, just a young Chinese chap with his bats, and his show was scheduled to open the next day, when he'd finished getting the bats in. I don't know if the bats came to Margate, but I think a couple of the Turner Contemporary things have been to Nottingham. That is the pattern; galleries schedule exhibitions that go from venue to venue. You can't have the same show in say, the Jerwood, that you've had a few months ago at the Turner because it's too close geographically, but Nottingham is far enough away. I don't expect Coventry got the bats, although you never k now. You don't get work that is locally produced, except in the shop, in student exhibitions, or, as in Turner Contemporary, in a corridor space. Actually, there was a show by a Kentish artist at Turner recently – Rose Wylie won the last John Moore's Prize and has been elevated to star status. They never have permanent, local collections because they are too expensive to store and to insure. My suspicion is that it's because people are worried about acquisition policies. Curatorial development is so rapid and fierce that a collection that looks cutting edge one year may look absurdly dated the next, and that acquiring 'difficult' art can lead to terrible trouble with the board of trustees. So they leave that out, and grace us south-easterners with a carefully


GALLERIES and COLLEGES

curated series of what's cool in the art world 'out there'. I am sure we're all very grateful. I know l am. They do have a very nice education room at Turner Contemporary, too. It's high ceilinged and filled with light, clean and open. When they started they had a policy about sustainability in education; they wanted education that was aimed at adults and to be mainly talking, focusing on debate, ideas. There was a bit of a fuss and the policy was loosened a little. I gave watercolour classes. Education is high on their list of priorities though and they are keen to get local people engaged in art. As well as training some of them to tell you what their curators think of the work they show, they also arrange all sorts of workshops, which they must tidy away pretty efficiently, because it always looks clean in the Learning Space. Funny really. Margate used to have its own art college. So did Broadstairs and Ramsgate, the other towns in Thanet. They were small, lively, ramshackle and energetic, and they didn't have to offer much in the way of snazzy architecture to get people in. Rather than just going in, things came out of art colleges: bands, designers, artists, architects, people who could carve, make books, pots, jewellery, furniture or silverware, cast in bronze or plaster; draw. They learned in the sort of atmosphere that Ruskin, for example, would have approved of – local, individual, personal. Students formed relationships with their fellows and with their tutors, which helped to sustain them as they went from their local art college out to employment, self-employment or to study or work elsewhere. They carried with them the ideas that they nurtured in this environment. A typical example might be a man who taught me at Maidstone College of Ar t. Extremely dyslexic, he had gone to a 'junior art college' in Leeds, in which you could enrol at 14. He blossomed, from being treated in normal school as the stupid boy who couldn't read properly to being top of the class, because he was in a place where what he could do – draw, paint, design – was valued. He told me that he learned everything he k new there. He went on to the RCA, and has been teaching and painting ever since. I think of him when I go around the Turner, reading the instruction panels explaining what the art means. I suppose he could have asked the people employed to explain the art instead of having to try to

Woman Reading, watercolour and gouache, 811in (2028cm). When I was a student there was little interest in theory or even in reading generally. Art college attracted the misfits. There were more dyslexics than I had ever met before. Now, an aptitude for theory is essential if you want to grasp the basics of contemporary art. I wonder what happens to the people for whom art college was a refuge from the world of words, where their own aptitudes were treasured instead of marginalised? p

read them. You went to the old art colleges to do art, but I think you go to Turner Contemporary to have art done to you. Last summer I visited the new Central St. Martins building in London. It is one of the most prestigious art institutions in the country, and the new building is another extraordinary architectural feat. It has to look good while dealing with thousands of people engaged in making all k inds of things, in a situation where staff are timetabled to maximum efficiency, engaging with students from all over the world. Like the Turner Contemporary, it's built to impress. It is the opposite, in fact, of the local art colleges of my youth. What my old tutor would have made of it I don’t TA know.

Charles Williams NEAC RWS Cert.RAS is a painter, writer and lecturer. artist August 2017

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Flower painting in mixed media demonstrates a mixed-media painting of flowers – it was so much fun to do that she urges you to have a go Aine Divine

want to tell you about a process I love, and recommend you try. This was so much fun to do and it really felt like playing. I was giving a demonstration of flower painting in mixed media to an art group and had gone prepared with flowers in a favourite vase. Lilies and irises were my choice as I find the sculptural shapes really satisfying to explain. I had a variety of materials, which was 1 2 hour probably ambitious for a 1 ⁄ demonstration! However I had a plan – to begin with painted paper collage and continue with acrylic paint, going on to further explain the still life in oil. I had also thrown in oil pastels for good measure. While the resulting painting isn’t my finest by a long shot, I absolutely revelled in the process and

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Photograph: Jim Mackintosh

found it a deliciously freeing exercise. Judging by the comments afterwards people felt inspired to have a go themselves, which is always the sweetest thing I could hear. I’ve also chosen to show you two mixed-media paintings of daffodils that are finished in oil that, in my view, are TA more successful.

DEMONSTRATION Lilies and Irises t

STAGE ONE

I wanted to make an impact quickly and explain the main shapes and tones of the groups of leaves. I tore up paper I had painted earlier in leafy colours – sap green and Hooker’s green with ultramarine blue – on yellow and blue paper just for fun. The focus was on observing the shapes faithfully and then getting them down in one fell swoop, or as near as u

STAGE TWO

It looks like I was following in the steps of Matisse’s snail here (or maybe the nursery school version). Again it was fun to find and patch together the various colours and shapes I was seeing. I used PVA glue where I wanted to be sure the edges were firmly in place, but it was also satisfying in places to let loose edges represent the leaves in relief

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PRACTICAL t

STAGE FOUR

I used a combination of acrylic and collage to further clarify things. All the paper was torn, not cut – it felt a very tactile and childlike act, lovely. The paint, applied with a 1in flat brush, served to deepen the contrast and rein-in the wild collage pieces. The dark green lily leaves were made more cohesive as a shape with a layer of ultramarine blue and Hooker’s green; they were becoming clearer against the background space. I used titanium white to knock back some of the background sienna and yellow ochre to represent the lily flower heads. I made sense of the jug with more collage, which anchored it to the table p

STAGE THREE

I’m willing to take risks here (really I had no idea where it was going to go next and all seemed a bit of a mess. But really I love to be surprised and revel in the unexpected showing up on the page. Here I mixed up a colour for the tablecloth, a mixture of crimson and purple, and used a roller to apply it in a general way. There’s a certain floundering and finding your way that I think has to happen as part of the creative process, I love it

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STAGE FIVE It was a struggle to pull out the flowers and leaf shapes from the riot of collage that was already there. In hindsight I might not have applied so much collage and instead used paint to clarify things at the beginning. But that would have been less fun and this way I was taking more risks – always good for the soul! Unifying the leaves at this stage was important; finding a cohesive dark to describe them connected the still life. Throughout all these stages my eyes were half-closed so that I saw only the general areas of colour and tone. I was deliberately not setting myself up to paint each flower. Instead I looked for darks and lights that eventually allowed the flower shape to emerge. The white radiator behind helped to explain the edge of the leaves on the right


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STAGE SIX

As I sought more ways to identify the flowers as irises, their yellow centres seemed an important colour. I continued to add bi ts of blue paper, some tissue paper, to get t he shape of the petals – the audience members were helping to tear the shapes for m e to save time and just get involved. It’s great fun demonstrating but I often feel sorry that everyone watching can’t just have a go, too – I’d have itchy fingers in the audience ! artist August 2017

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FINISHED PAINTING

Lilies and Irises, mixed media, 25 1 ⁄ 2173 ⁄ 4in

(6545cm). I gave time to finding details. The edges of some individual lily leaves were painted with light green (sap green, cerulean blue and 22

artist August 2017

white). I used oil and chalk pastels to dance around the shapes of the petals and leaves here and there, to capture more fully their light and lively character. The yellow outlines on the leaves are echoed in the yellow of the iris. One petal of the iris has been described

with a torn image from a magazine. I began to find the pattern on the jug with alizarin crimson and, using a smaller square brush, the sap green leaves and bright patches of background jug colour. I was ready to begin using oil paint but the time was up!


PRACTICAL t

Daffodils 1, mixed media, 15 3 ⁄ 4113 ⁄ 4in (4030cm).

Here are some daffodils in a favourite mug. I began with paper painted in ultramarine blue that I tore roughly to represent the mug. It was really lovely to then pick out the pattern by painting the white and dark blues in acrylic. I stuck on some yellow painted paper here and there for the daffodils and then mixed up a yellow colour for the dark petals (made with Hooker’s green, burnt umber and yellow ochre, mixed sometimes with a little white). When I moved onto oil paint it was to describe the lightest and brightest bits. The darks in acrylic were established first, making the oil layer all the more satisfying. With your eyes half closed it’s possible to see the contrast between the dark petals on the left in front of the light wall. The yellow of the flowers on the bright side is almost luminous: cadmium lemon yellow mixed with titanium white gives this lovely fresh daffodil glow – providing it’s mixed cleanly as yellow is easily adulterated!

Aine Divine studied fine art in Cork. She has exhibited widely including with the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers; the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, and has won the Irish National Portrait Award. Aine has undertaken many commissions; her DVD Watercolour Portraits with Aine Divine is available from Town House Films, price £27.95; telephone 01603 259441; www.townhousefilms.co.uk. www.ainedivinepaintings.co.uk

‘Daffodils that are finished in oil in my view, are more successful’ u

Daffodils 2, mixed media, 11 3 ⁄ 4113 ⁄ 4in

(3030cm). I was still excited to paint daffodils, it was spring and they were everywhere, also I loved how they sang out against the blue patterned mug. To set these up I put the daffodils first in a small glass jar, so they remained nicely upright and created a diagonal shape through the painting. Here there is more dramatic contrast. The light is natural from the window to the left of the flowers. I knew I had to work quickly as the sun was rapidly disappearing – there’s nothing like a sense of urgency to force you to make swift decisions and focus the eyes. With half-closed eyes I sought out the very darkest bits (Hooker’s green, ultramarine blue and burnt umber) and the pattern they made through the flowers. I used collage mostly just on the flowers here; when I wanted a petal to really stand out in the light it helped to paint torn paper and actually stick it on. The crinkled collage paper seems to me to do a good job of explaining daffodil petals. I love to paint the flowers by finding the pattern of the background colour between them


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DRAW: 6 OF 6

Selfies Philip Tyler’s practice involves painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, collage, digital image and writing. He exhibits widely, including with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, ING Discerning Eye, and the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize. His work is in public and private collections in the UK and overseas. Philip is represented by Northcote Contemporary Art London, The Harbour Gallery Portscatho and Zimmer Stewart Gallery Arundel. His first book Drawing and Painting the Nude : A course of 50 lessons was published by The Crowood Press in 2015.

In this series, Phil Tyler has explored a variety of different approaches to drawing and painting the figure. The selfie is an opportunity to re-explore these approaches more fully, and he has some interesting ideas for you to try

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here is a long tradition of intense and thought-provoking selfportraits, from Rembrandt, Dürer and Courbet to Stanley Spencer, Bacon and Freud. These images tell us a great deal about the personality of the artist who made them. Today, a new generation of self-portraits – selfies – fill Instagram and Facebook and they too tell us a great deal, but they represent how the person would like to be seen rather than the psychology or personality of that individual. Your mobile phone can offer you tremendous flexibility and it is a valuable instrument in image-making today. It is portable – you take it everywhere you go and it is incredibly easy to take photographs and manipulate those images using a variety of apps. One of the great advantages is that you can see the photograph that you are taking and you can move the camera, whether using a selfie stick or your hand, to unusual angles, creating exciting and extreme foreshortening and be absolutely sure that you will be in the frame.

The mobile phone is portable, easy to use and, increasingly, has higher-spec cameras that can handle a number of lighting conditions p

The photograph The selfie is a tool to develop your understanding of drawing; the great advantage is that you are always available and now, with your mobile phone, you can be a model anywhere, in any location. It is valuable to build a storehouse of images by playing around with your portrait in a variety of different lighting conditions. I cannot stress the importance of light in these images. Without a variation of light across the form of your head, it is going to be incredibly difficult to make successful outcomes, especially

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when dealing with tonal approaches. In the same way your mirror reflection will also yield exciting possibilities, especially when you start to use two mirrors to create reflections of the back of your body as well as your face. What can stand as a successful photograph will not always successfully inform drawing and painting. The photograph can lack information in shadow or highlighted areas, and in some instances leave you little more than areas of unmodified black and white. It is useful therefore to under-and over-expose your photographs, taking three photographs instead of one. This will provide you with more information to work from later, back in the studio.

Apps

PicsArt was used to simplify the image into a series of regular polygons. A filter such as this makes it much easier to make a tonal drawing or a painting study using dabs and dashes or a palette knife p

Increasingly, mobile phones offer higher and higher resolution as well as a choice of filters and effects. Apps can also apply interesting image manipulations changing: hue, tonal range, depth of field, and tilt shift lens aberration (vintage). You can modify your images on your phone and you can also upload photographs to online image manipulation websites. Here are a few apps to try: l Be Funky l FotoFlexer l Gimp l Picasa l PicMonkey l PicsArt


PRACTICAL ‘It is useful to under-and overexpose your photographs, taking three photographs instead of one’

A digital photograph has an enormous range of colour, way beyond what they eye can see. By placing an image in photo manipulation software (eg Photoshop) the levels can be altered to help you see the tones more clearly. Adjusting the levels is a much more controlled way of altering the tonal scale of an image in comparison to altering contrast p

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Levels

Here the same image has had the levels altered in Photoshop. The small triangles at the base of the histogram dictate the point where the white, black and mid-grey values start

Warming up Begin by producing some blind and partial-peak drawings from your selfimage; pay particular attention to the spaces between the features rather than the features themselves. When looking at the eye, concentrate on the white shapes of the eye rather than the iris, the spaces between eyelids, eyelashes and eyebrows, the space between eyebrows and forehead, etc. It can be really exciting to produce blind drawings from your face, creating distorted Baconesque grotesques. Blind

drawing can be a really good way of warming up, of getting your eye in by slowing down and losing yourself (below). With partial-peak drawing, think about the quality of your line, in particular consider the weight of your line and think about how you can use line to create the space behind your head as well, by varying the width and tonal contrast of your line (below right). With measured drawing you might wish to rule lines on a mirror with a Sharpie pen and pay particular attention to the position of your head in relationship to

that mirror. In this instance the use of the viewfinder causes huge confusion, simply because the viewfinder is also reflected in the mirror. It is also interesting to note that your reflection is half the size of your face. Drawing directly from your phone is going to be really difficult as the size of the image is so small. You could of course make small drawings, but it will be much better to print off these images, in which case you can rule your grid over the photo, or work from your computer screen. As a general guide, you can think about

MATERIALS l

Sketchbook

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Mobile phone

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Pencil

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Charcoal

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Rubber

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Compressed charcoal

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Indian ink

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Dip pen

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Brush

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Sharpie pen

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Biro

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Mirror

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A series of blind drawings


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Partial-peek drawings with differing perspectives artist August 2017

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DRAW: 6 OF 6

Measured drawing A very low angle exaggerates the scale of the mouth, nose and face. A grid was laid over the photograph to help position the features and note their converging angles

the head contained in a box (below), even when photographed from unusual angles; the parallels will conform to vanishing points and distances will experience foreshortening.. As some mobile phones foreshortening use wide-angle lenses, this exaggerated perspective will increase the distortions, so look out for them in your drawing: they can create exciting and unusual juxtapositions.

The drama of light and dark Late at night or in a darkened studio, the use of an Anglepoise lamp positioned at various angles to your head will create

interesting shadows. This will enable you to produce notans and continuous charcoal and hatching drawings. Be really precise with the notan: produce a considered drawing where a great deal of attention is given to the space between the shadows. Charcoal drawing and hatching, on the other hand, can start broadly,, lightly blocking in the tones and broadly working down to the darks, finding your drawing as you go. When you alter the opacity of a medium it is possible to alter its tone. Charcoal drawing relies on this principle, where the charcoal rests on the surface of the paper and it is the amount of white paper showing through that creates the different tones. tones. Both ink and paint can be diluted to create a range of greys. These are very different in character to the greys made by mixing black and white together, because they reveal the paper surface and have a tremendous luminosity.

Hatching

Measurements of the head The head can be divided as follows: the bridge of the nose will be approximately half-way up the box, the base of the nose a quarter and the mouth an eighth. There will of course be slight variation between individuals.. The top-most parts of the individuals eyebrows are parallel with the eyes, which is also parallel with the base of the nose and the mouth. The base of the ear is at the same height as the nose and the eyes are approximately an eye’s width apart

Perspective distortion

Foreshortening

As the angle of the head tilts from the vertical, so the angles will conform to vanishing points and converge

A more extreme angle with greater foreshortening on the forehead

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Hatching is another method of creating tone. Parallel strokes are made by the pen, a range of tones being made by the proximity and thickness of the strokes. Hatching is also used in hard ground etching to produce tone. Deeper tones can be created by cross-hatching, working further hatching over the top of the initial hatching, usually from a range of directions. This is sometimes done with a technical drawing pen where the width of the nib can vary in size from 0.02 to 0.5mm, but hatching can also be done with a dip pen and ink, where the line can vary in width due to the pressure exerted on it. A humble biro or fine l ine pen can also be used. This is not a technique to be executed on a large scale large scale because of the length of time it takes to produce the image. The pencil is perhaps the most widely used tool for producing shading. Tone is produced by using both hatching and cross-hatching,, as well as relying on the cross-hatching different tones produced by the various grades of pencil. By combining graphite and clay in varying degrees, different different greys can be produced, produced, so it is a good idea to have a range of pencil grades when making your tonal studies – otherwise your results can be somewhat grey. Push your drawing media and investigate the selfie producing at least 25 heads; your tonal studies could inform verdaccio collages, and your collages could inform palette-knife studies using a variety of limited palettes and colourways. In turn these can then help you with your painting studies painting studies where you might explore a variety of approaches TA and media.


PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION

Charcoal selfie study

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STAGE ONE

An initial block in with a broad stick of charcoal, using the side to establish the main lights and darks

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Acrylic

Approached in a similar way, the acrylic wash drawing started with the lightest possible tone and gradually built toward the darks

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STAGE ST AGE TWO T WO

Starting to model the forms and find the drawing and the features

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STAGE THREE

Developing and resolving the drawing


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Biro hatch

Working with an open mesh of hatching, this biro drawing was gradually darkened and refined

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Pencil study

Here I used hatching, cross-hatching and shading with a range of pencil grades to realise the full potential of tone artist August 2017

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Ocean View , acrylic on canvas, 35 1 ⁄ 2351 ⁄ 2in (9090cm)

How to paint realistic seacapes in acrylics Jo Quigley reveals her systematic approach to painting realistic seascapes in acrylic 28

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PRACTICAL hilst other subjects may go in and out of favour, seascapes have remained a firm favourite among artists and art collectors alike. From dark and stormy to turquoise and tranquil, the ever-changing nature of the sea offers endless opportunities for the artist. Although it may be relatively easy to capture an impression of the sea, hence its popularity as a subject for the beginner, realistic seascapes can be quite a challenge. However, with a systematic approach and some patience, the results can be well worth the effort. To make this a little easier it is worth taking into account the following points.

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PLACING THE HORIZON In each of these examples I have shown a high horizon, although where you place it is a personal choice. Positioning the horizon in the top third of the picture will allow you plenty of space in which to concentrate on the sea. Alternatively you could consider a picture with no horizon, omitting both the sky or the

shore, or both, in order to create an aerial perspective. This would elevate the viewer and focus attention on the abstract pattern made by the waves. Whilst it is possible to have a seascape with a low horizon, this may suggest that the subject is in fact the sky rather than the sea. A horizon placed half way is best avoided.

Finding your source material Whether you prefer to work impressionistically or realistically, observation is key and relying on sources that are not your own can only get you so far. As with all subjects, it is far better to work from personal experience. It is only by spending time looking that you begin to understand how waves move, create patterns and are affected by objects in their path. Some artists believe that painting from memory and imagination is the best way to capture the ephemeral nature of the sea. However, for the realist painter the memory can be unreliable when it comes to painting specific details and having some reference is essential, be that in the form of sketches, notes, or photographs.

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DIAGRAM 1

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DIAGRAM 2

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The banded composition

The zigzag composition

The wave bands create rhythmic horizontal lines. Try to avoid creating areas that are equal in size as these can compete with each other and create an unbalancing effect

The lines created by the oncoming waves form a zigzag pattern, leading the eye gently from the foreground to the horizon

DIAGRAM 3

The curved composition The space is divided vertically with a curved line, created by the wave as it hits the shore

The composition It is easy to think that if you are just painting water you don’t need to worry about composition, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. How you choose to organise elements within the picture not only affects the position of the viewer in relation to the work, but also how they ‘read’ it and therefore how they respond to it. What size, shape, or orientation you decide upon should ultimately enhance the overall composition and strengthen the effect you are trying to achieve. My own seascapes are often painted on a very large scale, which adds to the feeling that you could actually get your feet wet!

Colours Just like the sky, the sea isn’t always blue. It can be myriad colours depending on the weather and light conditions, from rich darks and stormy greys, to vivid blues and greens and even pinks and oranges at sunset. A limited palette can help to create colour harmony and avoid a disjointed TA appearance.


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Sparkling Sea, acrylic on canvas, 35 1 ⁄ 2351 ⁄ 2in (9090cm) artist August 2017

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S E A S C A P E S I N A C RY L I C S

POINTERS FOR REALISTIC SEASCAPES When trying to paint realistic seascapes it is helpful to split them into three distinct areas, and to think carefully about adding other elements such as figures or boats

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The background

This is the area nearest to, and including, the horizon, specifically where the sea meets the sky. The eye is naturally drawn to the horizon, so it is essential to control the size of any marks or objects near it – if you are not careful it is easy to create the feeling of the sea going uphill, or a wall of water. Likewise if your horizon isn’t straight then the sea can appear to be slipping to one side, creating a very unsettling effect for the viewer. Depending on atmospheric conditions the horizon may appear quite clear on some days and barely visible on others; either way, to ensure a sense of perspective or depth, keep your tones closer together and your colours less saturated the nearer they are to the horizon

KEY POINTS FOR SUCCESSFUL SEASCAPES l

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Spend time observing and recording Keep the horizon straight Control the size and shape of your marks Use a limited palette Pay attention to the details Don’t overdo the white

The middle distance

In my experience this is often the trickiest area to paint convincingly. The repetitive nature of marks makes it all too easy to switch off and revert to painting from imagination, painting what you think you see as opposed to what is actually there. Whilst it is not necessary to paint every single mark, careful observation of both the size and pattern of marks in this area will enable the viewer to use their own imagination to fill in any gaps

Putting objects in your seascapes (below right)

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The foreground

This is the area around and including the point at which the sea meets the shore and it requires the most attention if you want to achieve a more realistic effect. Whether the waves are gently lapping or crashing onto the shore, it is important to observe how a wave breaks and then recedes only to be overtaken by yet another wave. This is where the wave is most transparent and the colour of the sand or rocks beneath are revealed. Similarly, as waves crest and break, shadows and reflections are created. Don’t overdo the white surf, though – white can be very opaque and soon overpower the image

Whether you prefer seascapes with or without objects in them is personal choice. If you do include other elements you should do so carefully. The addition of a figure or boat can provide a point of focus and a sense of scale and life to a work, but placed in the wrong position or at the wrong size they can become a distraction. Mixed messages can make an image confusing to look at and therefore less successful, and less appealing to the viewer. Consider instead using a cresting wave or area of colour or light or sparkle to create focal points

DEMONSTRATION Summer Surf

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STAGE ONE

I prepared the canvas with a couple of coats of mid-tone grey, which allowed me to judge tones more accurately and reduced the amount of more expensive pigments needed later on. Using a limited palette including cobalt blue, brilliant blue, phthalo green, burnt sienna, raw sienna and titanium white, I worked quickly, blending colours from cooler nearer the horizon to warmer in the foreground. Much of this was painted over in subsequent layers, but it did help to create a unifying effect

artist August 2017


PRACTICAL

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STAGE TWO

When planning the composition it is all too easy to concentrate on the details and lose sight of the bigger picture. Using a thin white, I roughly marked the main structural bands, as well as the position of key points of interest such as the crest of the waves. By identifying and plotting one or two specific marks or shapes in other areas, I set the scale for subsequent marks, thus avoiding getting carried away

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STAGE THREE

Starting with the far distance, I added subtle variations in tone and colour to create the form of approaching waves. The smallest of marks were needed to suggest distant waves beyond the breakers. As I have included a small portion of sky, I ensured that this recedes also, by getting lighter nearer the horizon

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STAGE FOUR

I concentrated on the middle distance, taking care to observe the pattern made by the surf. The size and shape of the marks and patterns in this area indicate a gentle swell, and a combination of hard and soft edges adds to the feeling of movement q

FINISHED PAINTING

Summer Surf, acrylic on canvas, 36 1 ⁄ 448in (92122cm).

Finally I tackled the foreground. Particular attention was given to how the water meets the shore: notice how the pattern and colours of the wave changes as it rolls onto the sand. A small shadow and some reflections help to separate the leading edge of the wave from the beach. I revisited all areas to ensure a balance of marks and that areas were integrated; a few extra highlights added the finishing touches

Jo Quigley studied at Winchester School of Art and Kingston University, and taught painting before turning professional. Jo demonstrates to art societies across the south east of England – for more details see www.quigleyarts.co.uk


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PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Liz Seward taught and demonstrated for 36 years and is a member of the Society of Women Artists and the Society of Floral Painters. She has exhibited widely, her work has been reproduced as greetings cards, and she has won many awards. Liz teaches residential courses at Dedham Hall and demonstrates to art societies. www.sewardart.co.uk

Consistent, creamy colour says that working with Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle Pencils was one of the ‘the best painting experiences I’ve had for a long time – I love these pencils!’ Liz Seward

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have used watercolour pencils as an accessory to painting in watercolour for many years, adding definition and a drawing element to my work, but now Museum Aquarelle from Caran d’Ache brings working with them to a whole new level. Extremely lightfast and very portable they make painting both outside and in the studio a joy. With 76 shining, bright colours and a creamy consistency, familiar watercolour techniques such as wet-in-wet can be used, alongside some newly discovered ones – whoever thought that dragging a pencil over wet paper could be this exciting! Museum Aquarelle Pencils have reignited my interest in producing finished work outside, particularly flowers. All I need is a board with watercolour paper attached, a selection of Museum Aquarelle Pencils, a large wash brush, some water brushes, a plastic rubber, a knife to sharpen the pencils and a lightweight, collapsible chair – my lap TA doubles as an easel.

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STAGE ONE

After drawing the flowers on a piece of watercolour paper with a 3B pencil I made a palette of colours to work from, just like a watercolour paint box, by pressing heavily to get the maximum amount of colour off the pencil. I used Rough paper, which held more of the dry pencil than HP paper. Using my wash brush, I wet the paper then picked up some colour from the palette: scarlet, anthraquinoid pink, orange, spring green, bright green and dark ultramarine. Working wet-in-wet I laid an underpainting without describing any detail. These colours were the lightest tones in the painting

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STAGE TWO

Adding moss green, dark sap green, crimson aubergine and purplish red I started to use the pencils directly on to the page, homing in on the detail on the flowers and, just as importantly, to preserve a lot of the original colour, on the negative spaces around them. This is where the pencils come into their own as the colour falls off them with a soft silky consistency. Using a Caran d’Ache water brush with a medium tip I wet colours as I laid them, smoothly blending one into another, leaving no trace of a dry mark on the paper. Suddenly, colours that appeared quite dull when dry took on a jewel-like appearance when wetted and became much brighter. Also, drawing a shape on paper that is wet

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and dry in different areas, interesting lostand-found marks appear. The pencils allowed me to be fairly accurate with marks, which were then softened with the brush, and I was still able to pick up colour from my ‘paper palette’ for even softer effects. I played a little, finding some new shapes in the original washes by colouring the negative shapes around them with cool blue and green pencils. Some of the shapes worked and some didn’t, but the pencils are extremely forgiving as colour can be picked up very easily. Naughtily, I took some colour off the pencil with a wet brush for some darker tones in the flowers – this doesn’t damage the pencil but putting the pencil into a pot of water does, so I never do that

FINISHED PAINTING

Oriental Poppies, Caran D’Ache Museum Aquarelle Watercolour Pencils on Fabriano

Artistico HP Paper, 20 121 ⁄ 2in (5132cm). Using carmine lake and Payne’s grey, I painted the very dark marks in the middle of the poppies. These can look very hard so in places I softened them into the dark red, keeping some of the edges hard for impact. On the two upper flowers I left these marks dry for variety of texture, something I do in all my mixed-media paintings where I am using wet and dry media. With these pencils, however, I have the best of both in one piece of equipment. Anthraquinoid pink was used for some of the wrinkles in the petals and left dry. Additional darks and little points of punctuation were put around the flowers, then with the white I tidied up some of the lighter areas on the flowers. In addition, I took a plastic rubber and gently removed some of the pencil in areas that needed softening. I indicated other leaves that have a more rounded shape than the poppy leaves and added a leaf at the bottom left-hand corner to balance the composition. Some ‘ghostly’ flowers were added at the back and then I stopped before the whole thing became overworked. This was one of the best painting experiences I’ve had for a long time and I can’t wait to start the next one. I love these pencils!


For more information about Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle Pencil see page 2 artist August 2017

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W AT E R C O L O U R T U T O R I A L : 1 O F 3

Negative painting Paul Riley begins a three-part watercolour course with a look at some of the ways to achieve negative shapes, and their importance he reason negative painting is peculiar to watercolour painting is that traditionally white paint isn't used for white or light objects. That method is reserved for opaque media such as oils, acrylics and pastels. The whole point of watercolour painting is its transparency and translucency – watercolour paint works by allowing light to pass through the particles of pigment, the colour reflecting from the white of the paper – thus any opacity will affect that quality and make the painting appear dull. In other words, the paper is in fact your white paint. To make a lighter colour, you dilute the paint with water, which is why the water needs to be clean. If you want a completely white object you leave the white paper unpainted; the surrounding colour tone reveals the white object – you paint the negative shape, hence the

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Drawing Controversially I do not advocate the use of a pencil on watercolour paper, especially if painting flowers or from life. Graphite is a messy blackish substance that gets everywhere and is the quickest way to achieve a grubby image. It’s far better to use a fine sable, for example a No. 2 round with a very pale version of the colour of the object. The brush has a very fine tip and is finer by far than the sharpened point of a pencil. For general purposes I use a very dilute phthalo blue. In the event of mistakes this can easily be lifted out – I have a small clean and damp natural sponge to hand and I use dry tissue to

blot and dry, and then off I go again. I lightly indicate the size of the object with four dots, which can be easily adjusted if you change your mind. Then, depending on the complexity of the shape, I use a broken line to draw in. Difficulties can arise if you have to depict overlapping shapes, for example a bunch of white daisies. In this instance I would use a delicate pale grey that will suit their shadows. When drawing, try not to rest your arm or hand on the paper as this can result in smudging. I sometimes use an absorbent kitchen tissue under the hand but more commonly I work by distancing my hand with the tip of my little finger. I even have a slightly longer fingernail, which I sharpen, for this purpose. For fun and generally to speed up the process of drawing with the brush, practise using both hands – ambidexterity is a skill worth cultivating, believe me!

Basic negative painting

The bottom left is a polo mint! Paint a blob and surround it in the same tone. Draw more complex shapes with very pale colour before painting 34

term negative painting. Simple, but how do you know what shape it is if it is white on a white surface? You need to indicate it, and this can be achieved in various ways.

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Blossom

This is a very simple example of white on white using negative painting


PRACTICAL

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Ferryman’s cottage

The dark tones in this image enable the light cottage to stand out. The darks were painted first

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Snowscape

A snowscape is an ideal subject for negative painting. Note that the pale tree branches have been negatively painted

Masking techniques A slightly simpler process involves the use of masking techniques. There are two basic types of masking systems: masking tape and masking fluid. Masking tape is used for solid shapes – use a low tack version. ProDec Advance precision edge masking tape (www.prodec.uk.com) is very good. It comes in various widths but I mostly use the 1in (24mm) unless I am masking out particularly large shapes. To use, cut the required shapes on a cutting mat then transfer to your image or stick the tape to your paper then cut out your shapes using a very sharp scalpel. Yes, I know it seems possible you might cut through your paper but believe me you will develop the skill to

Masking tape methods p

On the left, individual triangular petals have been used to form flowers. On the right, larger areas of tape were placed over a drawn image, then cut to size

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Sailing on the Dart I used an extensive amount of masking tape in this painting


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WATERCOLOUR

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Different uses of masking fluid

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From top left: end of brush, rubber shaper, folded paper, splatter Bottom left: tissue, rolled paper, brush, brush compass

ensure the correct pressure to cut the tape only. You may need to draw the image on the tape with a marker pen before cutting, but try not to smudge it before it dries. If you have no confidence in your drawing ability try this little idea: cut a series of triangular petal shapes from the masking tape and arrange them to form a whole flower. Paint a background over the tape and you have a white flower! (page 35). Masking fluid is a rubbery substance used for edges and anything intricate. It has a smell you could get addicted to. You can pour, splash or splatter with it, draw with it or brush it. It is a wonderfully versatile substance that, when dry, will repel water-based paint. When the paint is dry, remove the dry fluid with your finger, or an eraser, to reveal the shape as white paper. It is such fun that it is well worth experimenting with as many application methods as you can think of, for example folded paper, kitchen tissue, sponges, sticks. Use your imagination. I have even made a potato cut and applied the fluid as a decoration in a still life. It is by far the easiest way to leave behind intricate negative shapes such as lacework, fine tracery of pale branches or complex architectural detail.

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MASKING FLUID TIPS l

If the fluid dries on brushes they are ruined. I first dip the brush in a washing-up liquid, squeeze it dry, then apply the fluid. Use it for one minute maximum, then rinse the brush. Re-apply and repeat the cycle. This way you can use even your finest sable.

Do guard against getting it on your clothes, it is irremovable. l Don't accelerate the drying of the fluid by heating it in front of a fire or using a hot hairdryer as that will bake it on. Let it dry naturally or use an accelerated cold air source. Even the hot sun can bake it on, making it irremovable. l

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Don't leave it on too long – overnight should be fine. It is possible to dilute it for fine work (I use a little clean tap water).

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Try to shake the bottle periodically as it can form lumps. It also has a shelf life so if it gets lumpy, chuck it out. It is not worth messing about with.

Masking fluid is supplied either tinted or colourless. I prefer the latter simply because the colour is offputting and, if by any misfortune I can't get it off, I'm stuck with it. The colourless can, at a pinch, be left on

Coffee Break

With a pale figure, a contrasting background will reveal the form

Options on masking With both masking methods and the simple drawing system, you have the following options for dealing with the negative shapes once the background painting has dried: l Leave them white and tint them for tonal variation l Tint them with any pale colour and introduce tonal form accordingly. The one slightly cautionary point I would add is that with all the methods you will end up with crisp, hard edges. If you want to introduce some soft edges to create form and depth, the good news is that it is perfectly achievable using the wonderful indispensable small natural sponge. Dampened with clean water and with the paint utterly dry, edges can be teased, softened and merged with the background, resulting in instant depth with lost-and-found edges.

Figure painting With both portraiture and life painting you are likely to encounter some kind of negative painting. Pale flesh tones especially benefit from strong, contrasting tones as background. Try not to let the edges get too harsh, either work in the wet or blend with a TA sponge.


PRACTICAL

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St Mark’s, Venice

A combination of masking fluid and tape were used for the negative painting in this image t

Fisherman

Portraits benefit from a strong background – the doorway was very useful for this

Paul Riley runs short residential courses from his home and studios in south Devon. The next, ‘From Stream to Sea’, will take place from July 2 to 7. For details telephone 01803 722 352, or email [email protected] www.coombefarmstudios.com


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Little Italy, New York, mixed media, 193 ⁄ 4193 ⁄ 4in (5050cm)

Street life David Questa reveals how he expresses movement and energy

in his plein-air drawings of busy city streets have always enjoyed on the spot sketching, particularly the urban landscape – street corners, junctions – busy places that enable me to observe and record the ebb and flow of what is going on in the city. The drawings are an accumulation of fleeting moments as well as a record of the more permanent aspects of the place. Drawing quickly imparts a sense of movement but I became quite frustrated at not being able to re-

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capture the energy and immediacy of an on-site sketch in the subsequent drawings and paintings that derived from them. So I decided to develop my on-site sketches into more finished works so that there is more of a direct connection between the drawing and the location. Time spent in front of the subject offers so much more than working solely from photographs, and the drawing process becomes more subconscious and intuitive. I may still produce small preliminary sketches

using a small pocket sketchbook and a fine line pen or pencil.

Perspective Perspective is a subject that my students always find challenging, as do many artists. I hope you find my approach helpful. To show linear perspective, I start by drawing a horizontal line at what I determine to be my eye-level, to locate my own horizon. I can then draw a vertical line from my position that will


intersect this line, thus forming a cross on the paper. Using this cross as a reference point I am then able to work out whether other lines should be above or below this horizon line. Anything above eye level will slope downwards and anything below eye level will angle up towards the horizon. It is also helpful to think about the relative height of other people in relation to me to determine whether their heads should be on, above or below the horizon line. I also deal with aerial perspective by considering how darker tones may be used to emphasise the foreground and how paler, bluer tones appear to recess into the distance, giving a sense of depth to the image.

Paper For the last few years I have mainly been working on Fabriano Artistico 640gsm watercolour paper. I have experimented with various textures of this paper, but prefer Hot Pressed (HP) as its smooth surface takes detailed line work very well and is heavy enough not to require stretching, as it will take lots of washes without buckling. This is particularly helpful when working on site, as I do not need to carry around a heavy drawing board. It’s important to keep equipment down to a minimum when setting up in the street. For larger works I have used Atlantis Giant watercolour paper, a heavy 400gsm sheet that has a slight texture. I have also used Aquarelle Arches 300gsm HP, which offers a smoother finish that is good for line work and is available in rolls, but it does require stretching if used with wet media.

Process I start by very lightly establishing the main shapes of the composition in pencil. This may be a relatively low viewpoint as I usually work on the ground and it may sometimes encompass slightly different viewpoints within the same drawing as I move around the subject, deciding what to include. When I am happy with the composition and proportions of the drawing I begin to draw the static elements, sketching the main buildings. I then begin a process of selecting what to include in the drawing and what to leave out. This is a combination of responding to events as they occur, as well as an intuitive sense of trying to balance the composition. Whilst drawing I am constantly comparing the sizes of various elements within the scene. To add emphasis to the drawing and to establish more detail I introduce


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Albion Pace, mixed media, 291 ⁄ 222in (7556cm)

heavier black lines by switching to Wolff’s carbon pencils, from B through to 6B. They produce very rich black tones whilst being hard enough to withstand pressure without crumbling or smudging too much. They also sharpen well for fine details. At this point I also start to take reference photos and record short videos of the scene to record the movement of traffic, which can be almost impossible to draw accurately. The great thing about working on site is that you may see something that catches your eye and include it in the drawing straightaway. Street furniture such as road signs and traffic lights are considered within the overall balance of the composition, as are more transient elements such as bikes, cars and people. Back in the studio I start to apply diluted ink to establish a tonal structure to the composition. I love to use a large Chinese watercolour brush

for this as it holds a lot of ink and stops me being too fussy with detail. I make the inks less diluted as I go along, so that the tones build up – diluted inks go on very dark and then gradually lighten as they dry. I build up a series of transparent washes to enable traces of the line drawing underneath to show through.

Colour Daler-Rowney FW Artist’s Acrylic ink, gouache paints and coloured pencils are used to introduce subtle washes of colour and to pick out strong local colour. I still have the Karismacolor coloured pencils I bought for my art foundation course nearly 20 years ago. They have a rich vibrant colour and blend very well. Unfortunately, they are no longer available so when they eventually wear down I hope I can find a suitable replacement. I will look through my reference artist August 2017

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MIXED MEDIA

DEMONSTRATION Eastgate and Vicar Lane, Leeds My own reference photos are useful to refer to for details such as windows and architectural features. They also enable me to develop the drawing further at home. Short video clips record the movement of traffic which can be almost impossible to draw accurately

I started by making a series of small on-the-spot sketches to help decide which viewpoint to work from. I then returned numerous times to the same spot at various times of day

MATERIALS l

Wolff’s carbon pencils – they give rich smooth black lines and sharpen really well. They work particularly well on a smooth surface

Karismacolor pencils l Fabriano Artistico 640gsm watercolour paper l

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STAGE ONE

I lightly sketched the main building with an HB pencil, establishing the overall composition and the two-point perspective. At this stage it was important for me to consider where my own eye level was so that the horizon line was accurate

Atlantis Giant Watercolour Paper 400gsm for larger works l Daler-Rowney FW Artists’ Acrylic Ink l Winsor & Newton Artists’ Acrylic paint l

Chinese watercolour brushes (bought in M alaysia) l Daler-Rowney System 3 acrylic brushes – a range of short flats and filberts l

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STAGE TWO

Using a Wolff’s carbon pencil, grade B, I drew the static elements of the scene and began to indicate the angles of repeated moving shapes such as buses t

STAGE THREE

Using a combination of onsite drawing and video reference I sketched the moving elements of the scene. The drawing was becoming multilayered

photos and video clips for details to include and return to the location to check that the drawing still matches my real-life observations of the scene and, where possible, I continue to work directly on site. The ever-changing nature of the urban environment means that there have often been changes to the view during the process of producing the drawing. Whilst working on the drawing of Leeds a large new department store was being built to the left of the scene. A council workman stopped to chat to me about his own artwork so I’ve included

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him on his orange tractor as he gave me a beep as he went past later on the same day. Like many artists, I would say that it is difficult to decide when a drawing is complete. I will often work on a series and they are finished when I feel I have resolved as many issues as I can and found some kind of balance that works for me. I am not striving for a polished or refined style, I always want to retain the immediacy of the five-minute sketch and capture the essence of a place through an accumulation of TA fleeting observations.

David Questa graduated from Anglia Ruskin University with a BA Hons Illustration and is Head of Art at a Leeds secondary school. He is currently represented by Headrow Gallery, Leeds. David has also exhibited in London and Melbourne, Australia. https://questa.jimdo.com


PRACTICAL

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STAGE FOUR

I applied a series of tonal washes with diluted black ink, as well as introducing subtle colour with inks and gouache paints

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STAGE FIVE

I emphasised features within the scene using a combination of media and began to include smaller, anecdotal details

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FINISHED PAINTING

Eastgate and Vicar Lane, Leeds, mixed-media, 291 ⁄ 2401 ⁄ 4in (75102cm).

I further developed the sky using a large Chinese watercolour brush with heavily diluted ink. Considering the overall balance of the image, I subtly adjusted some of the tones and colours. I also introduced more vertical lines to break up the very horizontal composition. The foreground was darkened slightly to add a greater sense of depth. I didn’t want to give too much emphasis to foreground figures so left these as sketched outlines


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Summer trees and foliage in watercolour urges you to try a new approach to the way you paint summer trees and foliage to allow your paintings to become more exciting and original Judi Whitton

ove them or hate them, it is worth getting a grip on how to paint trees but there is no perfect recipe. There are endless ways to do it and it is well worth challenging yourself and exploring different approaches. One of the first things I learnt from my tutors was ‘how to paint a tree in summer’ (right). This general method held me in good stead for many years but nowadays I look at trees differently. By observing the forms within the tree you can show the greenery in an original way. For example, you can convey a message about chestnut foliage that is different from that of a silver birch. It is important to keep the representation simple and it is not only about the overall shape of the tree, as shown by my studies (below). The viewer may or may not recognise the species but it is important that the liveliness and freshness of the finished look, and that the methods used, are unique to you and in keeping with the overall harmony of the finished picture.

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Thoughts on design

STUDY ONE A traditional way to sketch a tree: draw carefully and show any large clumps of foliage by making shapes to represent areas in sun and in shade

STUDY TWO A traditional way of simplifying the foliage using lemon yellow, ultramarine blue, raw sienna, Winsor blue, and burnt umber, and mixing a grey for the trunk with burnt umber and cobalt blue

Unlike buildings, trees or shrubbery can be used to rearrange your composition by jiggling about with the shapes and tones, as in Imposing House near Skibereen, West Cork (right). I thought the design would be improved if I moved the Monkey Puzzle tree on the far left of the photo closer to the building. I painted this interesting tree with cerulean blue, perylene green, burnt umber and Naples yellow. The shape of the sky area is an important design consideration and moving the tree helped to contain the left-hand side of the picture. Painters often choose to avoid landscapes full of trees as they can bring many challenges. Large banks of greenery can be difficult to sort out. A subject such as Bridge at Creugh Bay, Mizen Peninsula, West Cork (below right) makes my heart sink! The lush vegetation of similar colour and tone needed a plan and it was necessary to make a decision about which areas could be considered as background

STUDY THREE

STUDY FOUR

STUDY FIVE

STUDY SIX

Foliage areas are a simple wash of lemon yellow and cobalt blue. Pen work was added later to create representational shapes and to show some tonal variation. Some touches of neat cadmium yellow were added

Shapes within the greenery were drawn in pencil to represent the forms observed

The shapes were painted with cobalt blue, Winsor emerald, lemon yellow and burnt umber. Further pencil was added at the end to give emphasis and an overall liveliness

Here I avoided green. The pigments used were cerulean blue, cobalt violet and jaune brilliant No. 1 (Holbein)

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Imposing House near Skibereen, West Cork, watercolour on Fabriano Artistico HP 140lb (300gsm), 1217in (35.543cm) p

and kept very simple. The skyline was interesting so I did not adjust the relative size of the trees. I separated out the mass of foliage by choosing individual trees with a distinctive form and grouping clusters of similar trees together in order to provide a pleasing distribution of shapes. Washes were applied using perylene green, lemon yellow, cerulean blue and some body colour. A light shape was created in the

heart of the picture (Naples yellow reddish and Winsor blue) to indicate a diagonal band of foliage in a weaker tone. The slope counteracted the strong horizontal lines of the little bridge. To add a little liveliness some pen work was added with an Edding 1800, size 0.3. My sketch (below) was not merely a tonal drawing but a way to explore ideas about how to show the varying forms of the greenery as I saw

If you find yourself using the same recipe whenever you paint a tree it is time for a change. l

Look carefully at the forms and shapes within the foliage, not merely the sunlit and shaded parts, and find a new and exciting way to represent this whilst still keeping it simple.

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Have a plan when you are overwhelmed with greenery or vegetation. Depicting one or two leaves or grasses can enhance your picture but do not overdo it.

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The colour green can be very testing. Use a limited palette or paint the greenery without using green at all.

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It is vital that the way you tackle the trees is in harmony with the picture as a whole.

Bridge at Creugh Bay, Mizen Peninsula, West Cork, watercolour with ink and body colour on Schut Noblesse 140lb, pre-tinted with a grey wash, 1011in (25.530.5cm) t


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The Old Farmstead,

West Cork, watercolour with

ink on Fabriano Artistico 140lb (300gsm), 11 14in (2835.5cm)

them. Such calligraphic marks can be your personal ‘signature’ and will make your picture lively and interesting and give you the opportunity for some creative thinking.

Thoughts on colour Another difficulty with summer trees is that the colour green can be very testing for the artist. The trees in The Old Farmstead, West Cork (above) provided a wonderful design silhouetted against the sky. I selected a limited palette of perylene green, Winsor blue, cadmium orange and Naples yellow. After a careful drawing a medium-toned wash of Winsor blue was painted on the sky to allow the white farm buildings to show up. The trees were painted on top in varying tones of perylene green with touches of cadmium orange. The trees all had very different characteristics and it was enjoyable trying to extract the essence 44

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of these forms using paint marks. Remember it is very exciting to paint foliage without using green at all. In study six (page 42) I used Winsor violet, cerulean blue and jaune brilliant No.1 (Holbein).

Thoughts on representation A perennial problem is the temptation to fiddle and use repetitive brushstrokes. I was drawn to the poignancy of the historic gravestone being engulfed in the tangle of vegetation (far right) but, as before, a plan was required. Trying not to fall into the trap of painting every leaf and twig, background washes were applied over the herbage and then a few representational leaves and grasses were indicated on top. You could tackle a subject like this simply with washes in various tones and colours. However, I feel it adds a different dimension if you show some of the exciting natural forms

within the vegetation. The secret is to be subtle. For example, above the railings just one or two ivy leaves were painted and one or two simply outlined in paint. It is all about indicating the components and allowing the viewer to feel that the branches and greenery are emerging from the paper and thus creating a sense of mystery and mood. Another common problem with subjects that involve trees is that a mass of dark or bright green can dominate your painting, especially when the trees are not the main feature. There are a surprising number of trees in Venice and I am wary of how to include them. It can be more successful if I paint them with restraint so they do not overwhelm the exquisite architecture, as in The Salute, Venice (above right). In the photograph the dark-toned trees are eye-catching and could draw attention from the beautiful sunlit Salute. I rendered them in a lighter tone and selected pigments that harmonised with those used on the buildings: Winsor blue and Naples yellow. If you dread painting trees, or you find yourself painting trees in the same way as you did before, and the painting before that, it is time for a change and I urge you to experiment and try a new TA approach.


PRACTICAL

The Salute, Venice, watercolour with body colour on self-tinted Bockingford HP 140lb (300gsm), 8 17in (20.543cm) p

Ancient Tomb, St Mary’s Old Church, Schull, West Cork, watercolour on Canson Bristol 250gsm, 12 11in (30.528cm) q

Judi Whitton is a well-established watercolour artist and an enthusiastic plein-air painter. She has had many successful solo exhibitions and is a popular tutor. Her latest book Painting Venice was published in 2015, price £24 plus p&p. For more details and to order this and copies of her other books, go to www.watercolour.co.uk or email [email protected]


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OIL PAINTING TECHNIQUES: 5 OF 5

Depth and flatness:

putting perspective into perspective brings his series to a close with some useful advice about atmospheric and linear perspective and a look at the alternatives, such as flat pattern Martin Kinnear

aintings, by virtue of being 2D, are naturally flat, so when you think about it, the whole idea of making them appear otherwise is rather absurd. In fact creating a credible illusion of depth in two dimensions by using perspective is not merely a trick, but might even be ‘the’

P

trick for most western european artists since the Renaissance. After all, creating something that looks real has for centuries been considered to be the mark of an accomplished artist. Matisse and Picasso, amongst others, held passionate views about the validity of that view but, before we get

One, two and three point linear perspective

into that, it’s worth looking at how artists can create an illusion of depth, using linear and atmospheric perspective.

Atmospheric and linear perspective In artistic terms perspective can be usefully defined as creating the illusion of depth on a two-dimensional plane. There are two main ways of creating this illusion: linear and atmospheric perspective. Linear perspective is just what it appears to be, the technique of replicating how objects appear to become smaller as they become more distant from our viewpoint. The classical way to imagine this is to set an imaginary horizon line at eye level, ensuring that all diagonal lines nominally converge upon it. In practical terms artists simply need to plot an eye-line and a vanishing point, ensuring that all of the parallel lines that face the vanishing point converge with it. A lot of hot air is written about how difficult multi-point perspective is, but it’s simply a matter of placing extra vanishing points. A cube will have two if seen at an angle, for instance, three if it is offset and complex geometric shapes (as seen in the scientific instruments painted in Holbein’s The Ambassadors), many more. Now all of this works very well in a geometric universe, but nature has a habit of being a bit more random than well-ordered cubes, cylinders or pyramids, so in practice you will need to combine linear and atmospheric

Gennes from Les Rosiers Sur Loire, oil, 3648in (91.5122cm). Spatial ambiguity: this study of Gennes was intended to place 'air' in the painting t

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PRACTICAL ‘You will need to combine linear and atmospheric perspective to create a more believable impression of depth’ Blossom, oil, 3648in (91.5122cm). Spatial ambiguity: this study of blossom uses traditional optical techniques to create a sense of visual ambiguity and movement u

The Parslow, oil on canvas, 30 40in (76101.5cm). Traditional atmospheric perspective: this study of Wells beach uses progressively less range in each plane to create a sense of depth q

increase in ‘range’ will make a plane appear to advance, any decrease in range, to recede. Range can be defined in many ways, for example: l

Thick to thin

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Opaque to translucent

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perspective to create a more believable impression of depth.

Atmospheric or aerial perspective Unlike linear perspective, which imagines the world as a series of parallel lines converging on one or more vanishing points, atmospheric perspective defines the world as a series of overlapping, near to distant planes. At a minimum, you would normally divide a scene into three planes,


specifically, a foreground, a middle ground and a background. Each of these planes must be painted in a manner that makes them appear to be closer or further away from the ‘front’ of the picture. The most common way of dividing them is to make the far plane rather more blue in colour than the nearest one, although it’s important to appreciate that this common trick is simply one instance of how planes may be made to create atmospheric perspective. More globally, any

Warm to cool

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Saturated to de-saturated

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Detailed to implied

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Dark to light

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Textured to smooth

So the standard method of making the distance cool, and the foreground warm, fits this schematic. The illusion is improved if the foreground is warm and dark, and the background cool and thin. By multiplying the range options you’ll be able to create a greater illusion of depth. However, the key to making atmospheric perspective work is to bear in mind that it’s all relative. For instance, it’s quite possible to create atmospheric perspective with a warm colour such as red, providing the red on the foreground plane is darker and thicker than the red on the background plane. Most of the perspectival rules of thumb – a cool background, a warm foreground or making the distance less distinct – are simply tried and tested manipulations of range. When combined with linear perspective, atmospheric perspective is the classic means by which to create an illusion of depth on a twoartist August 2017

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OIL PAINTING TECHNIQUES: 5 OF 5

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Flat colour: Cromer Pier, iPad painting

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Flat colour: Holkham Beach, iPad painting

dimensional plane, although both these methods should be incorporated with a sound understanding of optical depth from the classical modelling of form. Regular readers will recall that I dealt with how value changes create forms in article one of this series (May 2017 issue), and that if this is allied with optical management and edge control, then an illusion of spatial depth may be created.

19th century many artists were questioning whether the tail of technique wasn't wagging the dog of original creative vision. Better by far, they suggested, that art should be an honest, direct and idiosyncratic expression of creative vision, rather than some tired old parlour game aimed at making a flat surface appear otherwise. The gains for following the rules and conventions of perspective were more than lost, they argued, when one considered how applying them eroded creative freedom. Luckily, the western european fascination with illusory perspective was just that, and alternative aesthetics were both easy to find and eagerly adopted, from the strikingly graphic flatness of Japanese prints to the concepts of hierarchical scale (important things are bigger) used in almost all pre-Renaissance art. The most interesting results of this reevaluation lie not in absolute adherence to, or avoidance of, the rules, but with artists such as Klimt, Picasso, Cézanne and Bonnard, who freely mixed the systems to their own creative ends. It’s hard now to imagine the works of Jenny Saville or Christian Hook without the works of those pioneering artists.

Flat is good To summarise, a formal illusion of depth requires you to: plot single- or multi-point perspective; delineate that further into far, middle and near planes; manage the range for each of those and, for a bonus point, simultaneously control the value, opacity and edges of any forms within your picture. If that sounds complex and contrived then you’re in good company. By the late

Putting it into practice Over the last five issues we’ve looked at all kinds of rules and principles, applicable not only to painting, but to art in general. But one overriding question remains: should you follow or break the rules of art? The answer, of course, is that rules of any kind are good servants but bad masters. Rules are there to serve technical skills and skills allow creative potential to be TA realised.

Martin Kinnear is a professional oil painter and Course Director at the Norfolk Painting School which offers courses for painters new to oils as well as practising oil painters. Find out more at www.norfolkpaintingschool.com or call Jane on 01485 528588 or via [email protected] p

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This study uses pattern and shape to create a strong visual statement artist August 2017


u

Where the Waters Meet,

sketchbook painting, 1022in (25.556cm). This is the sketch I did when I first visited Watersmeet a few years ago. I set up my easel in the water and stood on a rock to paint. It was an overcast day with rain showers, which meant I had to rush for shelter each time one came over. I had managed to get the main drawing and the first washes down before about the third attempt, when I called it a day and finished it off in the hotel

Woods and water Barry Herniman shares the contents of his plein-air sketching kit – one that sees him well placed for a day’s sketching as he gathers material for a watercolour painting etting away from the studio into the great outdoors with all the vagaries of the weather and changing light conditions really does sharpen up your observational skills, not to mention the fact that you often have to work fast. Latterly in my painting career I have filled a small library of sketchbooks, which now act as my travelogues. I often refer back to them to get that ‘raw’ feeling of the time and place before working on a studio piece.

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My sketchbook Having sourced a sketchbook with Saunders Waterford HP paper a good


while ago I now find that I work mostly in pen and watercolour wash. I love the way the pen glides over the smooth surface of this paper and it also holds watercolour well without losing its sheen. Also, because I'm also a bit heavy-handed with my painting equipment it tends to take a bit of a battering so a hardbound sketchbook is a necessity. My sketchbook measures 11 10in deep and opens out so I can paint a panorama of 2210in – because the pages are stitched I am able to paint across the join without a large gap. I have found that spiral-bound books break up too easily, ripping across the

spine. This size of book suits me and packs neatly into my Swissgear rucksack, which I take on all my travels. However last year, in collaboration with Matt at Alpha, I organised a ‘Travelling Sketchbook‘ walking and sketching holiday in and around Exmoor. Because we had to carry everything with us I opted for a smaller A5 landscape version, which worked really well.

Keep your kit to the minimum When people go outside to paint they invariably take too much kit. I have pared my kit down to the essentials for a day’s sketching. I keep my brushes in an adjustable plastic brush tube, bound by an elastic band; I insert an old brush that's longer than my longest painting brush to stop the brushes from moving up and down and bending the delicate hairs. I have seen so many people's brushes ruined this way in transit. Before each foray I fill up the paint wells in my Cloverleaf paintbox with freshly squeezed paint. I used to go to great lengths to keep my colours moist whilst travelling but I now use Schmincke Horadam Artists’ Watercolours – their pure pigments are bound with gum arabic and are fully reusable when dry – with a few squirts of water they become moist and TA t workable again.

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WATERCOLOUR

DEMONSTRATION Light on the Water, Watersmeet

Tonal sketch This tonal sketch was made from a slightly higher viewpoint. There is a lot going on with this scene and I find a quick tonal sketch helps to focus the mind and acts as a template for the darks, lights and mid-tones. I used a 2b pencil here but also love using charcoal and graphite sticks, which can produce some lovely grades of light to dark that are so useful when doing tonal sketches

MATERIALS l

Hahnemühle Quattro paper block, 140lb (300gsm)

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Schmincke Horadam Artists’ Watercolours: pure yellow, Indian yellow, rose madder, madder brown, cobalt blue, helio turquoise, cobalt turquoise, orange, manganese violet

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Da Vinci Cosmotop brushes: round Nos. 12, 8, 4; riggers 6 and 2

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Faber-Castell. Artists’ Pitt pens, Fine and Super fine

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Cloverleaf paintbox

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Schmincke masking fluid: I use white but coloured masking is available from Schmincke – some artists find this easier to use as you can see where the mask is

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STAGE ONE

I drew in the main outlines of the scene with Pitt pens, taking care not to get too fiddly, and used masking fluid to reserve the sparkling whites on the water. I mixed up some colour and flicked and spattered yellows and blues into the main foliage areas, keeping slightly darker colours to the right and lighter ones to the left. With madder brown, orange and cobalt blue I painted in the main rocks, adding a little manganese violet to the foreground areas

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STAGE TWO

Working into the water areas I dropped in fluid washes of cobalt turquoise, orange and cobalt blue, painting around the rocks. It is now evident where I had placed the masking fluid. In the past I have added a little rose madder to enable me to see where I have painted it. Mixing up my colours to a slightly creamier consistency I began to establish the darker areas of the background trees with helio turquoise and manganese violet before dropping some darker, fluid washes into the shadowy areas of the water near the banks

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STAGE THREE

I began to punch some darks into the rocks using cobalt blue, orange and manganese violet, adding a touch of helio turquoise to the foreground areas. The same mix was used for the two trees on the left. After removing all the masking fluid I worked into the foliage areas on the right with some rich mixes of the yellows and blues interspersed with some orange and manganese violet. I spattered some textures into the foreground weeds and dropped some textures into the large foreground rock and the left-hand rocks. I was careful not to make the dark areas too dense, which would have rendered them rather dull and lifeless, and lifted out some highlights here and there

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FINISHED PAINTING

Light on the Water, Watersmeet, watercolour, 141 ⁄ 2141 ⁄ 2in (3737cm). I worked into the left-hand tree area using a little more orange, cobalt turquoise and manganese violet in the mixes. With a very dilute mix of rose madder and cobalt blue I established the shadow areas on the water. Using my riggers I painted the

branches within the foliage areas. I then put the finishing touches into the water with pure white gouache for the highlights and white mixed with cobalt blue for the foam trails, plus a few highlights into the foliage with some white mixed with a little green. I also added a few people to the far boulder on the right-hand bank for scale


Barry Herniman organises and tutors painting holidays at home and abroad. He is also available for workshops and demonstrations to art societies. His Cloverleaf paintbox is available online at: cloverleafpaintbox.com. Barry buys his sketchbooks from Frances Iles Artworks, 104 High Street. Rochester, Kent ME1 1JT, telephone 01634 843881. Copies of Barry Herniman's Travelling Sketchbook are available from his website, price £25 inc p&p. www.barryherniman.com

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Shape and suggestion How do you balance the strong shapes with the softer areas of a scene? Haidee-Jo Summers’ ideas will help you to focus on what you want to achieve in your landscape painting love to return to the same themes in painting again and again. This gives me cause to think about what it is about the subject that appeals to me, and also how I am developing my approach over time, so although working with the same subjects, my painting style is ever evolving. These thoughts have led me to a concept that I refer to as ‘shape and suggestion’. I am most excited by busy subjects with many interesting shapes – at the coast I look for sheds and fishing clutter rather than at an expanse of sea and sky. I am inspired by a painterly, impressionist style of painting in which a great deal is understood by the viewer because the artist has made good use of suggestion and simplification without dotting all the i’s and crossing the t’s. I am conscious of not treating everything within the

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Rooftops, Staithes, oil, 59in

(12.5 23cm). This is a situation where the suggestive approach works so well. The first and strongest shape I noticed was the shape

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painting equally, because we don’t see the real world in that way. I try to strike the right balance between strong shapes and design and more fluid, painterly areas. To an extent the subject can show which areas are

the strong shapes and which can be treated in a broader more suggestive way, but I also want to express my ideas about the subject to the viewer, so I walk a line between these different approaches

SHAPE

SUGGESTION

Drawing

Poetry and emotion

Descriptive

Ambiguity

Found edges

Soft and lost edges

Strong contrast

Fluid form

Focal points

Painterly rather than drawn

Reportage

Close values

Shouting/clarity

Whispering/subtlety

Tension

Harmony

made by the glare of the light on the water, both in the harbour and beyond. By squinting I could see that the buildings were massed together as a silhouetted shape against the light value of the water. Rather than think

about individual shapes of buildings, I observed the outline made up by their rooftops. I blocked in a general dark colour to cover the whole of the village, which I judged to be an approximation of the warm dark colour I could see when I screwed up my eyes – purplish to brownish because of the mix of slate and terracotta rooftops. Then I only had to suggest some individual rooftops with smaller shapes and more specific colours, keeping everything within the darker band of values. I also felt that I needed to make a distinction between the white and the red buildings – in the detailed section you can see how much darker the value of the white buildings in the shade is compared to that describing the low morning sun on the water. The sun was rising rapidly as I painted, revealing more information and colour in the scene before me so I tried to keep a clear vision of what I saw when I first started the painting. I added a few highlights to pick out individual rooftops and details of chimneys. If I had attempted this painting in a linear way by first drawing outlines of all the buildings, it would have taken far too long and there’s no way I could have achieved this effect of the light, which is what I was after


PRACTICAL

What to look for Look for the important shapes when considering your subject, before you start painting. The strong shapes are very often where the greatest contrast in value occurs. For example, in an interior scene the strongest shapes, the first ones I notice, are usually windows or a doorway – the bright exterior scene contrasting with the dark interior of the room. In an interior the natural area for a more suggestive approach might be a shadowy space in the room, underneath a table perhaps. If you squint when you look at the scene, which shapes are still clear to see? Notice also those areas in which edges become blurred and shapes are lost. Although the scene before you is a good place to get started it is only part of the story. What do you, the artist, bring with you to the painting? When I look at the same reference as you, I will see it completely differently. Certain shapes or patterns or areas of contrast will dominate my attention. You will observe different elements of the very same subject matter. This individuality is what painting is all about. Notice what your first impressions of a scene are, what do you think you can make of it?


Hen Garden and Spooky Shed, oil, 1216in (30.540.5cm). In this subject there were so many interesting shapes to get my teeth into with the rustic shed, trees and garden furniture p

Detail from Hen Garden and Spooky Shed It was great to paint this area of the shed. I was able to let the dark colours of the front of the shed, the glass of the window, the corrugated iron roof, the green wooden door and the foliage in front of the roof all merge into each other with soft and broken edges. Then I picked out a few details of leaves here and there on top of this mysterious, shadowy passage q

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Old Lawn House, May, oil, 810in (20.5 30.5cm). Painted from life in my garden, my cat is an important, yet subtle and suggestive, part of this work. I didn’t want her to stand out too much against the background, as that wasn’t the way I was seeing her. She was given similar treatment to that of the foliage behind her; the colours of her fur are warmer but

close in value to the greenery behind. I picked out a few small highlights around her edges as the light was dappled – hopefully just enough that you can make out her shape without giving her too much prominence. The strong shapes that I wanted to emphasise are the sunlit parts of the tablecloth and foreground chair. The purer colours of the flowers in the vase also make those a focal point

Make decisions to suit your intention for the painting. I find it helps to plan first where my major shapes are going to be and what my focal points are. Then I can see which parts of the painting I can afford to treat in a looser, more suggestive way. I particularly want the viewer to be able to look closely at a small section of the work and see a complete abstract painting – in which they enjoy the interplay of colour notes, brushmarks, shapes and the texture of the paint.

find it best to desaturate or grey-down my colours and keep to similar tonal values. This makes it easier to get impact in the focal points, the places where I want the viewer to linger. Here I will use my strongest value contrasts, more saturated colour and my hardest edges. I find the strong shapes and edges and contrasts come easily to me, it’s the subtleties that I have had to really work on. I think each of us is a bit of a control freak when it comes to painting and find it hard to trust in the process, and let go of our strong attachment to the outcome. Having a sound drawing ability gives you the confidence to know that, if you lose too much of the descriptive aspects of the particular painting, you can get them back at any stage, and this is something that can be TA improved through practice.

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Contrasts and values Having decided which parts will consist of strong shapes and which will be more suggestive, I first get to work on the suggestive areas. Here I place close but slightly differing colours side by side to create energy, with a variety of brushmarks and applied pressure. I

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Haidee-Jo Summers studied illustration at DeMontfort University, Leicester. She has exhibited widely and won many awards, including The Artist Purchase Prize at The Artist Open Art Competition in partnership with Patchings in 2014, and is a regular contributor to The Artist . Haidee-Jo tutors workshops and demonstrates for art societies. Her DVD Vibrant Oils is available from APV Films, price £28.55. Telephone 01608 641798; www.apvfilms.com www.haideejo.com and www.haideejo.blogspot.co.uk


Yellow Awning, Paimpol Market, oil, 810in (20.530.5cm). When you see the whole painting the shapes connect, your mind sees the clues or shapes and makes connections to understand the context. p

The whole image ‘reads’ in relation to the subject and the feel of the subject

Detail from Yellow Awning, Paimpol Market. This is what I call a ‘suggestive’ area – it’s impossible to identify. In this area the brushmarks are loose and fluid, the colours and values are close. There are no strong shapes with hard edges within this area, so our eyes don’t settle p


Detail from Yellow Awning, Paimpol Market, hard edges. In this area it is easy to see strong shapes. There are bolder colour contrasts and stronger value contrasts – the strongest is where the yellow and orange bunting is shown against a very dark area behind. I chose to make this shape darker than it actually was in order to bring attention to the colourful bunting u

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C O N T R A S T S I N W AT E R C O L O U R : 4 O F 6

Warm versus cool This month Paul Talbot-Greaves demonstrates how you can add impact to your painting by using warm and cool contrasting colours and sets this month’s challenge for you to submit for appraisal

painting of mainly warm colours can have its temperature exaggerated through the use of cooler hues placed elsewhere. Likewise a cool painting such as a winter scene can be made to feel cooler through the inclusion of a little warmth.

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Warm colours Warm colours are the yellows, oranges and reds of the colour wheel. The colours progress from pale hues of yellow, through red-orange to stronger colours of red and red-violet. These would include, but are not limited to, lemon yellow, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium orange, burnt sienna, cadmium red, Indian red, alizarin crimson, manganese violet and Winsor violet.

Cool colours Cooler colours are the greens, blues and violets on the colour wheel. As with warm colours the cools also progress

Paul Talbot-Greaves has been painting for over 20 years and teaches watercolour and acrylic painting in his home county of west Yorkshire. He also runs workshops and demonstrates to art societies throughout the north. Paul can be contacted by email: [email protected] or through his website: www.talbot-greaves.co.uk

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through pale and strong variants. The paler colours include, but are not limited to, sap green, viridian, cobalt turquoise and these continue into their stronger neighbours of cerulean blue, cobalt blue and French ultramarine.

Cool and warm illusions Whilst some colour temperatures seem obvious when looking at a colour wheel, there are many instances when a cool colour may appear warm, or a warm colour may appear cool. This is the illusion of temperature inversion. I have illustrated this effect in the panel right.

Cool and warm mixes The temperature shift of a colour is directly relative to its location on the colour wheel, as colours can be both cool and warm. For example, yellowochre is warm when placed against Winsor yellow but cool when placed against cadmium orange; this shows that changing the temperature of colour mixes is a little more complex, but it is possible. First identify the colour to be adjusted, for example yellow-green, and then decide if you want the temperature bias to be cool or warm. Warm is the shortest direction towards the reds, so the addition of Winsor yellow or yellow ochre will do the trick. Cool is the shortest direction towards the blues, so here the addition of viridian or cobalt turquoise will cool it. Whichever colour you begin with, it will always have a cooler colour on one side and warmer one on the other, so use a colour wheel to help you work out the order of colours and how to alter your mixes accordingly.

Using opposing temperatures Whilst there are no set rules governing the use of cool and warm colours, you can really add some impact by selecting appropriate opposites or rough opposites. For example, let’s say you have a cold winter painting made

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Temperature inversion

In the top square, the red-violet in the centre (warm colour) against the cool blue background appears warmer than it does when placed against the warm yellow-orange background in the square below. The same effect occurs whenever the colour combinations are altered. These instances shift the parameters of colour and can be used to place emphasis on temperatures in a painting

up of blue and green hues. These will really glow and come to life if you contrast them with a smaller amount of opposing temperature. If the scene consists of mainly cobalt blue hues for example, you can take this as your key colour and select cadmium yellow or yellow ochre from the opposite side of the colour wheel to contrast. A warm scene of ochres and reds can easily be contrasted with opposing blues. Look for your key colour first, then work out your opposite temperature from the colour wheel.


PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION Early Winter Light

‘Whilst there are no set rules governing the use of cool and warm colours, you can really add some impact by selecting appropriate opposites or rough opposites’

Calculating opposite temperatures Paintings don’t always have a simple key colour basis of straight greens or blues. You may have warm greens or cool reds, so how do you oppose those colours? If you have a modified temperature bias such as a warm green, the opposite can be found by looking at the words – for example warm green becomes cool red (red is opposite green on the colour wheel). Cool yellow-orange becomes warm blueviolet (blue-violet is opposite yelloworange). This takes a little thinking about and my advice would be to work with a colour wheel close at hand so that you can quickly reference colour categories like yellow-orange opposite blue-violet, and so on.

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STAGE ONE

I began by flowing washes of colour onto dry paper, applied with a large size 6 squirrel mop brush, starting at the top with cerulean blue and progressing into burnt sienna mixed with a little cobalt blue. On the left I added viridian and yellow ochre, then went back to burnt sienna for the buildings. The shapes were allowed to fuse and blend with each other; essentially I was concentrating on applying the lightest values. From there I went straight into larger washes lower down of cerulean blue, cobalt blue, burnt sienna and viridian. I left the painting to dry before moving onto the next stage

Shadows and temperature Shadows by their very nature are areas devoid of light and this means the colours are altered in some way to create shades. In last month’s feature (Summer 2017 issue), I showed how shades can easily made with the addition of a neutral colour such as Winsor & Newton neutral tint. To make a shade that corresponds to the colour the shadow falls on, simply take that colour, make it slightly stronger by using only a little water and add some neutral tint to reduce the saturation. Once you have your basic shadow colour in this way, you can add colour temperature. Brush this neat into a wet shadow colour on the paper. In most cases, shadows are cooler because they are out of the sun, so the addition of TA blue generally works very well.


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STAGE TWO

Using a smaller size 2 mop brush, I worked in the background using viridian, burnt sienna and cobalt blue in various mixtures to capture the changing colours and values, especially around the buildings artist August 2017

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C O N T R A S T S I N W AT E R C O L O U R : 4 O F 6

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STAGE THREE

I continued with the build of the painting, working on the right-hand field with viridian and yellow ochre, cutting this around the edges of the top stones on the wall. With a size 4 mop brush I then worked on the darker values of the wall with French ultramarine, burnt sienna and a little Winsor violet. At this stage I was only concentrating on the bigger shape of the entire wall, which allowed me freedom to be expressive, hence the runs of water, brushmarks and bits of washed-out paint. I continued the wall wash into the verge of dried grasses and weeds then continued these into the cast shadow across the road. Whilst the washes were damp I splashed water into them to make runbacks and textures

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STAGE FOUR

I worked back into the background with a little detail and softening. I sprayed some areas with water and worked up the paint a little with the brush before adding some suggestions of field walls and windows in the building

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STAGE FIVE

I added a further layer of strong colour to the foreground wall and whilst this was still wet, I worked in some dark details using neat neutral tint with a size 8 sable round brush. The details were freely drawn into the damp paint to create softer shapes 58

artist August 2017


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THIS MONTH’S CHALLENGE

STAGE THREE

Early Winter Light, watercolour on Saunders Waterford 140lb (300gsm) rough paper, 25 22in (3856cm). To finish the painting, I added the bright window frames and pole by the building with white gouache using a small round brush. I then used a fine rigger brush with the gouache to hint at the

wire fence. The painting was finished with a few splashes of cerulean blue in the near wall to suggest texture. The painting is based heavily on ochre, which has been cooled through the addition of viridian and warmed with burnt sienna. The blue-violet shadows contrast as an opposing temperature to the yellow-orange of the building and walls

Create a painting from my photograph of the bridge, using both warm and cool colours. The image has a very definite cool bias with a small amount of warmer contrast.

Take a good-quality photo of your painting and email your work to [email protected] together with a brief description (no more than 100 words) about the process you used, with PTG4 in the subject line, by September 22. Have fun, good luck and happy painting.


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THE A-Z OF COLOUR Julie Collins explains why value is so important in your painting and explains how to make a value scale

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Julie Collins studied painting at the University of Reading. In 2016 she received the Watercolour Award, 1st Prize at the Royal West of England Academy. Julie has been regularly selected for the ING Discerning Eye, where she has won the regional award, and she has received many awards from the Royal Watercolour Society. Her paintings have been selected for many exhibitions and she is the author of six art books. www.juliecollins.co.uk

Value scale using Winsor blue (green shade)

is for value

alue is the lightness or darkness of a colour or hue and value is independent of its hue. In order to create the correct value in watercolour it is important to be organised. There is much written about value and firstly I will create some value scales (right and below) as this is the best way to show this subject.

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In 1907 Denman Ross created the nine-step value scale, which is still used today:

Dark

Medium dark

Medium

Why value is so important Value is used to create a focal point within a painting, as the human eye is drawn to the contrast created by light against dark. Value and the gradation of value are also used to create the illusion of depth in a painting. The threedimensional illusion of form is created by using dark and light areas effectively. TA

Light

Use a palette with five wells in a row. It is important to mix plenty of dark, medium and light in order for this exercise to work easily.

Medium – in the middle well take a brush load of your dark and put into the middle well and now add a brush load of light. This will make your medium hue

Dark – in the far left well make your dark using a lot of pigment and only a little water

Medium light – take a brush load of your light and add a brush load of medium. This will make your medium light hue

Light – in the far right well mix your light with a small amount of pigment and a lot of water

Medium dark – take a brush load of medium and add a brush load of dark. This will make your medium dark hue

White High light Light Low light Mid value High dark Dark Low dark Black For simplicity’s sake I think it is useful to begin with a smaller value scale of five (above right). I guarantee that, if you discipline yourself in this exercise, it will bring huge benefits to the lights and darks in your painting.

Medium light

In this small abstract painting I used three colours – Winsor red, Winsor blue (green shade) and bismuth yellow – and varied the light to dark as much as possible from white to mixed darks. Compare this with the other painting (below), for which I used only greys t

Here I made another version of the small abstract painting above (right). It is easier to see the differences in the light to dark if you make a painting using only greys. Do try this yourself, it will help to improve the ‘value’ in your work u

Tonal mixes for the grey scale painting, above right

French ultramarine blue 90%, sepia 10%

50/50 mix of sepia and French ultramarine blue

Dark


White paper

Medium

Pale

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ART BOOKS & DVDS Reviewed by Henry Malt

David Bellamy’s Arctic Light

Painting Urban and Cityscapes

David Bellamy This is a major publication. The Arctic is one of the hardest places to get to. David has made several visits and this book is the story of the place, the adventure, the people and the wildlife. It is an enthralling account of a region few of us will ever see. To have it illustrated with paintings adds further personality to the t ale, showing David’s interpretation rather than photographic recordings. It is not an instructional book, but David does record some of the perils of painting in sub-zero conditions and you marvel at his persistence and ingenuity. Such a book needs the very best production and Search Press have rightly given it the treatment it deserves. Search Press £25, 176 pages (H/B) ISBN 9781782214236

Hashim Akib Hashim Akib’s vibrant style is ideally suited to the bustle of city life. Townscapes can be a hard sell, but a surge of interest has produced some interesting books and this is a worthwhile addition to the canon. For a start, it’s about painting, rather than drawing or sketching and, as is fitting for work that takes time, goes into much more detail. Hashim explains not just techniques, but the considerations of light, colour, perspective and weather, as well as how to deal with the fact that all these will be changing at considerable speed. This is a book to read in preparation for a painting trip, rather than a course to work through, and is all the better for it. Crowood Press £16.99, 128 pages (P/B) ISBN 9781785002687

Contemporary Landscapes in Mixed Media Soraya French If anything was going to convince you to give mixed media a try, this book would certainly be in with a chance. This is a fantastic and always inspiring book that also confirms Batsford’s reputation for excellent production and reproduction – every detail and brushmark is visible, and Soraya French’s style is one where that reall y matters. The book is a celebration of what can be done with acrylic, ink, watercolour, gouache, pastel and pencil. The colours are vibrant and the results uplifting. It isn’t a detailed instruction manual, but you can learn more from it than many more laboured approaches. Batsford £19.99, 128 pages (H/B) ISBN 9781849943567

A Simple Approach in Oils

Painting Watercolour Snow Scenes the Easy Way

Roger Dellar Simplicity is complicated. It takes skill and years of practice. ‘I’m lazy ’, says Roger Dellar, ‘I only use a few brushes’, but that’s only half the truth. The bulk of it is that the art is finding and sticking to the essence of a subject, omitting extraneous details, using an economy of brushstrokes and not over-working. The five scenes that Roger paints here are all in the south east of England and have potential for considerable complexity. The warship at Portsmouth is surrounded by a welter of smaller craft and has a maze of rigging, but Roger works by building up shapes, using a strictly limited palette that picks out the dominant colours in the scene and only including detail where it matters. A canal-side demonstration in Chichester concentrates on reflections and is an exercise in the control of colour. This is a masterclass in seeing and recording. APV Films £28.55 DVD (£25 on-demand), 105 minutes

Sadly, this is going to be my last review of a new Terry Harrison book. His death has left a huge hole in the world of art instruction and many readers are going to be asking where they will go now. Terry was one of the best explainers and his relaxed style of both painting and demonstrating made the results look, while easy, not too easy. You think, ‘With a bit of effort, I could do that too’ and the real secret is that you can. Terry always gave a polished performance, but there was never any sleight of hand, no secrets he kept to himself. Follow the instructions, maybe even use his own range of brushes (they really do what they promise) and the results will follow. He may be gone, but there’s a substantial legacy of books and articles that we can refer to for many years to come. This new book was the one he most wanted to write. Given a free choice of topic, it was the one he chose and I’ve been told he saw the proofs and was delighted by the result. Snow is one of the hardest things to paint, harder even than water, which is all about reflections. Snow looks white, but isn’t. It’s blue, it’s grey and it’s every colour in between. It obscures familiar shapes but creates new ones and has a structure and perspective all of its own. All the techniques are here, along with exercises and demonstrations that cover tracks, trees, mountains, water, buildings and much else. There are even some well-wrapped figures and one snowman! Snow is an impermanent thing, but Terry gives it the substance you’d expect. It’s both ironic and typical of him that Terry chose to subtitle this ‘the easy way’. As we all know, there is no quick or easy way to paint and it’s a private joke between us and the author that there might be. This, though, is Terry saying ‘trust me’ and very gently showing you the way without leading. I f it was mountaineering, he’d be holding the rope, but still letting you do the climb. He may be gone, but all the belays are still there. Search Press £12.99, 128 pages (P/B), ISBN 9781782213253

Terry Harrison

Some of the books reviewed here can be purchased from our online bookshop: visit www.painters-online.co.uk/store and click on the link for book s www.painters-online.co.uk

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OPPORTUNITIES & COMPETITIONS

Sending-in days The Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Details: The ROI seeks submissions of oil paintings from artists over the age of 18 for its annual open exhibition. A maximum of six works, in oil – but acrylic is accepted if framed as an oil – may be entered; up to four may be selected. Maximum size, 941 ⁄ 2in (240cm) in the longest dimension. All works must be for sale, have been completed in the last three years and not previously exhibited in London. Online submission in first instance at http://mallgalleries.oess.uk. Among the many awards are the Stanley Grimm Prize, two awards of £700 for visitors’ choices; the Alan Gourley Memorial Award, £1,000; the Phyllis Roberts Award, £2,000; and The Artist Award of a feature in the magazine. Selected works will be shown at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1 from November 29 to December 10. For full details see www.mallgalleries.org.uk When: Submissions deadline, August 25, 12 noon. Handing-in, October 7 10am to 5pm. Cost: £15 per work; £10 per work for artists under the age of 35. Contact: The Federation of British Artists, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 5BD. � 020 7930 6844

ING Discerning Eye Details: Competition to encourage a wider understanding of the visual arts and to stimulate debate about the purpose and place of art in our society, selected by two critics, two collectors and two artists. Up to six original works, in any media including paintings, photographs, sculptures and prints, may be entered, maximum size 20in (51cm) in longest dimension. All works must be for sale. Online registration preferred; regional submission points. Awards include ING Purchase Prize, £5,000; The Discerning Eye Founder’s Purchase Prize, £2,500; The Discerning Eye Chairman’s Purchase Prize, £1,000. Selected works will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1 from November 16 to 26. Full details and entry schedules available at https://thediscerningeye. artopps.co.uk When: Registration deadline, August 23, 5pm; London submissions, September 2 and 3, earlier from regional collection points. Cost: London submissions, £12 per work; regional submissions, £20 per work.


Contact: Parker Harris: [email protected] � 01372 462190

The Gallery Upstairs Open 2017 Details: Artists living within a 15mile radius of Poole, Dorset may enter work on the theme ‘Inside Dorset’. Works should reflect the varied life and landscape of the county, either in contemporary terms or reflecting the history and identity of the region. Most disciplines accepted, including painting, fine art prints, drawing, sculpture, digital and textile art. Up to two 2D works and/or two 3D works may be submitted. Selected works will be shown at The Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country Park, Poole, from December 2 to December 24. Full details and entry forms at www.thegalleryupstairs.org.uk When: Handing-in, November 29. Cost: £5 per work. Contact: Email [email protected] � 07906759620

New Light Prize 2017 Details: Biennial prize exhibition open to all artists over the age of 18 who were born in, or are currently living in, or studied an arts-based subject at degree or postgraduate level in the north of England (Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland and Yorkshire). There is no limit to the number of works that may be submitted, but a maximum of three per artist will be selected. Entries must be static works that can be wall-hung; all forms of original printmaking are acceptable, but photography and digital works are not. Digital submission in first instance. Selected works will be shown at the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co Durham from November 18 to February 18, 2018, then tours. Prizes include the Valerie Sykes Award, £10,000; Patron’s Choice Award, £2,500; and the New Light Purchase Prize.

When: Submissions deadline, July 31, 5pm; handing-in, October 10. Cost: £15 for one work, £30 for two, £10 for each subsequent work. Contact: Full details and enter at www.newlight-art.org.uk Email: [email protected]

Clevedon Art Club Details: The club’s 61st open exhibition for which up to four works may be submitted by nonmembers. Paintings, drawings, original prints, enamels, ceramics and sculptures may be entered, maximum size 36in (91.5cm) in

Check out the latest competitions to enter and make a note of important deadlines

longest dimension, including frame. Giclée prints, copies or reproductions will not be accepted, nor will works previously hung in the club’s open exhibition. Selected works will be exhibited at Cleveland School, Valley Road, Clevedon BS21 6AH from August 19 to 28. Download full details and entry forms from www.clevedonartclub.co.uk When: Handing-in, August 13, 10.30am to 2.30pm. Cost: £5.50 per work. Contact: Via the website or [email protected]

Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) Details: Entries are invited for the RSW sixth open annual summer exhibition at the Lillie Art Gallery, Station Road, Milngavie, Glasgow, from August 15 to September 27. For entry schedules please send SAE to the secretary, address below. www.rsw.org.uk When: Handing-in, August 5.

Cost: To be advised. Contact: Lindsay Nell, Secretary, c/o Robb Ferguson, 3rd Floor, Regent Court, 70 West Regent Street, Glasgow G2 2QZ. � 0141 248 7411

The London Group Open Details: Exhibition in two parts. Artists are invited to submit work in any medium including painting, sculpture, drawing, print, photography, mixed media, installation, video, sound, digital and performance. Maximum size of wallhung work, 200cm high  150cm wide, including frame. Up to three works may be submitted, only one work per selected artist will be exhibited. Online submission only. Prizes include the President’s Prize, a three-person exhibition at The Cello Factory; Victor Kuell Memorial Prize for innovation, £1,500; £1,000 sculpture prize awarded by Jeff Lowe; £750 Chelsea Arts Club Trust Stan Smith Award for research and materials for an artists under 35; £500 Schauerman Prize for Digital Art; £1,000 JPES Partnership Prize; £300 Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers prize for drawing. Part 1 of the exhibition at the Cello Factory, 33–34 Cornwall Road, London SE1 8TJ is November 8 to 17,

2–6pm daily; part 2 from November 22 to December 1, 2–6pm daily. Prizegiving for both exhibitions is on November 27. For full details see https://thelondongroup.artopps.co.uk When: Submissions deadline, August 29, 5pm. Handing-in: part 1, November 4, 11am to 1pm; part 2, November 18, 1–3pm.

Cost: £20 for one work, £35 for two works, £45 for three works. Contact: Address all queries to project managers Parker Harris � 01372 462190

Royal West of England Academy (RWA) Details: The Academy’s 165th annual open exhibition for which a mix of disciplines are invited: painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, film, sculpture and illustration. A maximum of three works, produced within the last three years and not previously exhibited at the RWA, may be submitted. All works must be for sale. Online submission in the first instance, regional handing-in points. Selected works will be shown at the R WA Gallery, Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol from October 1 to December 3; a number of prizes will be awarded. For full details, and to enter, go to www.rwa.org.uk When: Submissions deadline, August 21, 5pm. Handing-in at the RWA, September 15 and 16, earlier at regional points.

Cost: £20 per work, students £15 per work. Contact: The Royal West of England Academy, address above. � 0117 9735129

Society of Botanical Artists Details: Open exhibition with the theme ‘Changing Seasons’. Up to five works, in all media, including ceramics, glass, jewellery and 3D work may be submitted. Digital selection in first instance. Selected works will be shown at Central Hall Westminster, Storey’s Gate, London SW1 from October 13 to 21. Please check website for full details: www.soc-botanical-artists.org When: Submissions deadline, August 1; handing-in, September 11.

Cost: £18 per work. Contact: SBA, 1 Knapp Cottages, Wyke, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4NQ. [email protected] � 01747 825718

A much larger selection of opportunities can be viewed on our website, where you will find a l ist of workshops, tutors, painting holidays and more.


artist August 2017

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EXHIBITIONS

GALLERY OPENING TIMES AND EXHIBITION DATES CAN VARY; IF IN DOUBT, PHONE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

National Portrait Gallery

LONDON Bankside Gallery 48 Hopton Street SE1. ☎ 020 7928 7521 TheJiangsu Dialogue; Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers members respond to works by contemporary Chinese artists, July 25 to August 6.

British Museum Great Russell Street WC1. ☎ 020 7930 027 Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave; until August 13. Places of the Mind: British Watercolour Landscapes 1850–1950; until August 27.

Dulwich Picture Gallery College Road SE21. ☎ 020 8693 5254 Sargent: The Watercolours; until October 8.

Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art 39a Canonbury Square N1. ☎ 020 7704 9522 Franco Grignani: Art as Design 1950–1990; until September 10.

Embankment Galleries Somerset House, Strand WC2. ☎ 020 7845 4600 World Illustration Awards 2017; July 31 to August 29.

Flowers 21 Cork Street W1. ☎ 020 7920 7777 Freya Payne: Returning; paintings, sculptures and monoprints, July 19 to September 2.

Flowers 82 Kingsland Road E2 ☎ 020 7439 7766 Mono: An Exhibition of Unique Prints; until September 3.

Llewellyn Alexander 124 The Cut, Waterloo SE1. ☎ 020 7620 1322 Not the Royal Academy; until August 19.

Mall Galleries The Mall SW1. ☎ 020 7930 6844 Guild of Aviation Artists: Aviation Paintings of the Year Exhibition 2017; July 18 to 23. Hesketh Hubbard Society Annual Exhbition 2017; July 31 to August 5.

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St Martin’s Place WC2. ☎ 020 7306 0055 BP Portrait Award; until September 24.

The Queen’s Gallery Buckingham Palace. ☎ 020 7766 7301 (tickets) Canaletto and the Art of Venice; until November 12.

Royal Academy of Arts Piccadilly W1. ☎ 020 7300 8000 Summer Exhibition; until August 20. Second Nature: the Art of Charles Tunnicliffe RA; until October 8.

Tate Modern Bankside SE1. ☎ 020 7887 8888 Alberto Giacometti; until September 10. Fahrelnissa Zeid; abstracts with Islamic, Byzantine, Arab and Persian influences fused with European approaches, until October 15.

Tate Britain Millbank SW1. ☎ 020 7887 8888 Queer British Art; until October 1.

REGIONS

Portrait Prize 2017; July 27 to August 19.

BRISTOL Bristol Museum & Art Gallery Queen’s Road. ☎ 0117 9223571 Alternative visions: Undiscovered Art in the South West; works by artists facing a barrier to the art world for reasons of health, disability, social circumstance or isolation, until September 10.

Royal West of England Academy Queen’s Road, Clifton. ☎ 0117 9735129 Air: Visualising the Invisible in British Art 1768–2017; until September 3.

BUXTON Museum & Art Gallery Terrace Road. ☎ 01629 533540 Derbyshire Open Art Competition 2017; until September 1.

CHICHESTER Pallant House Gallery

FROME

Walker Art Gallery

2 Bridge Street. ☎ 01373 473980 Sketch: artists’sketchbooks, open competition July 22 to September 3.

William Brown Street. ☎ 0151 478 4199 Alphonse Mucha: In Quest of Beauty; drawings, paintings, photographs and poster designs; touring exhibition, until October 29.

GUILDFORD

MANCHESTER

Watts Gallery

Imperial War Museum North

Black Swan Arts

Down Lane, Compton. ☎ 01483 810235 GF Watts: England’s Michelangelo; brings together the artist’s most significant paintings from private and public collections, until November 26.

HASTINGS Jerwood Gallery Rock-a-Nore Road. ☎ 01424 728377 Jean Cooke: Delight in the thing Seen; until September 10.

KENDAL Abbot Hall Art Gallery

DITCHLING

KINGSBRIDGE

Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft

NWAG Gallery Banham Zoo, Kenning Hall Road ☎ 01953 887771 Natural World Art Group; exhibition of wildlife art, July 15 to September 17.

Lodge Hill Lane. ☎ 01273 844744. Eric Gill: The Body; with 80 works including a sculpture and drawings not previously exhibited in public, until September 3.

BATH

EASTBOURNE

Victoria Art Gallery

Towner Art Gallery

Bridge Street. ☎ 01225 477244 John Eaves: Echoes of Place; vibrant compositions in oil, watercolour and collage, July 22 to October 8.

College Road. ☎ 01323 434670. Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship, English Art Designers 1922–1942; until September 17. Sussex Open 2017; July 22 to October 1.

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists

FALMOUTH

4 Brook Street, St Paul’s Square. ☎ 0121 236 4353 Friends 2017; until July 22

Falmouth Art Gallery

artist August 2017

eyes of painter Otto Dix and photographer August Sander, until October 15.

9 North Pallant. ☎ 01243 774557. John Minton: A Centenary; until October 1.

BANHAM

BIRMINGHAM

Liberation of Colour; touring exhibition, until September 16.

Municipal Buildings, The Moor. ☎ 01326 313863 Winifred Nicholson:

☎

01539 722464 Painting Pop; July 14 to October 7.

Harbour House Gallery The Promenade. ☎ 01548 854708 Media Mix; paintings, textiles and handmade books, July 18 to 30.

LEICESTER Attenborough Arts Centre University of Leicester, Lancaster Place. ☎ 0116 252 2455 Alan Caine: Retrospective; A Brush with Colour; until August 20.

LIVERPOOL Tate Liverpool Albert Dock. ☎ 0151 702 7400 Portraying a Nation: Germany 1919–1933; Germany between the two world wars seen through the

The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road ☎ 0161 836 4000 Wyndham Lewis: Life, Art, War; until January 1, 2018.

MORETON-INMARSH John Davies Gallery The Old Dairy Plant, Stratford Road. ☎ 01608 652255 A Selling Retrospective, Part 1; the work of the late David Prentice, until August 26.

NOTTINGHAM Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery Lenton Road. ☎ 0115 8761400 Reportrait; until September 10.

OXFORD Ashmolean Museum Beaumont Street. ☎ 01865 278002 Raphael: The Drawings; until September 3.

PENZANCE Penlee House Gallery and Museum Morab Road. ☎ 01736 363625 Stanhope Forbes: Father of the Newlyn School; until September 9.

SHEFFIELD Millenium Gallery Surrey Street. ☎ 0114 278 2600 Master of all Trades: The John Ruskin Prize 2017; until October 8.


Penlee House Gallery & Museum � Stanhope Forbes Abbey Slip, 1921, oil on canvas, 30401 ⁄ 4in (76102cm)

SOUTHAMPTON City Art Gallery Civic Centre Road. ☎ 023 8083 2277 Capture the Castle; until September 2.

STOW ON THE WOLD Fosse Gallery The Manor House, The Square. ☎ 01451 831319 Summer Exhibition of Gallery Artists; until August 27.

STRATFORD ON AVON Compton Verney Wellesbourne. ☎ 01926 645500 Seurat to Riley: The Art of Perception; until October 1.

WAKEFIELD The Hepworth Wakefield Gallery Walk. ☎

01924 247360

Howard Hodgkin: Painting India; until October 8

WORKSOP Harley Gallery A60 Mansfield Road, Welbeck. ☎

01909 501700

The Harley Open; biennial art competition, until August 8.

YORK York Art Gallery Exhibition Square. ☎ 01904 687687 Albert Moore: Of Beauty and Aesthetics; until October 1.

SCOTLAND EDINBURGH Scottish National Gallery The Mound. ☎ 0131 624 6200 Beyond Caravaggio; Caravaggio and his followers, until September 24.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 75 Belford Road. ☎ 0131 624 6200 Now: Nathan Coley, Mona Hatoum, Louise Hopkins, Pete Horobin, Tessa Lynch, Jock McFadyen, Rivane Neuenschwander, Tony Swain; until September 24.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1 Queen Street. ☎ 0131 624 6200 True to Life: British Realist Painting in the 1920s and 30s; until October 29.

WALES CARDIFF Albany Art Gallery 74b Albany Road, Summer Exhibition; until September 9.

CONWY Royal Cambrian Academy Crown Lane. ☎ 01492 593413 Academicians Annual Summer Exhibition; July 29 to September 9.

MACHYNLLETH MOMA Wales Heol Penrallt. ☎ 01654 703355 A selection of works from the Tabernacle Collection; until August 31.


ART SOCIETIES

Otter Vale Art Society Annual exhibition at The Institute, Ottery St Mary, from Augst 4 to 12. www.ottervaleartsociety.com

Blandford Art Society

Dartmourth Art Society

Open exhibition at the Corn Exchange, from August 14 to 19. www.blandfordartsociety. weebly.com

Summer exhibition at Dartmouth Masonic Hall, from August 6 to 18. http://dartartsociety.wixsite.co m/townstal

Berwick Art Group

Derriford Art Club

Summer exhibition in the Watchtower Gallery, Tweedmouth, from July 25 to August 5.

Bridgnorth & District Art Society Exhibition at St Leonard’s Church from August 21 to September 3. Tel: 07900 585516

Brixham Art Society Annual exhibition at Scala Hall, from August 19 to 25.

Canford Heath Art Society Summer exhibition at the Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country Park, Poole, from August 3 to 14. www.thegall eryupstairs.org.uk

Chagford Art Group Summer exhibition at the Jubilee Hall, from August 9 to 12.

Chandler’s Ford Art Group Summer exhibition at King’s Court Masonic Centre, from August 21 to 28. www.chan dlersfordartgroup.com

Exhibition at Clearbrook Village Hall, near Plymouth, from August 11 to 14.

Epsom & Ewell Art Group Late summer exhibition at Denbies Wine Estate, Dorking, from August 14 to 27.

Friendly Society of Artists Annual exhibition at Peveril Centre, Castleton, on August 12 and 13. www.friendlyartists.co.uk

Herefordshire Painting Club Exhibition at the Weaver’s Gallery, Ledbury, from August 22 to September 2. www.herefordshire-paintingclub.com

Horncastle Art Group

Pateley Bridge Art Club Summer exhibition at St Cuthbert’s School, from August 18 to 21.

Ringwood Art Society Summer exhibition at Greyfriars, 44 Christchurch Road, from August 10 to 28. www.ringwoodartsociety.org

Romney Marsh Art Society Exhibition at the Marsh Academy, New Romney, from July 29 to August 11. Tel: 07545 352135

Stirling Art Club Exhibition at Holy Trinity Church, from August 5 to 12. Tel: 01786 822775

Stratford upon Avon Art Society Annual exhibition at King Edward VI School, from August 12 to 28. www.stratfor duponavonartsociety.co.uk

Totton Art Society

Exhibition at Stanhope Hall, from August 18 to 20. Tel: 01507 610604.

Summer exhibition at the Totton & Eling Community Centre, from August 19 to 26. www.tottonartsociety.org.uk

Lymington Arts Group

Tuesday Painters Club of Rye

Art on the Green, Milford-onSea, on August 19 and 20.

Exhibition at St Mary’s Centre, Rye, from August 18 to 28.

To submit details of an exhibition for possible listing here, email Deborah Wanstall at [email protected] or telephone 01580 763673

artist

August 2017

67

ARTNET

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Make your summer unforgeable! Painng Holiday in the beauful UNESCO heritage site of the Loire Valley. Enjoy living and painng in the stunning Château de la Chesnaye this summer! Instrucon from our resident tutor Loreto Kavanagh Reilly. • Private and generous rooms • Wholesome French cuisine • Fabulous wines of the region • Complimentary relaxaon with our resident yoga instructor • Exceponal value

August 2017 December 2013

Pegasus Art At Pegasus Art the staff are friendly, knowledgeable and approachable, and each is also an artist. They are ready to help with your questions, whether you are in the shop or making a mail-order purchase from the impressive range of paints, paper, canvases, mediums, brushes, easels or printmaking supplies. In addition, Pegasus offer regular workshops and art classes that cover a variety of media and techniques. These are taught by their regular art tutors and visiting artists, including The Artist contributor Max Hale, and take place in their own studios. All attendees receive a five per cent discount in the shop, too. For more information about available products and details of art classes and workshops, see the website, pop in or give them a call.

Dates with availability: • 23rd – 30th June (Limited Spaces) • 30th – 7th July (Limited Spaces) • 18th – 25th August • 1st – 8th September

learn more @ www.chesnaye.com / www.loretoreilly.com To reserve your place please email – [email protected] 68 64

artnet FOCUS

Pegasus Art Griffin Mill Trading Estate, London Road, Thrupp, Stroud, Glos GL5 2AZ Telephone 01453 886560 www.pegasusart.co.uk


A D E B A N J I ’ S M O T I V AT I O N A L T I P S : 9 T H O F 1 3

Dream big Whatever stage you are on your journey of being the creative person you really want to be, there is always room for improvement, says Adebanji Alade hether you are a total beginner, a student, a hobbyist, an amateur, emerging artist or even a professional, there is always something more you can do to move up from wherever you are. As human beings we are always naturally striving for something better, I rarely meet anyone who wants to remain on the same level at whatever they were doing. If you don’t feel that way, I can guarantee that somewhere in the past your aspiration and desire to succeed must have taken a great knock! Somewhere along the line you experienced a setback in the form of rejection, disappointment, unforeseen circumstances, pain and hurt. You no longer want to believe in yourself, you shy away from taking risks that would move you up. You live in your comfort zone, never venturing beyond what you settled for. Now, that is not a good way to live your life. If you are reading this and somehow you realise that you have taken a hit in the past, whether consciously or unconsciously, this is the time to press the reset button and give yourself the permission to dream again – and please dream big! Make it as bright and brilliant and hopeful as you want but please get to a place in your life where you dream big. This is what makes life exciting and it keeps us inspired and motivated to achieve great things. It all starts by dreaming, by believing, by visualising yourself where you really want to be.

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would it be like to be the artist you really want to be – give yourself five minutes every day to concentrate on this thought. l Focus on what you want to achieve. Sometimes we have too much going on. That’s no good. There is a power in focusing on one thing at a time. It helps us to channel all our energies into one thing and, if we don’t give up, there’s every chance that we will achieve what we focus on. l Overcome every obstacle. Overcome every failure. If you are afraid of failure and making mistakes you are not ready for a great artistic career. As someone said: ‘You will fail your way to success’. l Make some drastic changes in your life. Be ready to travel the roads that lead to your dream. Be ready to invest in becoming a great painter: this could mean going back to school or college;

Adebanji Alade

How to dream big Make an artistic bucket list of all the things you’d love to achieve before you leave planet earth. l Always ask yourself this question: ‘If I knew there would be no failure or rejection, would I not try this out?’. l See yourself achieving everything on your list. Really try to imagine what it l

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making time to attend artist workshops and taking regular classes with artists you admire; making more time for your practice; or it might be learning more about the business side of being an artist. There is always a starting point. Just take the leap and begin! A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step! Dreaming is great! In the football world, Leicester City dared to dream and they won the Premiership title in English football, against all odds. In the political world, Martin Luther King Junior dreamt of equality in America and it’s happening today, long after his departure. In the world of technology Bill Gates dreamt of every house having a desktop computer in an age when computers were almost too big to fit into a room, but it’s the reality today. The truth is, in your artistic world, if people aren’t making fun of your dreams, then your dreams aren’t big enough! I used to tell my wife that I was going to act in a Hollywood Block Buster as a sketcher and she always laughed at me because I haven’t got acting experience or even been on TV. But in the last year she has started to believe me as I have made my way into television as an artistic presenter on BBC1’s The One Show. All I can say to you is dream big – you can’t lose TA anything, so go for it!

Adebanji Alade with his winning painting, Rush Hour III , at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Annual Exhibition, 2007. This was a dream come true for Adebanji, and was what inspired him to dream big about becoming a member of the ROI – his dream was realised when he was elected a full member in 2015

studied fine art in Nigeria and has a diploma in portraiture from Heatherley’s School of Fine Art, where he teaches in the Open Studio. He has exhibited widely and won many awards. Adebanji is a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and a council member of the Chelsea Art Society; he tutors workshops and gives demonstrations for art societies and also offers private coaching. For more details see www.adebanjialade.co.uk; www.adebanjialade.blogspot.com; www.sketchinspiration.com


The Artist August 2017

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