Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 från Artists & Illustrators

…the purpose of art was ‘to fill a man’s soul with admiration and sheer joy.’ I’m sure many can agree with such a sentiment and hope that you find the wonderful array of work in this magazine uplifting and inspiring. On the practical side, Ann Swan opens the step-by-step section by giving insight into how she captured a group of nectarines in coloured pencil. Jake Spicer is back with the second instalment of his series on painting portraits and this month created the cover’s arresting image of an eye. Meanwhile, Sema Martin draws a hedgehog in just 90 minutes, Brett Hudson paints Brighton Pier and Liz Chaderton a panda, both in watercolour. For something a little different, Lucy Marks shows you how to paint en plein air…at night. If it’s…

8 SEPTEMBER Organised by Fringe Arts Bath, the Bath Open Art Fair welcomes all artists at any stage of their career. It’s £22 for one artwork; £33 for three. fringeartsbath.co.uk/bathopen 30 SEPTEMBER This is the World Cup for Art for People with Disabilities, where people with disabilities from all over the world can showcase their artistic talents. Free to enter. paralymart-wc.com 1 OCTOBER The BADA Art Award is returning for a fourth year, promoting the ‘Antiques of Tomorrow’ by awarding a £1000 grant to emerging artists. Free to enter. Bada.org 16 OCTOBER This residency provides an opportunity for an artist to join the Rhodes Trust for one year. Free to enter. artopps.co.uk/opportunities/rhodesartresidency2024…

“I TRY TO MAKE IMAGES that have the immediate presence we take for granted in objects – a chair, a shoe, a book – and compose them like sentences,” says Michael Craig-Martin of his working philosophy. The 60-year career of the acclaimed contemporary conceptual artist and painter is now the subject of a major retrospective at London’s Royal Academy, the largest of its kind yet seen in the UK. Curator Axel Rüger, who’s also the Royal Academy’s Chief Executive, says of the exhibition’s origins “Michael Craig-Martin is one of the most prominent and influential artists in Great Britain and one of the most respected members of the Royal Academy. We felt that his career and impressive multi-faceted oeuvre deserved an exhibition in the Main Galleries of the Academy. It will…

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PAINT AND CREATE 1 Botanical art is becoming ever more popular as an art form, so I’m always looking for a different take on the everyday. The vibrant colours and cheeky rounded forms of these nectarines caught my eye. I chose to draw them larger than life-size, piled together and filling the entire page. 2 Creating an eye-catching composition is really important if you want your work to have wall appeal and stand out from the crowd. Spend time working out what you want to say about your plant material and don’t be afraid to rearrange and edit, remembering to stay within the scientific truth of the plant. 3 I used an underpainting of bright yellow, neon yellow and orange which I melted with a small…

WITH NITRAM CHARCOAL “I like to think of my work in terms of universality under the question: What is it that unites all of us beyond social fictions (culture, possessions, mandates, etc.)? In my work, I seek to represent natural cycles, vulnerability and intimacy—the universality that I can find in human emotions. I believe that in this way, I can convey both sensitivity and also find the empathy and tenderness that are so necessary. Nitram Charcoal is undoubtedly of superior quality and elegance. The versatility of the different grades of Académie Fusains allow for an infinite number of variations in drawing, a feature I find particularly important and vital. Drawings with varying line intensities, as well as diverse textures and values, result in much richer and more captivating works. Nitram…

LIZ CHADERTON Liz is a full-time artist who is passionate about watercolour and enjoys sharing her discoveries through workshops and writing. Her books are published by The Crowood Press. Details of her workshops can be found at lizchaderton.co.uk and she shares weekly tips on YouTube: @lizchadertonart. SEMA MARTIN Sema, a former NASA engineer, is an awardwinning pet portrait artist specialising in coloured pencils. She hosts The Animal Art Podcast and is co-founder of LearnMyCraft.com. Sema has authored books such as Art is My Career: How to Start an Art Business and How Do Artists Make Money? REBECCA BRADBURY A former assistant editor for Artists & Illustrators, Rebecca now works as a web editor and freelance writer. Art remains one of her favourite things to write about, as she loves delving…

REX WHISTLER: THE ARTIST AND HIS PATRONS Until 29 September 2024 Rex Whistler (1905-1944) was one of the most prolific, diverse and popular artists of the interwar years in England. Known for his wit and humour, he was equally talented in a wide variety of artistic pursuits. This exhibition will focus on the relationship with his patrons and explore his working practices. It will contain many previously unseen initial sketches from the museum’s Rex archive whilst there will also be loans from the National Trust, National Army Museum, West Dean College and private collections. The Salisbury Museum, SP1 2EN. salisburymuseum.org.uk SILK ROADS 26 September 2024 to 23 February 2025 A new exhibition at the British Museum will challenge the concept of the Silk Road as a simple history of trade…

ARE YOU INTRIGUED by the growing selection of synthetic equivalents and alternatives to traditional animal hair paint brushes? Let us introduce you to da Vinci’s sleek and elegant Colineo brush range. Giving you total control of how you place and push paint around your canvas, a brush from da Vinci’s Colineo line behaves exactly how you want it to. Designed as a synthetic replacement for a sable brush, when the range was launched two years ago with short handles, artists were immediately impressed with its performance and ability to hold the perfect tension in the body of the brush, made possible through the complex and sophisticated mix of synthetic hairs. Da Vinci have now developed this exceptional fibre composition with light, long ergonomically shaped handles, making it the perfect tool…

A STILL IMAGE FREEZES THE GAZE of its subject so that, if it is well drawn, their eyes might follow us around the room, or enigmatically look off to the side at a tantalisingly absent view. In a painting, a print or a drawing, engaging eyes might be conjured from a 10-second dash of an eyelash and simple blot of a pupil, so long as they are set in the context of the head. In order to suggest the eyes with such economical marks, it can be useful to get to know their shapes through longer, isolated studies. In this six-part series we’ll be looking at the individual features of the face, taking time to explore the characteristic elements that make up a portrait. In this second instalment, we’ll be…

Things we love… The Affordable Art Fair returns for its Autumn edition at Battersea Park marking its 25th Anniversary with special installations, commissions, events, late nights, family hour and more, meaning there’s something for every art lover to enjoy. The fair has democratised the international art market with its fun and welcoming approach, with each event celebrating the best in contemporary art under £7,500 and showcasing thousands of contemporary artworks by renowned artists alongside rising stars. From 16-20 October 2024. affordableartfair.com Don’t miss… The third Bayfield Hall Sculpture Trail this autumn features 40 artists, sculptors and makers in the grounds of Bayfield Hall near Holt. The trail, curated by Sarah Cannell with kind permission to use the private gardens and ancient chapel by Caroline and Roger Combe, is an uplifting…

I’ve always been drawn to the sea, initially on holidays, but then we moved to the Channel Isles when I was 12, so it’s been a fixture since then. I love the restlessness of it, the state of constant change, within the parameters of the geology, tides and seasons. It’s always the same, yet never the same. There are similarities with making paintings, where everything is in a state of flux and full of possibility, but still governed by the materials. The word ‘style,’ applied in a fine art context, always troubles me. The way we work may develop over time, but the look of it is like handwriting, a deeply personal product of the way our hands move, and our mind’s function. ‘Style’ suggests one might wear a different…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY SUPPORTED BY WE’RE EXCITED TO BE BACK with our annual British Art Prize, brought to you by Artists & Illustrators and supported by Raw Umber and Caran d’Ache. This renowned international art competition will expose winning artists of all levels to a far-reaching platform to gain valuable publicity and recognition for their work. Open to everyone – whether you’re an amateur, hobbyist, emerging or professional artist – all styles, media* and techniques will be considered. The British Art Prize offers an unique level of national exposure and the chance for artists to sell their artwork to a combined audience of almost a million art lovers and collectors. There is also a generous prize fund worth more than £10,000, which includes great cash prizes and art gift…

THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS that appeal to me about this scene. I love the light casting long detailed shadows across the pier planks and the strong contrast between the dark tones of the legs in the sea and the colour of the water. I enjoyed the challenge of painting the sky with its many clouds and large space of blue. For me it’s the detail of a subject. I like to make every section interesting whilst the people relaxing in the deckchairs on a sunny day gives a human touch. Instagram: @bretthudsonart 1 THE START To begin, I decide what size I would like to scale up the image to. I prefer to work quite large for my detailed watercolour paintings. I use an app called GRID# on my iPad…

MESSAGE OF THE MONTH Christine Ingram I am lucky enough to start my days off with an early morning dog walk down at the beach looking across to the Needles off the Isle of Wight. The light and weather are different every single day, but my favourite time as an artist is the light of a winter sunrise across the water; it’s breathtaking and stops me in my tracks every single time. Maria Griffin I wanted to praise two wonderful charities in Gloucestershire who have changed my life and let all your readers know that hopefully there are similar charities in their local area. I have always wanted to try lots of creative arts but did not believe that I could be good enough to call myself an artist. So,…

I was commissioned to do a portrait of this lurcher by a client. I arrived at 6am to try and beat the heat that was forecast that day in July, to sketch and photograph the dog. It was beautiful; the English countryside was really singing. On arrival, I was so inspired by Thistle the dog, the light and the setting that I ended up doing five paintings of him in various places around the house. The house was brimming with character, reminiscent of a Vuillard painting. I adore his work and thought about him a lot during the production of these paintings. I was looking to include as much pattern and light in the piece as I could. I also enjoyed painting the portrait within the portrait. I have painted…