Innehållsförteckning för December 2024 från Artists & Illustrators

…has now ended and our final 50 shortlisted paintings will be revealed on the Artists & Illustrators website on 1st November. The fabulous winners will be showcased in the next issue of the magazine but, for now, we’d like to get you involved. This is your chance to vote for your favourite painting from the 50 artworks shortlisted for this year’s competition. To view every artwork up close and cast your vote, simply follow awards.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/2024-shortlist. When the deadline closes on 22nd November, the recipient of the most public votes will be named The People’s Choice Award winner. Their prize will be a £1000 Caran d’Ache voucher plus a feature in the February 2025 issue of the magazine. The winning painting will also be displayed at the exhibition at gallery@oxo from…

SCENT AND THE ART OF THEPRE-RAPHAELITES Until 26 January 2025 A new exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts promises to be a delight for the senses – both visual and olfactory. The link between scent and memory – and that certain smells can instantly evoke strong emotions and recollections – has long been recognised. For the Victorians, sensory details in paintings were thought to be able to trigger a variety of visceral responses: a still life of flowers might prompt the viewer to believe they could smell the blooms. Scent and the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites explores how artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries conveyed scent in art. The exhibition aims to evoke the smells of objects and scenes depicted in some of the most…

Strengthening your art practice is all about exploring new avenues and making thoughtful decisions. Balancing creativity with practicality can open up exciting possibilities. From selling your work to experimenting with fresh materials, there are various ways to improve your art and connect with a wider audience. 1 SELL YOUR ARTWORK Deciding when a piece is ready to sell requires balancing emotional attachment with practicality. Begin by assessing technical quality – eliminate works with obvious flaws. If you’re unsure, set it aside and revisit it with fresh eyes. When it comes to pricing, separate emotion from the equation; focus on material costs, time and market comparisons. Consistent, logical pricing builds trust and reflects the value of your work, helping to establish your reputation. 2 INVEST IN A QUALITY PRINTER A versatile…

SARAH FOAT’S PAINTINGS are all about layers: of paint, colour and meaning. Her work, heavily inspired by graffiti, is an exploration of adding and removing paint; creating textures that reveal glimpses of what lies beneath. After graduating from Bath Spa University with a Fine Art degree in 1998, Sarah swapped the studio for the spotlight, running her own gallery for a full decade. After a break to focus on motherhood, she’s back at the easel, diving headfirst into her passion for abstract art. Sarah shares how she builds her abstract worlds through experimentation, mark-making and a bit of chaos. Her goal? To create works that intrigue, energise and offer a moment of thought-provoking escape for the viewer. With vivid colours and rich textures, her art invites you to look closer;…

1 Create a signature. Have two or three of your own go-to oil colours that are more unusual and set you apart. I like Michael Harding’s Caribbean Turquoise, Genuine Naples Yellow and Pebeo Bright Blue 33, which I use in most of my paintings. 2 Colour combinations. If you’re using green directly from a tube, always add earth-pigmented oils to make more realistic natural colours. Indian Yellow packs a beautiful punch with white for the centre of street lights and on its own as a transparent halo. 3 It’s all about the connections you make with people. Infuse your love of the subject into others. Art can be a solitary practice, but I make sure I regularly meet up with other artists. It’s really fantastic to see what other people…

EXPRESSION We don’t have space to tackle the myriad shapes that the mouth can make when speaking and emoting but if you are making studies of expressions, the most helpful lines to look for will be the centre-line of the lips, which becomes a dark shape when open, and the nasolabial creases either side. AGE Age sets the expressions of our lifetime on our features in the form of wrinkles. The lines often form perpendicular to the actions of the muscles beneath the skin, so that lines might radiate out from the muscle ring that surrounds the lips. The creases of the muzzle of the face deepen and join, creating more prominent shapes in the spaces between lips, nose and chin. TEETH Teeth are a challenge to draw and a…

"I have used Nitram Charcoal for over 20 years, and I can’t imagine switching to anything else. I’ve always found its dexterity appealing, allowing me to achieve both precision and boldness within the scope of a single drawing. The charcoal can facilitate any texture or subtlety I desire. For portraiture, Nitram feels like a trusted partner in my creative journey. Portraits are wonderful visual interactions between the artist and the sitter. There is a great deal the portraitist is trying to interpret and understand whilst translating onto the paper. I love this dynamic of organically filtering and interpreting a person onto the page or canvas. It is ceaselessly interesting.” To watch a video showing the various stages of Frances Bell working on a portrait with Nitram, please visit: https://nitramcharcoal.com/Frances-Bell or…

HANNAH BRUCE Hannah has been a practising full-time artist for a decade and prior to that, was an art teacher for 12 years. Art is her passion and she is committed to it in a whole host of mediums and themes. Her most recognised works are oil paintings, primarily landscapes and cityscapes. ESTELLE LOVATT Estelle trained as a fine artist before going to the other side of the canvas as an art history lecturer and art critic for TV, radio and print. She has worked on projects including Henry Moore at Work, the Reduced Shakespeare Company, Affordable Art Fair and Walk Constable’s Hampstead. BELINDA REYNELL Our cover artist is an acclaimed contemporary landscape artist who lives and works in Devon. She immerses herself in her environment where she finds freedom…

In the heart of Yorkshire, Glen Williams’ work connects with the everyday experiences of the working class. His artistic journey began in the 1970s, shaped by the industrial landscape and the lives of those around him. Glen’s story speaks to art lovers, especially those who have walked similar paths, as he brings a deep understanding of community and resilience to his work. Reflecting on his early days, Glen admits, “I can’t ever remember specifically wanting to be an artist, but I always loved to paint and draw.” Growing up in a working-class family, school was a refuge for him, as art was the only subject that truly excited him. He remembers searching for “any scrap of paper or card” to express his creativity, often using the backs of envelopes and…

Like the eyes, the mouth is an expressive feature of the face, part of the mechanism of communication that helps us to connect with other people. During a live pose, the shape of the nose and ears are only affected if the model moves their head, while the more expressive eyes and mouth are liable to shift and change throughout a sitting. While working from a photograph might seem like a solution to the problem of changing features, the camera will often capture fleeting expressions that couldn’t be sustained over a longer sitting, leading to drawings that can feel disingenuous. While drawing from a model posing in real time, you will gain a better understanding of the three-dimensional form of their head, the shape of their lips from all angles,…

Things we love… Grayson Perry’s upcoming exhibition at Lakeside Arts Gallery showcases his celebrated printmaking skills, alongside the work of Paula Rego. Running this autumn, the exhibition highlights Perry’s ability to tell compelling stories through traditional drawing techniques, often inspired by personal experiences. His works offer thoughtful social and political commentary, reflecting his unique, contemporary perspective. Known for his ceramic art and tapestries, Perry’s prints capture the same depth of emotion and insight, making this exhibition a must-see for art lovers. Grayson Perry: Man Hours on until 5 January 2025 at the University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD. lakesidearts.org.uk Don’t miss… Oliver Akers Douglas’ forthcoming London exhibition, Lights Up. It will include some 40 new paintings that are dynamic interpretations of the British landscape, with works from Wiltshire and the west…

THAT RUTH FITTON STUDIED FOR A BA IN MUSIC, and not painting, isn’t actually as much of a curveball as it might at first seem. “I credit a lot of my success as a painter to my background in music,” she explains thoughtfully. “Not so much because of the creative similarities, but because of parallels in discipline and self-motivation. I first picked up a violin aged five and it took me years of daily practice to reach a standard worth listening to. So, when I began studying portraiture, I accepted that my early attempts would be a bit hideous; I understood that it would take years of consistent practice to achieve a high level. I was able to embrace this process, rather than becoming frustrated, because I’d experienced it all…

“TIRZAH GARWOOD LOOKED AT THE ORDINARY WORLD – with its spring tulips and snowmen in winter, its toy trains and kittens, its village shops and favourite houses – but with a “Tirzah visionary eye. Hers is a world seen in a dream, recognisable and comprehensible, but strange. Curating this exhibition has been like opening a box of treasures,” says guest curator James Russell, keenly anticipating Dulwich Picture Gallery’s new retrospective of her career. Offering over 80 artworks, this exhibition is the first to celebrate Garwood’s independent artistic legacy. It’s refreshing to witness, as her work is frequently allied to that of her husband, war artist Eric Ravilious. From wood engravings to marbled papers, collages and oil paintings, Garwood’s engaging art encompasses many diverse strands, all unified by her enthusiasm for…

FRONT VIEW When the head is turned towards you, the lips appear roughly symmetrical and you can use the position of the philtrum and the corners of the lips to establish the position of the lips. Place the points first, then join the dots to establish the lip shape. A PROFILE In profile, we only see half of the shape of the lips. The diagonal between the corner of the lip and the ‘V’ created between the sofa cushions of the top and bottom lips becomes much more important. The profile of the top lip cuts back at a diagonal and the bottom lip often has a softer curve to it – sometimes the top lip will stick out the furthest, and sometimes the bottom lip will. TILTS If we…

SOMETIMES, A PAINTING PRESENTS ITSELF to you and, at first, it seems like too much of a challenge. When this happens, it always remains in the back of your mind and you can sometimes feel like a failure, unless you pick it up again and finish it. That’s where I was with this painting. I loved my source reference of a calm early evening moment in Bruges with a moored boat and gentle reflections but it felt too complicated. But then, after two more paintings and some good practise, I picked it up again and finished it. Sometimes it’s good to take a break and start again. matthewjeanes.co.uk MATT’S MATERIALS Paints Winsor and Newton Pans: Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Naples Yellow, Naples Yellow Deep, Viridian, Hookers…