Innehållsförteckning för April 2025 från Artists & Illustrators

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS Phone: +44 (0)1858 438789 Email: artists@subscription.co.uk Online: subscription.co.uk/chelsea/solo Post: Artists & Illustrators, Subscriptions Department, Chelsea Magazines, Tower House, Sovereign Park, Lathkill Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF Renew: subscription.co.uk/chelsea/solo Annual subscription rates UK: £77.87, US: $105, RoW: £144 BECOME A MEMBER TODAY! Our fabulous website for showcasing and selling your art GO TO BRITISHARTCLUB.CO.UK…

Editor’s pick… David Hockney, one of the world’s most celebrated artists, presents Pieced Together, a captivating exploration of his innovative use of film and photography. Discover Hockney’s groundbreaking visual collages that redefine time, scale and perspective. On until 18 May 2025 at the newly reopened National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, following a £6 million transformation. scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk Don’t miss… the Affordable Art Fair, which is set to return to Battersea Park from 12th to 16th March 2025, bringing together over 100 leading galleries from the UK and beyond. Featuring thousands of contemporary artworks priced under £10,000, the fair caters to both seasoned collectors and first-time buyers, with curated displays such as ‘Finds Under £500’ and ‘Pantone Colour of the Year.’ Highlights include a large-scale installation by Margaux Carpentier, Art After…

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR 28 March to 26 October 2025 Sir Grayson Perry celebrates his 65th birthday with Delusions of Grandeur, an ambitious exhibition inspired by the treasures of the Wallace Collection. Through the fictional persona Shirley Smith, a woman who imagines herself the rightful heir to the museum, Perry combines new works with selected masterpieces to create an imagined ancestral home. Themes of identity, trauma and the transformative power of art are woven throughout this bold and thought-provoking showcase. The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN. wallacecollection.org GLAZED AND FUSED 15 February to 26 March 2025 This exhibition presents a vibrant new body of work in vitreous enamel by renowned artist Dale Devereux Barker. With over 40 years of experience, Barker’s practice celebrates the challenging medium of…

AFTER COMPLETING HER DEGREE in Fine Art at the University of Ulster, followed by an MA in Fine Art at the Norwich School of Art and Design, Ange Bell relocated to Brighton. A hefty career development loan to study her MA meant she had to work a variety of different jobs, but predominantly as a youth worker. For a long time, her creativity took a back seat. Years later, when her son started school, she began working part-time and so created a studio in a shed at the bottom of the garden. She wanted to approach her practice, not as a return to what she’d been doing before, but as a new phase. Initially, she began looking at the work of other artists and watching YouTube videos on palettes and…

SUPPORTED BY IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING that The British Art Prize – a major art competition with an international reach which offers artists the opportunity to gain valuable exposure, kudos and recognition for their artwork – is something we all at Artists & Illustrators get super excited about each year. In association with Raw Umber and Caran d’Ache, it attracted entries by the thousands; quality paintings and drawings poured in from the UK and beyond. An esteemed judging panel made up of Adebanji Alade, the Vice President of The Royal Institute of Oil Painters and Artist in Residence of The BBC’s The One Show, Alvaro Castagnet, the world-renowned watercolour master, Dr Amy Orrock, national curator for the National Trust, lecturer at The Arts Society and art historian, and Alastair Sooke,…

AS THE DAYS GET LONGER and our hearts lift with the promise of Spring, let’s celebrate with this happy and colourful image, which is full of vitality! I love painting dancers as they allow me looseness and spontaneity, liberating me from the confines of precision and allowing me to use expressive marks that show movement and animation. Having said that, the initial drawing needs to be fairly solid so that you can let loose with the brush strokes but have the security of an accurate base. The trick is to work on the figures and background simultaneously, keeping the paint wet so that the edges can be rendered soft and fluid with a real sense of movement. If you want to work more loosely you need to be able to…

…all types of mediums, which is why we always make sure to include as many of them in every issue. This month is exciting as world-renowned watercolour master Alvaro Castagnet – and one of the judges of The British Art Prize 2024 – kicks off his four-part series on the four rules of working with the subject. Then, we have a vibrant marinescape in acrylic by Susan Clare, along with a winter sun portrait in pastels by Trevor Osborne. For oil enthusiasts, we’ve got you covered with interviews with some thrilling artists talking at length about their practice. J Louis is a master of stylish figurative art while Ange Bell is a wholly unique portrait painter with amazing mark-making. Then, Rabia Farooqui’s style is distinct and individual – and thoroughly…

12 MARCH Enter Lab Milan ‘25 for a chance to be part of this international contemporary art prize with an exhibition in Milan. €50 for one artwork. lab.malamegi.com 12 MARCH Submit your artworks for a chance to win the £2,000 first prize and a solo show in London. £20 to enter. Open to both UK and international artists. visualartopen.com 27 MARCH Enter The Wildlife Artist of the Year to support wildlife conservation and a chance to win big. The prize fund totals £13,000 and it costs £25 to enter. davidshepherd.org 30 MARCH You could have your work exhibited in Cambridge by entering the De Reus Foundation Art Prize. First prize is £1,000 while second is £500. Free to enter. dereusfoundation.org.uk…

I am a self-taught artist and was lucky enough to have an upbringing that allowed me to explore. My mother allowed me to be creative – she was a poet and an artist in her own right. I decided to become a full-time artist early on in my life, but it wasn’t easy. I went from art gallery to art gallery; tried again and again, until one day I got tired of it and decided to just quit. I wanted to get rid of every painting I had created, so I sold it all on Craigslist. That was the first time I realised people loved my work. After that, someone suggested eBay, and it took off for me ever since. I feel like I stumbled on this ‘style.’ At least…

IN THE CLOSING MONTHS OF 1944, with World War II still six or so months from ending, London was cold, dark and in many areas, blackened from air strikes. But there was some colour: The Royal Academy of Arts hosted an exhibition of Modern Brazilian Paintings – a showcase of hundreds of vivid paintings, photographs and drawings. This is, to date, the largest exhibition of Brazilian Modernist paintings ever to have been staged in the UK. Now, 70 years later, the Royal Academy is re-establishing its South American connection with Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism which will revisit the 1944 exhibition, giving European audiences a chance to dig into a pocket of art history which has been somewhat overlooked here. In fact, the majority of the works come from…

Here, a member of The British Art Club shares with you their secrets to success. This month, it’s the turn of oil artist and author JILL ANN HARPER 1 Show your work It’s important to put your work out there so that it can be found by art collectors and followers. For maximum success you need to exhibit in person, sell online and promote your work on social media. Having your own website, meanwhile, shows you are a professional who means business. 2 Keep your accounts up to date Unless you are going to employ an accountant, it’s a good idea to keep on top of your income and expenditure as it happens. Log everything and save receipts at least once a week. Then, when the time comes to file your tax…

THIS IMAGE COMES FROM A VERY SPECIAL TIME of my life living on the Isle of Wight and watching my daughter, now a successful textile artist, grow and find joy in the sea in the same way I did and still do. It’s a day I remember well, when everything comes together. I was commissioned to paint a family of children. We arrived at beautiful Steep Hill Cove on the island. The sun was out, the waves were crashing and the children were delightful. In painting this, I wanted to capture that joy and use the sea to add to the energy. I love working with the sea in pastel as it allows me to explore a variety of marks. Marks are the vocabulary that make a painting interesting. The…

MESSAGE OF THE MONTH Malcolm Lane I am an artist of many years standing. My wife and I have a shop in Sheringham, Norfolk called Pookas Rest where I sell my paintings. The most recent sold for £3,400; I get lots of good remarks from other Norfolk artists and am looking to try and raise my profile as an artist. My style is not unique, but certainly different, some of which I create in a small part of the shop. I use enamel paint on canvas, which gives a depth of colour that you don’t see in normal paintings. It was an initial contact with your magazine some years ago, where I asked the editor how to develop my own style of painting, which helped me come this far. Thank…

STEFAN NANDANCEE Stefan trained at The Royal Academy of Arts, Brussels, and has exhibited in Europe and the UK. His photorealistic paintings typically show a person facing wonder in an otherwordly environment that promises guidance but doesn’t deliver. His work is hugely detailed and also minature. ANGE BELL Ange is an artist specialising in portraiture. Her work focuses on the themes of origins and belonging. Ange’s work is in private collections worldwide and has been selected for numerous exhibitions, including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. J LOUIS J Louis is best known for his oil paintings of female figures, focusing on the exquisite strength and complexity of women, juxtaposed with saturated colour, flattened space and texture. They act as guides through the…

WIN! OVER £1,600 WORTH OF ART CLASSES IN THIS MONTH’S PRIZE DRAW PLUS A BONUS GIFT A DERWENT ACADEMY OIL PAINTS 12 PACK WORTH £10.99 SUBSCRIBE NOW! Order online at www.chelseamagazines.com/CGA425 Or phone 01858 438 789* and quote CGA425 TERMS AND CONDITIONS: This offer is open to UK customers only when paying by Direct Debit or Continuous Credit Card. Offer ends on the 30th of April 2025. You will pay £22.99 for 6 issues, renewing at £24.99 every 6 issues thereafter. *All percentage savings are calculated from the usual shop price. The Derwent Academy Oil Paints 12ml 12 Pack is subject to availability and while stocks last. We reserve the right to fulfil all subsequent orders with a product of equal value. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery.…

Podi Lawrence knew that creativity was her calling from a young age. Her journey began with drawing friends at school, but it was a turning point when she failed the 11+ exam and opted for a two-year foundation course at Harrow School of Art. This decision marked the start of a lifelong commitment to art. Her approach is distinctive. While she does not consider herself a ‘landscape’ painter, she is drawn to painting en plein air, often concentrating on smaller, more specific areas where the light plays uniquely. People are also at the heart of her art, and portraits and figurative work have captivated her for years. “I paint subjects that interest and fascinate me, focusing on scenes that evoke emotional responses, such as the way the light catches an…

KARACHI-BASED ARTIST RABIA FAROOQUI captures the complexities of human relationships with faceless figures. A Fine Art graduate from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi, Rabia uses gouache on wasli (handmade paper used for miniatures) to create striking compositions that shift the focus away from individual identity. Instead, highlighting the power dynamics, vulnerability and performance in various human interactions. She has exhibited her art in cities across the globe, including London, Berlin, West Palm Beach, Dubai, Lahore and Mumbai, where her work has been noted for its technical skill and emotional resonance. Her international reach extends beyond her exhibitions, having participated in artist residencies in Portugal and Morocco, as well as being a nominee for the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2020, highlighting her emerging influence in the…

WELCOME TO THE FIRST INSTALMENT of a special four-part instructional series showcasing my pillars of watercolour: colour, values, shapes and edges. These are the cornerstones of successful painting and, in my view, the four essential elements to consider in every work to capture the essence of your subject and create a powerful piece of art. All the pillars are equally important; they each play a vital role in creating a successful work of art, with no hierarchy among them. Understanding how to effectively use the four pillars is critical to developing a strong and impactful painting. Each article will explore one of these pillars, breaking down its role and significance in creating dynamic and compelling paintings. In this first guide, we focus on the power of colour to bring energy,…