Innehållsförteckning för February 2023 från The Artist

Want to comment on something you've read, or seen? Email me at theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or visit our website at www.painters-online.co.uk/forum Following the launch of our call for entries to our 2023 TALP Open Competition we are enjoying seeing your submissions starting to arrive. Competitions can be an ideal way to motivate and challenge yourself to create new artwork, or select and enter work from your existing portfolio that could provide you with great exposure and publicity, and offer you the chance to win some amazing prizes. Amongst the invaluable art materials prizes generously offered by our sponsors, there is also the chance to win the prestigious The Artist Purchase Prize Award for a work up to the value of £3,000, the BritishContemporary.art Award worth £1,800 comprising one year's representation by the…

MAKING MODERNISM ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS Burlington House Piccadilly London W1J 0BD 020 7300 8090 www.royalacademy.org.uk until February 12, 2023 Making Modernism is the first major UK exhibition devoted to women artists working in Germany in the early 20th century, and includes the work of Paula Modersohn-Becker, Käthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter, Marianne Werefkin, Erma Bossi, Ottilie Reylaender and Jacoba van Heemskerck. Less familiar than the work of male artists of the same period, the 65 paintings, many of which have never been seen in the UK before, played a key role in the development of modernism. Arranged thematically, the exhibition opens with Ourselves and Others, featuring portraits and self-portraits, and moves on to sections that include The Century of the Child, exploring how each of the artists depicted children; Sites…

Last month I discussed some of the more popular drawing implements that are available to buy for the line and wash painter, as well as a few that you can make yourself at home. I also outlined how relatively few materials you need to get started with line and wash. To recap: we established that there is a pen or mark-making implement to suit every occasion and subject. On the one hand we have the oldest and most basic of all drawing tools in the simple reed pen, in stark contrast to the technically advanced Fineliner pens, but one isn't necessarily better than the other as they both have their role to play. We can't help but be reminded of the brilliant Dutch master Rembrandt when we think of the…

• If you feel you are getting lost in the folds and patterns of drapery, consider your subject like a map, mapping out where the main avenues and landmarks are, and sub-dividing sections, so that you can find your way again. You will know you are working ‘left of that big triangle’ or ‘just below that dark circular bit’. • For spidery lace and line painting, use a small pointy brush and fluid paint. Small brushes don't hold much paint so reload often. Avoid accidental big blobs of paint by dabbing off on a rag or some kitchen roll. • For spidery lace, paint the under layer first, wait for it to dry, and then paint the lace on top. Be prepared to have to repaint the under layer if…

Helen Tarr has BA and MA degrees in Fine Art and is a qualified art tutor with over 20 years' teaching experience. Alongside her regular classes at Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham Helen also teaches classes and workshops from her studio at her home in East Staffordshire. She has exhibited widely and her work is in private collections in Britain and abroad. Helen has a YouTube channel where she shares painting demonstrations and has produced exclusive videos for PaintersOnline Studio members. Her work is available from www.BritishContemporary.Art and www.helentarr.co.uk ‘I am always doing what I cannot do yet in order to learn how to do it.’ (Vincent Van Gogh, letter to Anthon van Rappard 1885) To become an artist is to embark on a life-long learning journey, discovering new skills…

Paul Riley runs residential courses from his home and studio in South Devon. For details email lara@coombefarmstudios.com Telephone 01803 722353 or visit www.coombefarmstudios.com I have been painting in watercolour for some time and have explored the many opportunities that the medium provides. A while back I felt the urge to paint big. I was working on some landscapes of the local scenery which is vista-like in some instances, so I researched larger watercolour paper sizes and even ordered a few sheets from Atlantis Art Materials in London. The problem was storage and cost In my normal work I generally use the Saunders Waterford sheets size 22½×30in (57×76cm). I wondered if I could use it in the form of multiples. I researched the possibilities and subsequently came across the world of…

Q: Why do artists seek out support from Parker Harris? A: Artists seek our guidance on a wide range of topics, but the common thread is building a practice which sustains them financially as well as creatively. Simply put, artists want to create work that they believe in, that they exhibit to engaged audiences, and that they can earn a decent living from. We help them with goals such as finding income streams and funding sources, working with galleries, utilising social media to promote their work and much more. Frequently asked questions include: How should I price and sell my work? What do I need to do before approaching galleries? How can I navigate social media without burning out (or selling out)? How can I attract the right collectors and…

Atmospheric Animals in Watercolour Atmospheric Animals in Watercolour by Jean Haines was published in hardback in January 2022 by Search Press, £19.99, and is available from our online bookstore at bit.ly/ARBOOKS I couldn't possibly write a book about painting animals in watercolour and not include a section on painting our four-legged best friends. The problem for me is that there are so many delightful breeds and rescues that painting them all really requires a whole new book on this subject alone! Here, then, I will show you some great tips to painting our tail-wagging best friends and you can adapt my techniques to creating as many special furry friends as you wish. Noses in small stages Let's start by explaining that when painting animals, we are trying to convey their…

WATTS GALLERY In Print: Kaleidoscopic Annual printmaking exhibition featuring the work of 12 contemporary printmakers, until January 15. Venue: Watts Gallery Artists’ Village, Down Lane, Compton, Surrey GU3 1DQ. Telephone: 01483 810235 www.wattsgallery.org.uk…

Sending-in days Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize Details: The Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize is now the largest prize dedicated to women only entries in the UK and offers a prize pot of over £8,000. Founded in 2017, this prize, sponsored by Dame Emma Thompson, art supply company Cass Art, Susan Angoy, The Mall Galleries and administered by Women in Art CIC, is part of a wider project to assist and celebrate emerging women artists and is becoming one of the annual highlight for women painters trying to gain recognition for their work. When: Dates for the prize will be announced in the new year, so keep checking the website. Contact: www.hollybushpaintingprize.com The John Byrne Award Details: The John Byrne Award, established in 2012, is a creative competition…

Charles Evans' Watercolour Rescue With all books on troubleshooting, the elephant in the room is the‘wrong’ image. Too often, it's a caricature that no-one, even a complete beginner picking up a brush for the first time, would produce. In this compact guide, Charles has hit the sweet spot so perfectly that it's sometimes hard to figure out what's actually wrong and you need to look, rather, for what's not quite right. Does that sound familiar? Welcome to the real world. Charles is an experienced author and demonstrator and knows how to talk up, rather than down, to both aspiring and experienced artists. Here, he analyses many common problem areas, such as unconvincing trees, working from photographs, getting water to look like water and simply creating form and depth. This is…

Mike Barr is a Fellow of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts. He has won over 80 awards, including 17 first prizes. You can find more of Mike's work at www.mikebarrfineart.com Every artist has their own reasons for why art is made. For many of us it is a therapy or a social outlet. For some, it is way of making social and political statements, where a voice or written word is otherwise not heard. Others paint on a professional or semi-professional basis and rely on art lovers liking their work so much that they buy it. And of course, we just love to paint! Buyers or collectors can be roughly divided into two. Those who buy for investment, which largely involves expensive pieces by famous artists, dead or…

I'll keep this brief, but if you are relatively new to working with line and wash, I think it's important to know the basic difference between inks. Most popular inks fit into one of three categories: modern inks, carbon inks and traditional inks. Modern inks, such as acrylic or calligraphic inks, are used by artists and designers and come in an extensive range of colours. Being water resistant and non-clogging makes them a popular choice, but check on their lightfastness, which should be indicated on the bottle as a series of asterisks/stars. Carbon inks encompass a variety of Chinese and Japanese inks, including Indian ink. Indian ink does contain shellac, which can clog up your pens and brushes, so keep a jar of clean water close by! Traditional inks, such…

When I was an art student in London back in the 1970s it was fascinating to watch the occasional artist copying from the Old Masters in the National Gallery. There they were with their easel and canvas and oil paints and a cloth covering the floor. Sometimes their approaches were fairly loose and took the form of a personal interpretation. Others were endeavouring to make copies which were much closer to the originals. The results often seemed miraculous — a new old-master painting appearing before my eyes. The opportunity to do this is a wonderful possibility that the National Gallery still allows. The gallery has some strict rules on copying stating that the copy must not be the same size, differing by at least 1 inch (2.5cm), be different in…

1ST OF 3 PRACTICAL PASTELS Emma Colbert graduated from UCA Maidstone with BA hons in illustration in 2007 and began working on portrait commissions and producing her own series of wildlife pastel paintings. Endorsed by Unison Colour Pastels, she has created several colour selections of soft pastels for them introducing other artists to the beauty of the medium. Emma loves to paint all subject matter and regularly accepts people and landscape commissions too. Her experiences inspired Emma to start a blog sharing her pastel tips, and later a YouTube and Patreon channel, which has inspired many new artists to pick up the medium of soft pastel. Emma's work has become recognised worldwide, but her attention is now driven towards creating a library of information all about soft pastel to help the…

Sarah Edmonds is the marketing manager for Pegasus Art and gallery manager at Art Cotswold. She lives and breathes art by promoting artists, writing about art, consulting, selling and painting herself. Sarah studied a short course at the Slade School of Fine Art followed by a degree in marketing and has worked in the industry ever since; www.sarahedmonds-marketing.com The definition of a mentor is ‘a person with experience in a job who supports and advises someone with less experience to help them develop in their work.’ I can't think of anyone who wouldn't benefit from working with a mentor in a formal or informal capacity. We're all on a learning journey and as an artist in a more solitary career than most, reaching out for support and advice makes total…

Colouring pencils are vastly underrated as a professional medium, but the options are extensive. I find using colouring pencils hugely therapeutic, and also easy! Easy to set up, easy to work with and easy to put away. It's very much a kitchen-table material that lends itself to a spare half hour of peaceful creativity, whilst also being an incredible tool used to create the most wonderful artworks by professional artists. The colours and luminance that can be achieved is incredible; the control and detail is almost unparalleled. There's a huge number of brands to try including Derwent, Faber-Castell, Holbein, Caran d'Ache, Arteza, Bruynzeel, Cretacolor, Tombow, Koh-I-Noor, Lyra, Staedtler to name a few – and many of them have different ranges within them covering both Artists’ and Student quality. I use…

LONDON Bankside Gallery 48 Hopton Street SET. 020 7928 7521 www.banksidegallery.com Mini Picture Show 2022; affordable work on a small scale by members of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers, until January 29. Barbican Art Gallery Barbican Centre, Silk Street EC2Y. 020 7638 4141; www.barbican.org.uk Alice Neel: Hot Off the Griddle; featuring over six decades of work by the American artist, February 16 to May 23. Burgh House New End Square NW3. 020 7431 0144; www.burghhouse.org.uk Those Remarkable Carlines; work by siblings Sydney, Hilda and Richard Carline, until April 10. Mall Galleries The Mall, SW1, 020 7930 6844; www.mallgalleries.org.uk The Society of Graphic Fine Art; 102nd annual open exhibition, March 13 to 18. Brilliant Brushstrokes – The Joys of Being British; solo exhibition by Francis…