Innehållsförteckning för July 2023 från The Artist

Email me at theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or visit our website at www.painters-online.co.uk/forum Alice Neel (1900-1984), one of the most overlooked American artists of her generation, committed absolutely to painting portraits at a time when it wasn't fashionable to do so. As her exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery draws to a close on May 21, our artist contributors turn their attention this month to the many aspects they view as vital to painting successful portraits. Following the principle of ‘less is more’, Mark Fennell explores the importance of using the limited Zorn palette of just four colours to paint a portrait. As Mark advocates, the Zorn palette is a great learning tool for all students as it limits the number of decisions required to be made during the painting process, whilst allowing…

Pre-mix an approximation of all your colours with a knife on the palette before you start and mix up a version of Naples yellow to give you a head start with the skin tones. When looking at the skin colour of your subject keep asking yourself is it a warm or a cool tone. Look at colour in relation to its neighbour, noting how a warm hue looks warmer next to a cool hue and vice versa. Think about the direction and angle of the brushstroke before committing and applying paint to canvas. Move around your canvas, bringing the painting together as a whole and avoid tinkering with the smaller details until the end.…

Although I have a huge fear of standing close to sheer drops, I am fascinated by the strange sense of seeing the view as though it’s in plan format. The higher one stands looking down, the higher the horizon. I feel I have the power to tilt the landscape by altering my position just a fraction. There is something special about drawing a landscape rather than taking a photograph. The experience of really being there stays with you in a way that is personal. Sometimes it is the discomfort of perching somewhere awkward, at other times it is the passing tourist who stands in the way, but most of all it is being part of it, wind, rain or shine. Seeing the patterns of the chalk paths and the rhythms…

Charcoal is an excellent medium as it allows for a loose bold approach to drawing using line and tone. It is possible to create large tonal drawings quickly and to work into, alter and develop your drawings using a piece of willow charcoal, a putty rubber and your finger. This article will explore the key aspects and things to think about when drawing using charcoal. As with any drawing tool it is good to start by simply exploring its mark-making potential in a fairly abstract manner. Try making large dark marks by pressing hard on the paper and moving your arm quickly or very light marks by skimming over the page and rubbing over with your finger. Explore the impact of adding line to these marks and then use a…

• Try painting or drawing some tonal studies, using just black, white and a mid-tone grey This is an excellent exercise to reduce what you can see to the very basics of form and light. You could paint with your fingers if you like or use thick pastels – the less precise the better. Life drawing can provide excellent practice for this. Try capturing the form with just these three tones at first. It will force you to appreciate the darkest and lightest points of your subject and simplify tonal shapes as much as possible. Then try the same exercise but increase the number of grey mid-tones to allow you more complex gradation of light. • Use techniques for seeing the big shapes while filtering out the details Squinting doesn’t…

• Paper At least 140lb (300gsm) thickness to avoid cockling of the wet surface, without pre-stretching the paper. Examples are Arches, Saunders Waterford, Winsor & Newton. • Brushes Round, natural fibre brushes, such as sable, or squirrel hair. I would suggest mainly sizes 10 or 12 (which hold plenty of water making washes more even) and occasionally sizes 5 or 6 for details and dry brush effects. • Paints Winsor & Newton tube paints: lemon yellow; cadmium yellow; Winsor blue (red shade); French ultramarine; cobalt blue; burnt umber; light red; and Indian red.…

Email theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or write to The Editor, The Artist, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH Please note we may have to edit letters for reasons of space Bridges Seeing Jo Quigley's article in The Artist June 2023 prompted me to tell you about my project to paint all the bridges over the River Tamar between Cornwall and England. I first thought about doing it in 2015 as I had previously painted two of the bridges. So, I looked through the Ordnance Survey maps and counted 19 crossings and thought it wasn't too bad a proposition. However, on investigating all the way up to the source, 61 miles from the mouth of the river, I found that in the mid and upper parts of the river…

When referring casually to a conversation piece you may think of an object or piece of work that sparks discussion or encourages debate, however within the art world this term has another specific meaning. A conversation piece in art describes an informal group portrait that became a popular subject for artists during the latter part of the 18th century in England. It was a genre of painting in which artists rejected the more formal, ceremonial portraits of the court painters and similarly idealised, classical ‘grand manner’ styles, in favour of something more relaxed and natural. Often intimate in scale, these works depicted families or groups of friends engaged in everyday activities, such as playing games and musical instruments or having a tea party, either in a domestic setting or garden.…

PRACTICAL WATERCOLOUR Watercolour portraits demand ultimate discipline of the medium, but although this may sound ominous, they are made easier through the use of appropriate materials. Watercolour is a superb medium for portraits because of its transparency and its naturally luminous finish reflects the quality of light seen on the skin. Whilst opaque media such as acrylic and oil are great for moulding, chopping, and changing the shapes and features of a face, watercolour captures the shine and colour associated with reflected light. I don’t worry too much about using opaque watercolour pigments as most of the colours I use are applied thinly anyway. I do avoid heavy pigments in the face though, such as ultramarine and cerulean blue as these granulate a bit too much. A good quality cotton…

In order to help experiment with using charcoal in this way, one of the best subjects I have found when teaching is the simple onion. Arrange two or three onions together, preferably ones that have some peeling skin. Start by looking long and hard at the tone, form and detail, then use the charcoal on its side to create the overall shapes you see. Follow the circular form of the onion when doing this. Next use your finger to make the lighter areas, also following the form, before going in with linear charcoal and a putty rubber to describe the pattern and texture you see. I strongly recommend working from life rather than a photo when experimenting with any kind of drawing as it’s so much about the observation of…

• Don't overpack. Limit yourself to the bare essentials otherwise you'll wear yourself out carrying loads of equipment before you reach your painting destination. • Plan ahead. Pack your bag the night before and check you have everything you need before you leave. I have been known to arrive at a location without brushes! • Don't chase the light. The day I painted this demonstration was overcast so there weren't strong shadows, but on sunny days there will be. Paint the shadows early on and trust where you've painted them because in an hour or two they'll be completely different. • Work quickly. Part of the charm of plein-air painting is the markmaking that comes with working rapidly - wobbly lines and all. A laborious approach will be reflected in…

There are many resources out there for artists, and here are some of the best picks in 2023. Whether they’re an educational tool, a jumping off point, a job opening, residency or a networking opportunity there’s plenty to encourage and inspire, whatever stage you are at. It’s easier than ever to connect with communities, learn, improve, train and exchange ideas. Checking in regularly means that you’ll be up to date with the latest opportunities and industry news - it’s important to stay relevant in a fastmoving environment. The Artist magazine https://www.painters-online.co.uk/ The Artist is so much more than a magazine! You may be a subscriber to this magazine, but you might not have realised the multitude of online resources available. With new offerings being launched all the time, there’s no…

Alwoodley Art Group Summer exhibition at the community Hall, The Avenue, Alwoodley, Leeds LS17 7NZ on June 24 and 25, 10am to 5pm. Art 4 Life Exhibition at The Gallery, Moat Farm, Leighton Road, Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire MK17 9DD on June 17 and 18, 10am to 4pm daily. Bedale Art Group Annual exhibition at Bedale Hall, Bedale, North Yorkshire on May 25, 7 to 9pm; May 26, 9am to 4pm and May 27, 9am to 4pm. Byfleet Art Group Summer exhibition at the Catholic Church Hall, Madeira Road, West Byfleet KT14 6BH, on June 17, 10am to 4pm; www.byfleetartgroup.com Canterbury Society of Art Plein-air exhibitions at Wesgate Gardens, Canterbury on Saturday May 27 and June 24. East Devon Art Academy Exhibition at the East Devon Art Academy, Sidmouth, Devon from…

Hyper Realistic Drawing Amie Howard Hyper realism in art divides opinion. Some will regard it as little more than a demonstration of technical virtuosity -of showing off. For others, it's an art form in its own right and not to be judged against photography, despite the obvious calls for comparison. Pencils, of course, lend themselves to fine-detail work - indeed, they practically demand it. If this bookwas titled Capturing Detail with Coloured Pencils, you would probably beat a path to its door, so let's think of it as that, not least because it's what it is. The book is nicely laid out, with an introduction to technique, some basic studies and then full projects that have plenty of step-bystep illustrations. Animals, including ears, eyes, noses and fur, feature quite a…

As a passionate figurative painter Keith Bennett is always looking for drama whether in the form of a rocky seascape in a sudden sunny moment or the expressive movement of a classical musician. ‘Pastels are my latest medium of choice. They enable self-expression through spontaneous mark making as well as total relaxation. Pleasing textures can be created against contrasting backgrounds of smooth acrylic paint and they have marvellous vibrant hues.’ Providing a variety of marks with a simple stick of charcoal has resulted in Keith receiving several awards. A love of drawing underlies his whole practice. His most recent works are with wet and dry pastels. Three years ago, Keith developed double vision for several months which fortunately went away as suddenly as it came. It was a wake-up call.…

PRACTICAL OILS The Zorn palette comprises four colours used by the famous Swedish painter Anders Zorn (1860-1920). These colours were vermilion, ivory black, yellow ochre and flake white. However, because of the expense of vermilion and the unavailability of flake white, these colours are now often exchanged for titanium white and cadmium red. Painting with such a limited palette of colours really helps you to utilise value rather than colour to emphasise form. Value is thought to be the most important element of colour, so it’s important to have a good understanding of it before you move on to more complex colour palettes. The Zorn palette is a great learning tool for students as it limits the number of possible decisions while allowing a wide enough range of colours to…

Although the term conversation piece is not one often referred to in contemporary painting, it seems to me that it is still a worthy idea if, like me, you enjoy painting figures. • Select an informal group of two or more figures to observe in some activity or conversation, either in an interior or outdoor setting. • Choose a scene that avoids ceremony or the main event or occasion, focusing instead on the before or after, for example, a practice or rehearsal for a sporting or music event. • Focus on the activity or interaction between the figures in the environment, rather than individual portraits.…

Begin by practising the wet-into-wet technique. The trick is to avoid adding paint that is wetter than the paper. Watch the sheen and when it begins to turn matt, stop adding paint or mist with a spray bottle to continue painting. Next, find a volunteer model and take some photos in good light, making sure you achieve a balance of light and shade over the face. This will help you reach good depth in your painting. Work in layers, allowing drying between, but making sure each layer has soft transitions of colour. Working with a spray bottle to pre-dampen areas is essential as are soft brushes and a sponge to regulate application. Email a copy of your finished painting to dawn@tapc.co.uk, no larger than 2MB, with Working from Photographs in…

REFERENCE PHOTOGRAPH For this self-portrait I worked from a reference photograph and used a grid initially to work out how best to fit the image onto the canvas. I think carefully about light when taking reference photographs, and like a good amount of tonal contrast to work with In the first article of this two-part series, I explored how to look for shapes of colour and tone rather than just line when painting a portrait. This time I will discuss how I look for tonal hierarchy in order to create a sense of realism and depth in my work. What is tonal value and tonal hierarchy? Quite simply, tonal value is whether something is dark or light and tonal hierarchy is the gradation of different tonal values from dark to…

Sending-in days A Letter in Mind Details: This year marks ten years of The National Brain Appeal's art fundraiser, A Letter in Mind, where the charity invites artists to get creative on an envelope. The theme of this year's exhibition is 'Changing Perspectives'. Exhibition: Artworks will be exhibited at Gallery Different in Fitzrovia, central London, from October 24 to 28, and sold via the charity's online gallery, from October 25.They will be exhibited anonymously, alongside invited professional and celebrity entries, priced identically at £85. The identity of the artists is revealed at the end of the exhibition, once the artwork has sold. When: Open for entries until September 22. Contact: www.aletterinmind.org Contemporary British Painting Prize 2023 Details: The Contemporary British Painting Prize aims to explore and promote current painting, giving…

The world is full of landscape paintings and has been for a long time. They are popular because most of us love spectacular landscapes in real life and it's great to have them in painting form too. There are so many forms of landscape painting today, but they all have something in common. They either contain signs of life or they don't. Signs of life can mean several things including humanity, bird and animal life, and inanimate objects like buildings, boats and other things that indicate life is going on. Some artists don't like sullying the landscape with humans or other things pertaining to them. Some find it too difficult to add signs of life without spoiling what they have already achieved in the landscape. Other artists purposely add life…

Oil painter, Dawn Blatherwick, began painting again in 2017 after a break of 26 years. ‘When I returned to painting, I chose to work with oil paints. It has been a steep learning curve, but the most enjoyable thing I’ve done. Before this I managed a small graphics team for 16 years, but decided to make art my fulltime job in 2022. ‘In 2018 I appeared as a wild card on Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year and in 2021, I made my way to a pod, where I was down to the last three in my heat. My biggest achievement I think so far was painting a portrait for NHS heroes for a paramedic who lost his life to Covid. I was shortlisted for the Holly Bush Emerging…