Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 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 Patchings Art Festival in early July was a rejuvenating artistic experience. It was inspiring to see so many artists at work across the marquees with every space brimming with creativity. Talking to these artists, and meeting with all the exhibitors and visitors to the show, reaffi rmed the important role art plays in our lives and the uplifting, positive effects both the creation and appreciation of art can have on us. This was certainly true of the high standard of work that was on show at the TALP Open Competition at Patchings. Judges – Liz Wood, Haidee-Jo Summers, David Curtis, Sally Bulgin and Ingrid Lyon – had a diffi cult task…

The Grange Gallery in Rottingdean is currently presenting a landmark exhibition tracing the life and work of the painter Mabel Pryde Nicholson. Largely overshadowed by the success of her artist husband, William Nicholson, and her sons, Ben and Kit, the exhibition brings together 17 of Mabel's surviving paintings, many of which were made at The Grange itself, a picturesque seaside vicarage and her former home, where she painted the interiors and her family who inhabited it. Also on display will be portraits of Mabel by William Nicholson, as well as personal objects. The exhibition continues until August 26; rottingdeanheritage.org.uk…

Oil paint has a unique soft quality that is unmistakably recognisable. Its versatility appeals to all levels of painters because it can be manipulated on the surface easily, scraped off, re-applied or even wiped off completely to start the painting again. The greatest drawbacks are fumes from turpentine, drying times, and of course, mess. I'm sure as you are reading this, you may be familiar with a scenario of unknowingly picking up colour on a sleeve and finding it smeared all over the house some time later. Or is that just me? To alleviate these problems, many artists use art studios to work in, but that can be costly and sometimes impractical depending on your circumstances. In this article, I aim to share with you some tips and techniques for…

Sarah Edmonds is the marketing manager for Pegasus Art, a freelance art marketing consultant and a watercolour painter. 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 As artists, is technology at odds with creativity, or as a progressive group must it be embraced? How does the modern world run alongside the most pure and traditional of all crafts? Technology versus creativity – are they natural bedfellows or complicated lovers? In this article we aim to develop these questions as the digital world increasingly seems to envelop our lives. Does it feel like you are holding back the tide or do you welcome a globalisation of the industry? This month's case study,…

From all over the world, including the UK, the Society of Botanical Artists recieved frequent requests from aspiring botanical artists who were unable to attend a day, weekly or residential course, for whatever reasons. In response, the society launched its distance learning course, where students learn by working and practising in their own homes on set assignments, then have the work assessed by experienced tutors. The course is not for complete beginners in watercolour, but rather for those with some knowledge of the subject who wish to learn more about botanical art and its associated skills. The society's aim is to develop those skills and help to create a good, well-rounded botanical painting. The course is open to students anywhere in the world. There are currently students from Australia, Canada,…

This month's star letter writer will receive a pack of eight Spectrum Noir Bright Brush Artliners worth £9.99 (rrp). These thin-tipped pens are perfect for drawing, outlining, calligraphy, and fine detail colouring. The Japanese ink ensures precision, vibrant colours, and flawless coverage, plus they are quick-drying, and smudge-proof. Painting from life Your star letter in the August issue made me angry. Whilst I agree in principle with what was said, I found it unthoughtful and short sighted. I have drawn and painted all my life from life and nature but am now bed bound and unable to walk. I am not apathetic, but if I am to continue with my artistic aspirations in any way at all, it has to be by drawing on my reserves of photographic material. I…

When we look at the world, our brains are actively constructing a coherent picture from an overwhelming amount of sensory information. At any given second, we are not only interpreting what we are seeing now and what we saw a second ago, but we are also predicting what will happen next. When we watch a bird fly, for example, we get a sense of its movement, direction and speed, and our brains try to guess where it will go next and how it might interact with other birds near it. Most photography (but not all) captures a still image in time, but as painters we have the opportunity to portray creatively some of the features of the ever-changing world in front of us. A great illustration of this is the…

The final two projects in this series take a closer look at painting short-lived light effects, starting this month with rays of sunlight. I have been interested in tree tunnels for as long as I can remember. As a child on family car journeys I enjoyed the sensation of sunlight strobing over me. My source photo depicts a narrow, sunken lane near my studio. Sunlight is split into lozenges by slender tree trunks that have grown up from the ancient hedgerow. This composition naturally channels the viewer down the tree tunnel towards the intriguing light beyond. Branches and twigs form an interlocking mesh overhead. Patches of saturated colour appear in the brightly lit gaps in the tree canopy where branches are eclipsed by the sun, whilst the highlighted areas of…

Painting in Abstract Carole Robson Buy it! For a truly serious look at abstract work Art, Edgar Degas reminded us, is what you make others see. Abstraction, therefore, is a made-up language in which the artist communicates in terms we're invited to understand. To put it more simply, it is your opportunity to invite the viewer to share your emotional reaction to the subject in front of you. If that sounds like nonsense, this probably isn't a book for you, which is fair enough and I won't waste any more of your time. Still with me? Be glad, for this is a book that takes its subject and its readers seriously. Where a lot of books on abstraction are project-based, Carole gets under the skin of not just the how,…

LONDON Bankside Gallery 48 Hopton Street SE1. ☎ 020 7928 7521 banksidegallery.com Summer at Bankside Gallery 2024; paintings and original prints from artists of the Royal Watercolour Society and Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, until September 8. LOOP 2024; new work by an informal co-operative of artists with a background in original print, September 10 to 15. Artists will be demonstrating their printmaking processes in the galleries throughout the show. Dulwich Picture Gallery Gallery Road SE21. ☎ 020 8693 5254 dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking; until November 3. The Garden Gallery Lambeth Palace Road SE1. ☎ 020 7401 8865 gardenmuseum.org.uk Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors; until September 29. Mall Galleries The Mall, SW1. ☎ 020 7930 6844 mallgalleries.org.uk Royal Society of Marine Artists; annual exhibition, September 19 to 28.…

Bournemouth Arts Club The 103rd annual exhibition at the Gallery Upstairs, Upton Country Park, Poole BH17 7BJ, from September 26 to October 7, 10am to 4pm daily; bournemouthartsclub.co.uk Carleton-le-Moorland & District Art Group Annual exhibition at the Village Hall, Brigg Lane, Carlton-le-Moorland LN5 9HP, on October 12 and 13, 11am to 4pm daily. Mellor Art Society Annual exhibition at St Martin's Church Hall, Brabyns Brow, Marple, Stockport SK6 5DT, on Saturday October 12, 10am to 5pm; and Sunday October 13, 11am to 4pm. For details visit Mellor Art Society's Facebook page. Plymouth Arts Club Autumn exhibition at the Church of the Ascension Church Hall, The Lawns, Crownhill, Plymouth PL5 3AA, from October 19 to 27, 10am to 4pm daily, Sundays 12 to 4pm; plymouthartsclub.co.uk Wisbech Art Club Exhibition at Museum…

Afloat or Ashore Details: Afloat or Ashore is a brand new art competition organised by The Royal Society of Marine Artists in conjunction with National Historic Ships UK and the Wapping Group of Artists. Artists are invited to depict any of the 2,000 vessels listed on the National Historic Ships Register. A first prize of £1,000 is offered and there is also a special junior category for artists aged between 11 and 16. When: Closes for entries on September 20. Contact: Enter online at rsma.oess1/.uk Ingram Prize 2024 Details: The Ingram Prize is an annual purchase prize open to visual artists who are within five years of graduation from a UK-based art school. Now in its ninth year, the prize was established by the Ingram Collection to celebrate and support artists…

• Implied movement Choosing a subject in motion, such as a child jumping over a puddle, automatically creates a more dynamic and interesting painting than a static subject. For example, a horse running creates a more engaging visual story than a horse standing in a field. • Showing a few frames This technique is derived from traditional animation, where each frame of the animated film was hand-drawn on separate sheets of paper that were rapidly flipped to generate the illusion of motion. As painters, we don't have the luxury of flipping through paintings, but we can show several instances of the same subject at different points in time. This is the technique used by Giacomo Balla in his dog painting. • Exaggerated form in motion Look for opportunities to exaggerate…

‘You can never do too much drawing’ Jacopo Tintoretto (1518-1594) I was recently at Tate Britain looking at portraits by the great portrait painter John Singer Sargent. As I stood there in awe of the rich Edwardian colours, and the way he was able to capture the shine of those silk and satin gowns and the timeless facial expressions of his models, it occurred to me that Sargent wasn't really painting with the paint. He was drawing with the paint. Each brushstroke was laid down with such confidence and elan that there was no need to fuss and fiddle the mark, no need to blend or rub each stroke away. Instead, these boldly applied marks had all the confidence and assurance of a rapidly laid down sketch. This same sketch-like approach…

PRACTICAL WATER-SOLUBLE OILS Developing skill and confidence in any medium takes regular practice and I find that quick studies of small, simple still-life subjects provide the perfect playground. Here I can practise my drawing and observational skills, develop a working process and get a feel for the chosen medium in a controlled environment. I regard this as training, in the same way an athlete goes to the gym or a musician practises scales. The goal isn't to produce a masterpiece, although it's often surprising what can emerge when that self-imposed pressure is taken away. The fundamental aim of the exercise is to make the process of seeing, drawing and painting as natural and intuitive as possible. So the next time I'm outdoors in front of a subject, I'm not left guessing…