Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2017 i Artists & Illustrators

Many professional artists say that, despite accolades and admiration, they still paint primarily for themselves. And it’s certainly true most painters first pick up a brush out of curiosity and a desire to explore their own creativity rather than dreams of fame and fortune. Gaining skills is simply a means to an end. But, eventually, all creative people want to send their work out into the world to be seen, hopefully appreciated and maybe even bought. But putting your art out there takes a dose of bravery. Painters such as those in our winners special (pages 18-27), who have placed themselves in the line of fire on national TV, display the kind of tenacity and self-belief we can only admire. Which is why we’ve taken the time to ask them…

How to Paint Dog  Fur: Complete in 10 simple steps Cate Hamilton: I love painting dogs – one of my favourite subjects. Here’s my much-missed Alfie in oil on canvas board. Peter Keegan @PDKeegan Sad to see this painting leave but pleased it’s being taken home by one of my students. Read @AandImagazine [‘Paint a Summer Garden’, issue 381] about the painting. Let us know what you think of Artists & Illustrators magazine and share your painting projects with us at the contacts below... @AandImagazine ArtistsAndIllustrators AandImagazine AandImagazine…

BP YOUNG ARTIST WINNER: HENRY CHRISTIAN-SLANE Gabi , oil on board, 25x20cm In preparation for this painting, 26-year-old Henry Christian-Slane asked his partner Gabi to pose in a number of positions before suggesting she close her eyes. It was a bold move, but one that paid off. “I liked how the light fell over her face and the contemplative but slightly frowning expression, which I tried to preserve,” says Henry. Painted en plein air on the deck of his parents’ house in Auckland, New Zealand, the black stain fence and overcast weather created a poignant mood. “I was conscious of bias couples have about each other’s appearance,” says Henry. “I shift between being very happy with the energy of it, and wishing I could continue working on it.” www.henrychristianslane.com…

1 Stand back from your work to check for accuracy and to compare it to the sitter. Your mistakes will jump out at you. 2 Keep correcting and moving elements until the end. There’s no point having a polished, beautifully shaded drawing if the head’s badly proportioned and ill-observed. 3 Use a mirror to look at work for more distance and perspective. You often get too close to see problem areas and this is a great cheap tool that can help. 4 Don’t forget all the stuff in-between: the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. These make the portrait solid and believable. Look hard at the cheeks, brow, chin and temples, as well as the interlocking shapes that they make. Remember you’re not just making a visual inventory of features floating…

“IF YOU’RE A BEGINNER, A SHORT TASTER CAN BE A GREAT INTRODUCTION TO A NEW MEDIUM OR A CONFIDENCE BOOSTER” I’ve visited art fairs featuring suppliers who offer taster sessions for people to test the goods and finesse their skills. These are an excellent resource. While the products on sale and the classes are restricted by the confines of the show, if you are prepared to be bold and open-minded, you can make much of the wide expertise on offer and tailor it to your needs. My approach to taster classes is to be a model student and save questions for the sales team. It is unfair to hold up a free class with tricky questions and, even if the technique isn’t your cup of tea, learning to use materials…

THE TEXTURES HE ACHIEVES IN HIS CANVAS PAINTINGS ARE REMARKABLE Under the harsh fluorescent lights of Oliver Bedeman’s boxy East London studio, one portrait stares out from the back wall and meets our gaze as we enter. A male figure is sat, arms folded, on what appears to be a tube train seat, albeit one rendered suggestively, like the fragment of a dream. Not even the canary yellow of the woman beside this figure can distract from the piercing stare and ambiguity of his expression. This is Nature Boy, one of a cast of characters and stories that recur throughout Bedeman’s portfolio. The painting was inspired by the song of the same name, first recorded by Nat King Cole, which features lyrics about a “very strange, enchanted boy” who was…

This year, I visited Chelsea Flower Show and was drawn to the loose, naturalistic planting I saw. One very beautifully assembled artisan garden with its rich yellows, coppers and greens was particularly appealing and I was keen to use this unusual palette in a painting. We are all familiar with the symbolism surrounding the garden and the relationship between the natural world and nurtured spaces; I suppose these patches of safe enclosure are in some way a foil to the increasingly difficult world we live in. I find myself zooming in closer to the plants and I have been working on ‘slices’ of gardens, with the canvas filled with the intricate pattern of leaves and flowers. Working directly from the photographic image on a computer, painting is a sort of…

DAMIAN’S MATERIALS • PERSPEX SHEET (PLATE) • BLOCK PRINTING INK • PRINTMAKER’S ROLLER • RAGS • CARD • PALETTE KNIFE • BAREN (OR SPOON) • WILLOW CHARCOAL • FIXATIVE • CHALK PASTELS • PAPER (NEWSPRINT OR CARTRIDGE) Degas’s enthusiasm for chalk pastels is well known and combining them with a printed under-drawing suited his desire to experiment with mixed media. Monotypes involve laying down a loose-printed monochrome layer before refining the image with chalk pastels. It’s an excellent way to experiment with composition and colour. www.damiancallan.com 1 Spread water-based block printing ink onto a palette or flat sheet. Coat an area of your plate with a printmaker’s roller to the size of the image you plan to make. The advantage of using a Perspex sheet as a plate is that…

I WAS RELUCTANT TO PICK UP A BRUSH. THE STAGES FORCED ME TO PAINT AND I ENJOYED IT Serendipity seems the right word to describe Suman Kaur’s participation in the BBC’s The Big Painting Challenge, which aired earlier this year. She emerged triumphant after tackling a diverse range of tasks, from portraying the fluid movement of a ballerina and a herd of elephants in motion to capturing a city view while bobbing up and down on the Thames. Since winning the TV show, she’s been consolidating her success, having recently been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition. How did you get involved in the BBC programme? I was having coffee with my best friend James and mentioned I had just weeks left at work [Suman was then working in…

Our competition gives readers of Artists & Illustrators the chance to gain national exposure for their art. The overall winner will take home £1,000 cash and get a solo exhibition at Panter & Hall’s London gallery. Situated on Pall Mall, this prestigious gallery has a wonderful portfolio of contemporary British talents. Artists in second and third place, as well as a readers’ choice winner, will also claim great prizes. All 50 shortlisted artworks will be displayed at Mall Galleries, London, from 18 to 24 February 2018. Remember, if you are a member of Portfolio Plus, you can enter unlimited artworks free of charge. Visit www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/register and join from as little as £2.49 per month. Entries open on 11 August, 2017. FIRST PRIZE Sponsored by Cass Art The overall winner will…

I have returned to coloured pencils after a long period of being wedded to charcoal and graphite, so it has been a timely joy for Derwent to release new professional coloured pencils. Here’s what I found. A FINE POINT I use a lot of hatching and often find coloured pencils break when sharpened to a fine point. Procolour holds almost as strong a point as graphite, while blending and layering smoothly. It seems to minimise the dust produced when building areas of colour, reducing the risk of smudging. BLENDING AND LAYERING I prefer to keep a limited palette to maintain harmony and want coloured pencils to blend smoothly. I’ve found Procolour allows around 12 to 14 layers of colour to be built up. Marks can be smoothed by burnishing or…

I have been an enthusiastic painter for several years. Unfortunately, 15 months ago I broke my right arm. Obviously this was difficult as I am right-handed. More unfortunate was the fact it was set wrongly in hospital and I have ended up with a damaged arm and wrist. So, I feel proud of my latest painting, one of a Fantasy Landscapes series I am working on. Against all the odds I decided to teach myself to hold brushes in a different way. It takes longer but I get so much from being able to remain creative. My motto is never give up, just find different ways of doing the things you love. Via email, June Leader…

1 ENTER THE COLUMBIA THREADNEEDLE PRIZE 2018 With a first prize of £20,000 and a solo exhibition – plus five additional awards of £1,000 – this prestigious competition for new figurative and representational art is a great opportunity. There’s even a further £10,000 prize awarded by visitors to the exhibition, which takes place at Mall Galleries in London next year. Enter fresh, topical artworks before noon on 22 September. Turn to page 38 for our fascinating interview with Columbia Threadneedle Prize shortlisted young artist Oliver Bedeman. www.columbiathreadneedleprize.mallgalleries.org.uk 2 READ Fahrelnissa Zeid: Painter of Inner Worlds Based on unprecedented access to the artist’s private papers and archive, and written by her former student Adila Laïdi-Hanieh, this comprehensive illustrated book (Art/Books, £19.99) recounts the noblewoman’s extraordinary career. www.artbookspublishing.co.uk 3 LEARN Beginners’ oils…

“YOU’RE ALWAYS TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO SEE YOUR WORK” What’s the old adage? If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. On his second attempt Gareth Reid, an artist and art tutor from Glasgow, achieved the distinction of becoming Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. “The whole Sky experience was great – I miss it,” he says enthusiastically. “It was stressful and exciting, but provided days that will live long in the memory.” Encouraged by his students, Gareth had entered the competition before, but hadn’t progressed. “I enjoyed the experience first time around and, although I didn’t get through, I was close. I decided if they did it again I’d have another crack at it.” Perseverance paid off and he was crowned the winner after completing…

THE CASS FAMILY HAS SUPPORTED ARTISTS FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS For its 10th anniversary year, Cass Art will again be supporting Artists of the Year. The UK’s leading art supplies retailer will be presenting the £1,000 overall winner’s prize on the evening. “We are extremely proud to be first prize sponsor of Artists of the Year 2018 and to celebrate the 10th year of the competition,” says the company’s owner Mark Cass. “Supporting artists is at the heart of everything we do at Cass Art. We’re excited to be part of one of the broadest call for entries today and the works chosen by Artist & Illustrators are no doubt going to make for a phenomenal show again this year. I look forward to seeing the finalist’s debut solo…

A STILL LIFE AT SPEED Quick, small paintings are an invaluable tool. As there is no huge commitment in terms of scale, you can be free and bold. This arrangement of objects (above) occurred accidentally; it was the leftovers from another still life. While it’s colourful, it uses greys to promote the bold flashes. Acrylic greys are very ‘clean’ unlike oil, which can be muddy. There’s also a variety of tone and I used the acrylic as a glaze around the pear and orange to soften outlines. This quick study gave me ideas for a new painting. www.terenceclarke.co.uk TERENCE’S TIPS FOR USING ACRYLIC LAYERS Because this medium dries quickly, you can be outrageous and put layers of paint on top of each other. Here’s how: • Use a warm underpainting.…

WE CAN PICTURE A SINGLE FEATHER BUT, WHEN WE LOOK AT A BIRD, WE SEE A MASS. TRY NOT TO FOCUS ON EACH ONE. INSTEAD CONCENTRATE ON FORM AND SHAPE What materials do you use? I stick to tried and trusted brands. My graphite pencils are Mars Lumograph (Staedtler) and a few Faber-Castell 9000s. These give a truer range of grades across the 9H to 9B spectrum, but I rarely go softer than a 4B or 4H. My pencil of choice for colour work is Faber-Castell Polychromos. They suit my style, and I find the quality and cost reasonable. In terms of paper, it’s again a case of sticking to what I know. I tend to use Fabriano Artistico Hot Press Extra White watercolour paper because it has just enough…

It is often colour that draws us to a piece of artwork, both visually and emotionally, while artistic style is regularly defined by colour choices. Whatever our taste, a little understanding of the construction of colour can help our interpretation. It is the most subjective canon of art and, perhaps, this is because it is the most complex. The word ‘colour’ alone does not describe its many aspects. It can be broken down into several specific elements. THE WORD ‘COLOUR’ ALONE DOES NOT DESCRIBE ITS MANY ASPECTS. IT CAN BE BROKEN DOWN INTO SEVERAL SPECIFIC ELEMENTS 1. HUE This refers to the colour itself. Is it blue, red, yellow, purple, green or orange? Think of the primary and secondary colours. Tertiary colours are those that sit between the secondary and…