Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i Artists & Illustrators

If the contents of my inbox are anything to go by, Artists & Illustrators’ readers love to paint animals. These pictures are always a delight to receive: nothing brightens the spirits after a gloomy winter commute quite like switching on your computer to find a beautiful creature painted with passion looking back at you. As the national passion for David Attenborough documentaries attests, our capacity to be awed by nature’s majesty is inexhaustible, so it’s no wonder artists are driven to capture its beauty. And, of course, when it comes to art, there are satisfying technical hurdles to be overcome. From rendering realistic fur or the delicacy of a wing to achieving accurate proportions when your subject won’t stay still takes commitment and skill – something I know our readers…

Want to sell your art in 2018? Our columnist has all the answers for dealing with clients. Rachael Broadwell Good advice. My pessimistic nature usually leads me to all sorts of assumptions about the motives of clients who make unreasonable demands. My conflict-avoiding nature leads me usually to just comply with them, haha. Andrew Lansley @walkanddrawbath›Look what I found inside @AandImagazine 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…

From the high, sun-drenched hills to the vivid blues of the gold-rimmed sea, you can almost feel the quiet but persistent heat of Jamaica in Tom Voyce’s final commission for the Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year competition. The painting marked the end of a long journey, not just in terms of time and geography, but also as a painter. When secondary school teacher Tom entered the competition, his forte was painting angular, urban scenes, not the fluid lines of nature. “I tend to favour structure and geometry and block shapes,” he says. “I find the natural organic form harder to portray.” His characteristic style owes a lot to his use of a “pebble” (full name: catalyst painting wedge), whose flat edge lends itself to creating straight lines. “I…

It’s not every day you share a room with a Russian Golden Eagle and a Ferruginous Hawk, but they weren’t out of place at artist Jennie Webber’s recent wildlife-drawing class. We know because we joined other delighted sketchers at her birds of prey workshop in East London, where she helped people to observe and appreciate the animals, as well as capture their likeness in a range of materials, from a simple pencil sketch to charcoal, brush pen, or oil pastels. The Yorkshire-born artist’s popular classes have helped to raise money and awareness for charities such as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, and the Barn Owl and Wolf conservation trusts. And, of course, they give artists the chance to get up-close to a huge range of wildlife. No subject is too…

What are the benefits of using pastels for wildlife paintings? Their soft appearance can create the textures of animals. And being able to blend easily, work in multiple layers and create soft feathery edges is vital for capturing realistic fur. What’s the best way to capture images of animals in the wild? Ideally you need a long lens and a lot of patience. I prefer to take my own reference photos giving me a firsthand experience of the animals, as well as control over composition and lighting. Do you work in the studio or on location? My process often begins behind the camera and with sketches on location. I will use these images in Photoshop to come up with my composition. At the moment, I live and work in a…

COVER STAR I am sending a photo of my painting, which I have just submitted to the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2018. I have been painting magazine covers since 2015. I wanted to focus on covers I find beautiful and cute but also the content was somewhat important. I need to be interested in some articles. The magazine covers are like pieces of art and I want to make paintings from them and put them out there in important art institutions. I hope they will be selected, but at least I know that established artists will look at them. Aurélie, via email THE WONDER OF WATERCOLOUR It’s now seven years since I’ve began to play with watercolours. I say ‘play’ because I am self-taught in every aspect of…

1 JACKSON’S OPEN PAINTING PRIZE It’s not too late to enter this prestigious competition, which comes with a bumper award bundle including a top prize of £5,000, a People’s Choice Prize of £2,000 and six category prizes of £500, as well as the opportunity for finalists’ work to be exhibited in London at the Hampstead Affordable Art Fair. The deadline is 16 March. www.jacksonspaintingprize.com 2 PAINT Paint Like Van Gogh Led by Sarah Wimperis, who worked on the amazing Loving Vincent painted film, you will be able to explore the great artist’s technique and colour palette at this one-day workshop at Pegasus Art in Stroud on 17 March. www.pegasusart.co.uk 3 WATCH Vincent van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing Back by popular demand, Exhibitions on Screen is bringing back to…

From acting with Cliff Richard in Summer Holiday and a decade-long stint in sitcom classic Till Death Us Do Part to adding spark to her portrayal of Mrs Hudson in the TV sensation that is Sherlock, actor Una Stubbs has never been far from our screens. But this national treasure is less familiar to the public as a talented painter of watercolours who, despite describing herself as an amateur, has had paintings selected for the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition on four occasions. The world-famous show is the most popular open-call art exhibition in the world, with artworks selected anonymously from approximately 12,000 submissions, meaning reputations – and celebrity – are left at the door. Works by amateurs are proudly hung on the Academy’s walls alongside seasoned Academicians and…

5-MINUTE SKETCH: THE MUSIC This drawing is on packaging paper. The torn red paper quickly establishes the body, but it needs more work. The drawn lines of Indian ink – applied with a sharpened stick – connect it to the rest of the body to indicate form. Bright-red oil pastel fills in the cuff and the dark red explains the shaded back of the body. Red paper was a way in: a strong beginning that encouraged bold moves with oil pastels. When we work quickly, we leave room for the viewer to fill in the gaps. 5-MINUTE SKETCH: BALLET DANCER This drawing is on glossy smooth paper. I brushed on green acrylic ink to convey the tutu’s texture, movement and feel, then glued crumpled greaseproof paper to give a layered…

I LOVE… the versatility of oils. They lend themselves to everything from fine translucent washes to thick impasto. MY FAVOURITE PLACE TO PAINT IS… in my studio at home. There’s no commute and I can paint at any time of day or night. It also means that I can mull over whatever is on the easel even when I am not working. MY IDEAL SUBJECT MATTER IS… people. I find them an endlessly fascinating subject. I FIND MY INSPIRATION IN… everyday life. Unless I’m working on a commission, I paint people I know: friends, neighbours and colleagues. THE BEST ADVICE I’VE RECEIVED WAS… to enter open exhibitions. It came from my then tutor, Allan Ramsay, when I was a student. I am very grateful he pushed me to get started.…

I started this oil painting in October, but fell seriously ill with diabetes and an ensuing heart attack. While in hospital, my eyesight changed from shortsighted to longsighted overnight. On leaving hospital I was determined to finish my painting. I found it took my mind away from health concerns. There were times when my changing eyesight made it hard to focus on detail but I persevered and completed it as my eyesight and health were starting to return to normal. Richard Paul, via email, Romsey, Hampshire. www.richardpaulart.co.uk…

“Posting on social media becomes more rewarding as your audience grows” Social media gets bad press, but I remain a fan. Handled in the right way, it is an effective tool for artists who want to build an audience for their work. A strong presence can bring many benefits, so don’t be shy. Begin with what you know. Using one or two platforms is plenty. I was familiar with Facebook, so I started there. Building an audience using a familiar platform lets you concentrate on your posts, not on how it works. This makes it easier to post regularly, which is key to attracting followers. There’s plenty of time to try alternative platforms when you have finessed your posting skills. If you are new to social media, ask your peers…

“I don’t see sculpture and painting as separate. Ideas develop across all activites” You were elected a Royal Academician in the sculptors category in 2014. When did you become interested in drawing and printmaking? The idea of categories is quite outmoded now. Although I do consider myself primarily a sculptor, my works on paper are not separate. Everything is related. I’ve always made drawings and often paint my sculptures. When I was about six or seven years old, I was given a bag of modelling clay. I remember being completely absorbed making animals and painting them. Speaking of the development of your artistic language, which course did you take? When I arrived at art school at the age of 19, I wanted to learn how to work with materials and…

Painting wildlife is beset with difficulties not often experienced with other genres. This style of painting can be divided into many categories. One of the problems of painting wildlife is that animals move around and can be hard to see. Many wildlife artists work from photographs, something purists are not keen on. Yet some animals are so rare, it is almost impossible to see them in their natural habitat. Many artists also work from captive animals. I would suggest that, because of these factors, as well as the huge variation in subject matter, painting wildlife to a high standard is one of the most difficult occupations. Fur, eyes, water, snow, trees, skies, animal skin, tusks, hair, habitat are all within the wildlife artist’s remit. www.pipmcgarry.com Pip’s materials • Oils Winsor…

Part of the illusion you are striving to create is that the subject is standing, sitting, climbing, laying down or jumping to the ground. If you think about it, even birds are ‘attached’ to the sky. Even if you do not sketch in the terrain, you should at least acknowledge it. This is an extract from 5-Minute Sketching: Animals & Pets by Gary Geraths, published by Search Press, £8.99. www.searchpress.com 1 ELASTIC PERSPECTIVE When we talk about using perspective it is in a fluid sense. Generally speaking you won’t be drawing solid buildings with a ridged ‘footprint’ on a flat plane but, more likely, creatures that are situated on uneven surfaces and objects; either way, the animal has to be connected to the ground in a convincing way.…

Acrylics come in various consistencies from ink, fluid and spray to soft/smooth and heavy body. These allow for translucent washes, seamless blending, highly detailed work or thickness for impasto effects. Basic-, student- and artist-quality paints are available to suit budgets. Basic and student acrylic contains more binder, while the more expensive artist quality contains more pigment meaning colours are purer, more vibrant and opaque, so less layering is required. An artist-quality smooth or heavy-body yellow paint will spark to life against a dark background. MIX IT UP Lots of brands produce student-or basic-quality smooth acrylic. I use a student-grade paint for demonstrating or practising and artist-quality heavy body for exhibition or commission pieces. A combination of the two – beginning a painting with student and refining with artist quality –…