Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Artists & Illustrators

HOW TO ENTER Each month, we select Portfolio Plus artworks on a theme to feature in our Editor’s Pick email, which is sent to more than 50,000 people. The editor’s favourite wins a £50 art materials voucher from Cass Art. • Our next theme is ‘Winter’. Portfolio Plus members can submit artwork online at www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/submit-editors-pick before noon on 19 November. • Not a member? Sign up to Portfolio Plus for just £2.49. www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/register…

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) is one of the UK’s best-loved poets. This exhibition will present portraits of Rossetti and highlights of the many visual images inspired by her words. Alongside her own intriguing and virtually unknown drawings, this show will consider Rossetti’s complex attitude to visual art, recognising the enduring appeal of her verse to artists from the 1850s through to the present day.…

“Never apologise for wanting to make art or trivialise your ambition” I had a conversation with a retired doctor recently who had finally found time to make art. She worried that she was dabbling – flitting between ways of working, media and subjects – and wasting time without direction. Choosing a satisfying and stimulating path through the myriad ways to make art is immensely rewarding. But where do we begin? The first thing to do is to take yourself seriously. I don’t mean becoming the temperamental artist but, instead, having respect for your ambitions. Art, like all skills, requires perseverance and practice. If you are serious, you are far more likely to find the time and, crucially, persuade your nearest and dearest that you need it, too. Never apologise for…

1. ONLINE Take a digital photo of your artwork(s).Visit www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/aoty. Entry is £8 per artwork, unless you are a member of Portfolio Plus – if so, entry is free. Complete the form, taking care to fill in all requested fields, attach your artworks (up to nine per form) and complete your payment information (if applicable). Select the ‘Submit’ button. 2. BY POST Complete the form on the right and post it, along with a photo or print of your artwork (and cheque if applicable) to: Artists of the Year 2019, Artists & Illustrators, The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd., Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ. You may enter multiple times, but please complete a separate form for each entry. Photocopies are accepted. OTHER INFORMATION Please do not send original…

The artist was born in Birmingham in 1833 to a lower-middle class family. The only child of Edward Richard Jones and Elizabeth Jones (née Coley), his mother died less than a week after his birth. His father, a framer and gilder, owned a business in Birmingham. His grief-stricken father baptised him Edward Coley Burne Jones: the Coley coming from his mother and Burne from an aunt. In 1885 he added a hyphen to his surname sparking some friendly derision. In 1860 Burne-Jones married Georgiana Macdonald, the daughter of a Methodist minister, whom he had known since the 1850s. Their son Philip was born in 1861 and their daughter Margaret in 1866.…

“I find creating art a lonely process; it is done in solitude, much like a poem” When did you first discover that art was your passion? I first tried my hand at art in school in New Zealand, after moving from my native country Niue. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until I turned 18 I decided I wanted to be an artist. Did you receive any formal training? I never went to art school but, when I was growing up, I was surrounded by poets and painters. They were encouraging. Once I discovered my passion for art, I began writing poetry, which led to painting and, later, printmaking. I’ve never had a “normal” nine-to-five job. It took me a long time to start making a living from it –…

• Oils Royal Talens, Rembrandt Oil Colours: Burnt Umber, Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Yellow Ochre, Transparent Oxide Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Transparent Oxide Orange, Scarlet, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Medium, Permanent Madder Deep, Permanent Red Violet, Ultramarine Blue Deep, Kings Blue, Phthalo Green Blue, Viridian, Sap Green • Brushes Silver Brush Company: Ruby Satin, filberts, no 2 and 4, flat no 6, Silverstone, fan no 6, no 2 • Mediums Gamblin: Refined Linseed Oil, Gamsol, Galkyd, Gamvar • Support RayMar: oil-primed linen panel…

I work in acrylic so choosing a palette and managing paint is vital because of the rapid drying time. A stay-wet palette is often recommended but I find them problematic. Using damp tissue or paper as a base to place paint on can create pools of muddy colour or a mix that’s too runny. I use a Radial Sorting tray (top left), which is recommended for watercolour and costs just under £10. It is plastic and contains 12 of the deepest wells of any artist palette, as well as a large central well. It is also circular with a large groove underneath to make it easier to grip. Although it doesn’t come with a lid, I improvise with a cake stand. An alternative is a plastic nut or snack selection…

SIMPLE PLEASURES I’ve recently returned from Canada and had the pleasure to visit the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, which is holding an exhibition of folk artist Maud Lewis (1903-1970), who was born in Yarmouth. She lived with her husband in a small, colourful house measuring less than 16sqm. After her death, it was felt Maud Lewis was such an icon of Nova Scotia folk art that the house was moved and lovingly restored with most original interior details. It is now the centre of the exhibition. This is where Maud created her work using only basic materials, but she produced colourful artwork given her humble life, depicting everyday things in the region and sharing her clear and innocent view of nature and love of rural and coastal…

1 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ARTISTS OPEN HOUSES CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL Grab the chance to buy unique Christmas gifts as hundreds of artists and makers across the city open their houses and studio spaces to the public on 24 and 25 November, 1 and 2 December, and 8 and 9 December. www.aoh.org.uk 2 DRAW Comic Cats Drawing Masterclass Learn the key aspects of drawing a cat in comic and illustrative styles on this weekend masterclass at the British Library in London, from 1 to 2 December. www.bl.uk 3 COMPETE Wildlife Artist of the Year 2019 The prestigious annual animal art competition is open for entries. Enter your beautiful wildlife paintings and drawings before 18 February 2019 for the chance to be crowned the winner. www.davidshepherd.org 4 WATCH Degas: Passion for Perfection This…

The artist’s work sparked debate at times. The watercolour Phyllis and Demophoön, 1870, informed by Botticelli’s 1482 Primavera and based on Chaucer’s 14th-century Legend of Good Women, was exhibited by the Old Water Colour Society in 1870. It was badly reviewed. Members objected to the full-frontal nudity, which Burne-Jones refused to alter. He cancelled his membership and did not exhibit his work publicly for seven years, later stating it was seven “blissfullest years of work… no fuss, no publicity, no teasing about exhibiting, no getting pictures done against time”.…

DAILY DRAWING Artist JESSICA LEWIS explains why she is inspired to explore the shapes of leaves One way I get inspired is by taking a walk and picking up pretty bits of vegetation as I go. I get rejuvenated being out of the studio and in the fresh air. It’s easy to draw a simple oval leaf but, when I take time to look closely, I’m fascinated by all of the different species and the way they grow from their stems. I like to collect a variety of leaves and make interesting compositions based on their shapes. Then I can take the drawing to another place by adding contrasting patterns and colours within the leaves. This is an extract from 100 Days of Drawing by Jennifer Lewis, published by Abrams,…

I’ve always sent homemade cards – although I have progressed from the cotton wool snowmen that I made as a child – and I never get tired of the feeling I get when I take the first pull of a new block: it’s always a surprise. Carol will teach a Christmas cardmaking workshop at The Art Academy, London SE1, on 25 and 25 November. www.carolwilhide.com ; www.artacademy.org.uk 1 KEEP IT SIMPLE Draw your design on tracing paper. Keep it bold and graphic. It’s the raised areas – the parts of the block that haven’t been cut away – which are inked and then printed on the paper. The cut away areas will remain white. 2 THINK IN REVERSE Flip the tracing paper so that your…

This month, I’ve been looking at the interior studies of Gwen John (1876-1939). Although often overshadowed by her eminent brother Augustus, Gwen is much like her paintings – quiet, understated and brilliant. There is a stillness and intimacy in her images of individual sitters and her modest Paris room that makes each painting feel like an invitation to come, sit and look with her. Interior studies are contemplative by nature, perhaps in memory of the people who are conspicuously absent. I painted a chair in a quiet, window-side corner of Rosslyn Castle, near Edinburgh, while staying there this autumn, borrowing from the lessons of Gwen John’s work. www.jakespicreart.co.uk LESSON 1 COMPOSITION AND DESIGN When I was sketching the design for my composition, I borrowed the strong central vertical – around…

“I try to put the landscape into animals with feel and colour” The artist is preparing to take off on another adventure, this time to paint the lions of Namibia, as we meet up at his home studio in Vauxhall, London. “I’ve come full circle,” he says. While giving a talk recently to accompany his latest exhibition, A Memory of Elephants, at John Martin Gallery in London, Mark dug out and showed some of his childhood drawings of African animals as proof of his long obsession. Drawing and painting wildlife has been the cornerstone of not only this artist’s career, but his life. As he chats about his artist mother and idyllic-sounding childhood immersed in the wildlife of coastal Ireland in his studio –which is packed with his expressive artworks…

Our exciting community lets you share, showcase and sell your art on a personalised webpage for just £2.49 per month. You can then enter Artists of the Year 2019 for free. Other benefits include: •Sell your work commission free in our Art for Sale area •Display as many works as you want •Get your work seen in regular online exhibitions, the monthly Editor’s Pick newsletter and across our social media channels •The chance to feature in the magazine’s Fresh Paint section •Publish your own blog Sign up now for £24.99 per year or £2.49 per month at www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/ register…

Victorian artist, late Pre-Raphaelite, early instigator of the Arts and Crafts movement, and a close friend and business partner of William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones (1833-98) is the subject of a major retrospective at Tate Britain this autumn. Edward Burne-Jones: Pre-Raphaelite Visionary is the gallery’s first exhibition dedicated to the artist since 1933, featuring more than 150 key works. It was born out of Tate’s 2012 Pre-Raphaelites exhibition curated by Alison Smith, who, alongside Tim Mitchell, has created this new show. Burne-Jones described himself as an artist-craftsman. This is revealed in the exhibition’s displays of stained glass, tapestries, jewellery, embroideries, drawings and paintings, which explore the artist’s rise from self-taught draughtsman to world recognition in the 1890s as “the greatest artist to have ever emanated from Britain.” Smith considers it timely…

Water-based spray gesso lets artists create a grainy surface for good paint adhesion. With a traditional white appearance and suitable for preparing oil, acrylic and alkyd, it doesn’t yellow or discolour. And it’s ideal if you’re keeping one eye on your environmental impact. Ghiant’s H20 water-based gesso has 90 fewer solvents and 35 per cent fewer volatile organic compounds than traditional aerosols, so you can spray with a clear conscience. Ghiant H20 is available from Jackson’s Art at £9.10 per 400ml. www.jacksonsart.com…

Snow scenes are popular with watercolour painters, possibly because of the misleading idea that snow can be left as untouched white paper. Of course it can be but, unfortunately, this will look flat and rather cold. Real snow is cold to the touch, but light from the low winter sun is warm and this permeates it with an appealing warmth. It is also a mistake to assume snow must be white. It need only be light. As long as the areas around the snow are sufficiently darker, the washes for snow can be further from white than you might imagine. With this painting, I will show you a simple method to achieve warmth, as well as some tips on how to give snow a sense of depth and three dimensions.…

I took this amaryllis with me when I moved from Florida to Alabama years ago. In late winter, when it’s grey outside, its blooms are a bright spot of sunshine in our home. My passion lies in painting figures and faces but I’ve always thought I’d like to tackle this beauty. Recently it occurred to me to try a figure painting featuring the amaryllis when a study outside my comfort zone was called for. www.terrystricklandart.com 1 SET-UP, COMPOSE AND BLOCK-IN I moved the flowers to the studio and introduced drama by adding a spotlight and dark backdrop. I chose a composition and began painting with Burnt Umber thinned with a little odourless mineral spirits (OMS). I used a no 2 filbert brush, drawing lines to locate the stalks and flowers.…

“Along with warm and cool, test the qualities of transparency, translucency and opacity” When he introduced the primary and secondary colours of the visible spectrum in the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton provided artists with the first modern colour palette. He identified red, yellow and blue as the three foundation colours from which purple, orange and green could be made. He further identified a tertiary group made from colours adjacent to the secondary colours on the colour wheel. But, for painters, it’s just not that simple. The variety of orange, purple and green pigments on the market present a challenge in choosing the right ones for their palette. Each has unique historical properties, as well as individual temperature, density and chroma. Like varieties of red, yellow and blue pigments, a…