Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i Artists & Illustrators

After enjoying a lovely summer followed by the rich colours of autumn, we decided to not sulk as winter approaches but rather embrace the artistic possibilities of the colder weather. Our brilliant deputy editor Rachael has taken the lead in this respect, donning the thermals to properly explore the work of three painters who have quite literally gone to the ends of the earth to create cool, glacial landscapes that speak of the impending climate crisis. Sticking with the wintry theme elsewhere in the issue, illustrator Chris Wormell shares the techniques behind his charity Christmas card designs, while Rob Dudley is intent on proving that the Andy Williams song is, in fact, true and this really is the most wonderful time of the year as he shows you how to…

1 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: COASTAL LANDSCAPES BY JEREMY GARDINER 24 January to 22 March 2020 Fascinated by the geology of England’s south coast, Jeremy Gardiner set out to capture the way the landscape is shaped by the forces of nature. Iconic subjects including Durdle Door, Seven Sisters and Port Isaac [Amber Light, Port Isaac, pictured] are depicted in this expressive body of work made during the last five years. The exhibition will tour to Falmouth Art Gallery. St Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Hampshire. www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk 2 GLYN UZZELL 1930-2014 21 January to 7 March 2020 This retrospective explores the rich career of the late Swindon-born artist, who travelled extensively, studying in New York and Paris, and teaching in Geneva, before setting up his studio and print workshop in the Algarve…

Louise Fairchild Many great artists tend to downplay the use of assistants, feeling it somehow detracts from the finished work, yet Louise Fairchild is far more generous. All is not quite as it seems though. A photo on her website reveals that her team of “artist’s assistants” consist of a taxidermy barn owl and an 11-year-old Jack Russell called Stuff. If it initially appears that the artist’s tongue was planted firmly in her cheek, Stuff’s role should not be downplayed. “She not only keeps me company during what is essentially a fairly isolated day, but has also, on our daily walks, led me to the wood and river scenes that inspire me so much.” After graduating in fine art from Reading University, Louise spent many years as a commercial illustrator,…

Winter might not have a reputation as being the most colourful of seasons. It lacks the showiness of autumn, the vibrancy of spring and the sheer variety of summer greens. Nevertheless, I believe winter offers as spectacular a range of colours as any of the other season – if you know when and where to look. A landscape blanketed under snow brings its own palette and, when the eventual thaw arrives, this also throws up some interesting colour combinations for the painter to consider, as the receding snow often reveals isolated patches of unexpected colours. This was just the case when I went out for a winter walk late one afternoon. Walking around a bend in the lane, I was immediately struck by the brightly-coloured hedge, a dazzling orange set…

DREAM BABY DREAM I have painted approximately 100 paintings in the past three years. Sometimes the subject for a picture comes easily to mind, but other times it seems more difficult to find inspiration. A short while ago I had a vivid and colourful dream. It was so real that, as soon as I awoke, I noted down all the details I could remember. Mostly dreams fade away quite all too quickly. In the world of dreams the impossible becomes possible. Reality is suspended. In this particular dream I was in two places at once. Flying over the trees and watching myself and my family walking along a footpath in a nearby arboretum. I made a painting of this dream with oil paints [below left], making extensive use of a…

One of the wonderful things about art is our ability to craft new images using the same materials as the Old Masters. However, when they are made from centuries-old recipes developed in less enlightened times, it can be problematic. While animal hair brushes and rabbit-skin glue may be obvious, other art materials with animal by-products can include gouache (gelatine and oxgall), oil paints (beeswax), paper (sized with gelatine), and watercolour (honey). Luckily for vegans, or simply any conscientious artist, there are plenty of traditional-style alternatives on the market. DERWENT GRAPHIC PENCILS Graphite can sometimes be non-vegan, thanks to the presence of tallow, a smoothing agent made from animal fats. The harder pencils, from B to 9H, in this range are all free from animal products. www.pencils.co.uk DALER-ROWNEY SYSTEM 3 ACRYLICS…

In the wake of growing concerns surrounding the very real threats of climate change, it’s perhaps unsurprising that there are artists making some of the globes most remote, unhospitable and under-threat environments the subject of their work. What is more surprising, perhaps, is how these works can be used, with paintings proving useful for scientific researchers keen to show the rapidly changing faces of these frozen landscapes as both temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. This quest to capture these transitioning environments connects three highly influential artists operating on opposite sides of the Atlantic who have all worked in some of the most remote and fragile places on earth. A new exhibition at The McManus in Dundee, Among the Polar Ice, brings together works by a number of artists…

DEVELOPING THE IDEA These two designs were made for a range of Christmas cards for Book Aid International, the UK’s leading international book donation and library development charity. Every year, the charity aims to ship around one million brand new books to thousands of communities where people have very few opportunities to access books and read. The exclusive cards are available to purchase online and each pack sold enables the charity to send a new book to people around the world that really need them. I’m probably happiest drawing animals so it seemed a natural choice for these cards – animals with books, of course! Polar bears are suitably wintery, and robins are an iconic Christmas image. I scribbled rough ideas in a sketchbook then did more finished (though still…

How good are you at asking for what you want when it comes to your art? Being the one making the first approach can feel daunting, whether that’s joining a local art group or picking up the phone to call your first gallery. I’m the first to confess that I am very bad at asking. It took me three days of agonising before I emailed the editor of this magazine to suggest I write for him. In retrospect I needn’t have worried, but I am glad I did: it shows how much the idea mattered to me. Start by seeing nerves as a positive sign that you are invested in whatever it is you are requesting. Being invested is great, but it’s just as important to think through your request…

Simon Jones’ career has two distinct halves. On the one hand he and his wife Caroline run an architectural visualisation business, producing watercolour representations of proposed architectural projects. The other side of his work is fine art: his free-flowing, atmospheric paintings of places in his native Wales are markedly different from his architectural works: here, there is room for experimentation, spontaneity and happy accidents. The free flow of water expresses architectural forms and the effects of light, with layered washes helping to define areas of light and shadow. His studio, in his home in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, reflects this two-pronged career: one orderly side is given over to the architectural work, while the other side – a riot of paint tubes, brushes and half-finished paintings, is dedicated to the fine art.…

I understand why many contemporary artists who attend courses at the Norfolk Painting School initially shun the idea of working traditionally. The trouble with old-fashioned painting is, well, it looks so old fashioned. In this second part of my series, I’d like you to pause for thought, however, or at least question your assumptions for a moment. While Old Master paintings are the stuff of art history, the ideas and techniques used in them can be as relevant today as they always were. With this in mind, I’d like to focus upon the one concept that you’ll find in almost any Old Master painting: optics. When it comes to painting, optics refers to the ways in which they interact with light. It is the reason that we can all recognise…

For this piece I’m going to advocate that readers undertake a form of identity theft, but this isn't the nefarious enterprise it might seem. Picture instead a Stars in Their Eyes-style opportunity to become, in a painting at least, someone quite different from yourself. This may at first seem like a frivolous exercise, however, when we begin to explore self-portraiture through purposeful role playing, we can gain much greater insight about our true selves. There is, of course, some truth in the notion that we paint well that which we know, be this the familiar face in the mirror or our lived experience. It could also be said, however, that we may not feel able to become – and by extension, cannot conceive of depicting – that which we cannot…