Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Artists & Illustrators

As the lockdown continues to bite and our world is briefly restricted to a radius around our houses about the length of a daily walk, it is easy to forget that there is a big, colourful and creative world out there just waiting for us to immerse ourselves in when all this is finally over. I was personally reminded of this fact when I spoke to the three artists featured in our “Illustration Now” special which begins on page 20. We had little idea when we first decided to interview the most recent winners of Britain’s three biggest illustration prizes that the recipients were based in New York, Berlin and Melbourne. It has given the nine-page special a pleasingly international flavour, while the artworks of Amber Vittoria, Ann Kiernan and…

“Ruby Loftus Screwing a Beech Ring played into a key interest in Dame Laura’s work: the roles people play” As British men were sent to the trenches in the 1940s, thousands of women were also conscripted, taking the men’s places as ambulance drivers, air-raid wardens and munitions factory workers. Suddenly, women were being called upon to plug the gap in the economy by taking up roles that were previously off limits to them. To stir up urgent patriotism for this “war work”, the British government’s War Artists’ Advisory Committee commissioned artists’ help to get their message across. One of them was Dame Laura Knight, who came from little, yet went on to become one of the most well-known painters of mid-20th-century Britain. In 1943, Knight set up her easel in…

During the lockdown, I am sure that I am not alone in finding myself returning to a favoured motif within my paintings. Those of you familiar with my work will know that painting citrus in one form or another is one of the subjects that makes a regular appearance. During the winter months these fruits add a splash of colour to our lives and I like to think it does much the same within a painting. The bright hue and varied shapes of the fruit, which we can peel, tear or slice, provides us with some beautiful forms and textures. The addition of a directional light can assist in creating a mood. It is worth experimenting with top lighting, side light, low light and back lighting to see the different…

After his marriage in 1816, a 40-year-old John Constable left the fields and rivers of his beloved Suffolk and settled more permanently in London. He had been in the habit of painting outdoors in the countryside he’d known all his life. His studio was, for the first time, miles from his subject. He was presented with the challenge of how to paint ambitious Royal Academy-worthy paintings without the wind blowing through the trees in front of his eyes. He was determined to continue painting landscapes and only his own Dedham Vale would do. He decided to use the many small drawings and oil studies in his studio to create the large-scale compositions he had in mind. In 1821 he wrote to his friend John Fisher, “I do not consider myself…

TERRY’S ALL GOLD I really enjoyed having a go at Terence Clarke’s still life masterclasses and was delighted to find another in January 2021 [Issue 425]. I really enjoyed painting them as I usually fiddle too much! Thank you. Another of his paintings would be good… Wendy Moore, via email Wonderful paintings, Wendy. We shared your work with Terence who said: “Many thanks for sharing the images. I’m so flattered that people have a go at my demos!” EXTRA TEXTURES Rob Dudley produced an interesting article on the use of textural effects in watercolour painting [Issue 426]. I would like to add a couple of other ideas that people may find useful. Rubbing watercolour pencil or pastels on sandpaper so that the grains drop onto wet or damp paper creates…

1 RAYMOND BRIGGS: A RETROSPECTIVE 30 April to 18 August It’s ironic that the person behind two of the best-loved Christmas characters – The Snowman and Father Christmas – hates the holiday season. Yet beneath Raymond Briggs’ Scrooge-like outlook is an illustrator capable of telling powerful visual stories with humour and sensitivity. Celebrating the breadth of his career, this touring exhibition from the House of Illustration brings together artwork from his personal archive with materials from books such as Mother Goose, Fungus the Bogeyman and Ethel and Ernest. Winchester Discovery Centre, Hampshire. www.hampshireculture.org.uk 2 A PASSION FOR LANDSCAPE: REDISCOVERING JOHN CROME 23 April to 5 September The reputation of John Crome took a tumble recently as several fraudulent copies of his work surfaced. Yet this bicentenary show, held in his…

AMBER VITTORIA OVERALL PROFESSIONAL WINNER, WORLD ILLUSTRATION AWARDS 2020 What do you see is your role as an illustrator today? To ideally bring moments for people to pause, digest, and ponder the situations and people that my work depicts, in hopes of encouraging them to be more accepting of those who are not like them. How did you develop your style initially? I went to Boston University’s College of Fine Arts to study graphic design, so even though my education was heavily rooted in fine art and design practices, I never actually studied as an illustrator. My love for thinking as a designer and creating like a fine artist naturally led me to the path of being a more abstracted figurative illustrator. You’ve challenged stereotypes with your work, particularly…

In the first part of my series on mixing secondary colours last month, I used the colour orange as a means to explore the basic concept of an artist’s palette and how a suitable choice of hues can make colour mixing so much easier and more predictable. The twin primary palette uses two reds, two blues and two yellows, with each pair of primaries biased towards their two adjacent secondaries. In that first article, I looked at mixing oranges from our primary yellows and reds, but pointed out that, because red, orange and yellow are clearly and closely related to one another, the mixing possibilities don’t really give much in the way of impact. This month I will look at mixing purples and how the possibilities of the twin primary…

Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? That slight itch that suggests that everyone else – those with the talent, skills and know-how – is enjoying a party somewhere while you aren’t quite good enough for the guest list. I certainly feel it and perhaps you do too? Research papers point out that the more creative we are, the more likely we are to have imposter syndrome. While I like to see imposter syndrome as a badge of creativity, there are times when self-doubt needs taming. Here are a few thoughts to help banish those niggles – temporarily, at least. “The more creative we are, the more likely we are to have imposter syndrome” Firstly, think about why you make art. My guess is that you do it because it means…

Using just French Ultramarine and Quinacridone Magenta, it is easy to mix a bright variety of purples and violets that will come very close to many proprietary colours (existing tubes of shop-bought paint). Try mixing this range of swatches yourself – there is no better way to get to grips with colour mixing. Aim to add just enough of the second primary for each swatch to create a subtle but definite colour change. On the duller range, the orange bias of Winsor Red and green bias of Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) are so far from each other that the mixed hues could barely be considered to be purple. Instead, we get this useful array of purplish greys.…

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT YOUR NEW ROLE? The opportunity to evolve the House of Illustration into a national centre for an art form that is in all of our everyday lives, and working with the illustration community, local people and visitors to make it happen. HOW WILL THE HOUSE OF ILLUSTRATION EVOLVE? We’re moving to New River Head – it’s a complex of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in Clerkenwell [see above] that has a unique place in London’s industrial heritage as it was connected to bringing clean drinking water into the city. WHAT CHANGES ARE BEING MADE TO THE SITE? We’re working with architect Tim Ronalds to create a cultural landmark while keeping that evocative sense of history still visible. There will be three galleries, a…