Tabla de contenidos para May 2025 en Leisure Painter

Welcome to the May issue of Leisure Painter & The Artist, which is packed full of exciting content, demos from life and photographs, interviews, practical advice, opportunities, artwork and more. I am particularly inspired by Conor Smith's feature this month, as he responds to regularly asked questions about his drawings. His answers though are not just about his focus on animals and wildlife, and his techniques, but offer general insights into his practices and thought processes. The role of contrast in art, how to keep patient and motivated, and the importance of taking your time all play a part in the production of successful drawings and paintings. “Practice consistently and don't be afraid to try new techniques or tools; it's the best way to learn what works for you. And…

The best instructional books on drawing I've encountered over the past 30 years all agree on one thing: drawing is essentially the ability to see, and not just look. That, and developing our perceptual skills to interpret what we see will dramatically improve our drawing skills. Pure contour drawing The following two exercises are designed to train you to spend more time looking at the subject rather than the paper. Exercise 1 Contour Pure contour drawing is a tried-and-tested way of seeing that concentrates on observation alone. Aim to draw all the time you are observing and see the finished drawing as nothing more than a by-product. The pencil moves slowly in tandem with the eye without ever looking at the paper. Don't worry that the drawing won't look exactly…

Still life is a fantastic vehicle for learning about composition and polishing the technical aspect of painting. Any artist can find beauty in everyday items that will become the sophisticated ingredients of successful paintings. Inanimate objects tell stories, provide narrative and become intimate portraits, or on the other hand can be a simple vehicle for enabling you to explore painting – especially if you have a creative block. My advice is to select objects that resonate and have some emotional or sensory connection with you. This gives you a vested interest, better focus, and more of a personal investment in the work. This still-life project incorporates carefully chosen objects and flowers. The bouquet was selected for its energetic and uplifting combination of analogous and saturated colours. They are colours I…

Want to comment on something you've read, or seen? Email me at theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or visit our website at www.painters-online.co.uk/forum As I write this welcome, we are anticipating the final judging of our popular TALP Open competition, and my thoughts are with all the artists who have entered and who will be eagerly awaiting the results. It's not easy to put your work out there for scrutiny and I admire all those who do, but take comfort in the words of our contributors this month, who have all suffered setbacks on their roads to success. It is only by taking part and striving for acceptance that we learn and grow as artists. Practice and experimentation is the sure route to success for those who want to move their painting forward. Even…

Sending-in days Chelsea Art Society Details: Entries are now invited to the 76th annual exhibition by the Chelsea Art Society. Submissions are welcome in painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking, with over £9,500 worth of prizes to be won. Exhibition: Selected works will go on show at Chelsea Old Town Hall, London SW3 5EE, from June 18 to 23. When: Closes for entries on April 24. Contact: Enter online at chelseaartsociety.org.uk Landscape Open 2025 Details: The Salisbury Museum is calling for entries for the Landscape Open at Salisbury, a new annual opportunity for artists working within the genre of landscape painting. Works are invited across a range of media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, moving image, textile, print and mixed media. Exhibition: Approximately 75 works will be selected for the group…

PART 3 Grahame Booth is one of Ireland's best-known watercolour tutors. He has been teaching watercolour for over 35 years at workshops all over the world and his paintings have won many national and international awards. He is president of the Ulster Watercolour Society and a member of the Watercolour Society of Ireland. Grahame has written three books on watercolour techniques and has contributed to many others. He has a strong online presence with over 40,000 subscribers to his YouTube painting channel as well as a popular online teaching platform. For more information see grahamebooth.com Grahame's new book, Plein Air Painting With Watercolours will be published by Search Press in mid-July. In this final article in my series of using different resources we come to painting en plein air. Is…

The earliest memories I have of developing as an artist involve the practice of life drawing in the life room – which for those who are not familiar with it involves drawing a (usually) nude model from life. This activity remains an essential part of my practice today, even though I work from a variety of sources when I paint portraits. In this article I will explain why life drawing is an important discipline for me, what I believe the benefits are, and will offer my own thoughts on some of the methods that help me to tackle drawing directly from a model. Why do artists life draw? Life drawing, as a discipline to help improve artistic skill and draughtsmanship, originated in the Renaissance. It was a practice that emerged…

Watercolour Botanicals – the colour mixing guide Julie Collins In the past, colour mixing guides have tended to concentrate on numbers rather than actual use. Sometimes, counted in the thousands, every possible combination of shade and hue becomes overwhelming and the wood becomes impossible to see for the volume of trees. This, therefore, is a breath of fresh air, space to enjoy the sunlight and survey the scene. Although the cover feels the need to proclaim 'over 100 colour mixes', they are all related directly to specific subjects and are really palettes rather than just the perhaps more familiar technical exercises. After an introductory lesson on the principles of colour mixing, Julie works with specific subjects, which include leaves and seed heads as well as the obvious flowers. Each is…

MONTH FIVE Entering my fifth month as a full-time artist felt like a good time to reflect on what has been good and not so good so far. In doing so I have to admit there have been a few wobbles along the way. I've needed to remind myself why I made this move, what I want to achieve and that it's a marathon not a sprint to get to where I want to be in my art career. I suppose I'm still getting used to the fact that there is a lot of uncertainty when it comes to income which is the biggest challenge I've had to face. There was an advertising fail but also time to slow down and be inspired. At the beginning of this month my…

Mike Barr is a Fellow of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts. He has won over 80 awards, including 17 first prizes. You can find more of Mike's work at mikebarrfineart.com As far as learning how to paint is concerned, there has never been a better time for anyone, of any age to take up painting. Not only are tutorials available in print and on the web, but art materials are now very accessible. It would not be wrong to say that teaching art is almost entering an industrial stage in its development. One US-based company recently boasted having over 700 different teaching titles that are available on DVD or online. On top of that, the number of physical workshops available is also on the rise. So, there is…

When painting with watercolour, you don't have an easy way out when you need to create light details against dark areas of a painting, so you either use masking fluid, a wax resist, or perhaps resort to gouache, each of which have certain drawbacks attached to them. If you plan carefully though, you can adopt the negative-painting tactic, whereby you paint around the light object with a darker colour. An example of this would be where you might want to paint the darker spaces in between lighter chair legs. With practice you can become adept at this technique, but here I want to illustrate the importance of messing it about a bit in order to create a more natural result. If you have used this method to render bushes, foliage,…

In last month's issue I looked at ways that you could improve on the composition, tonal values, and colour of this snow scene of Galleywood Common (far right). I discussed perspective and decided that the car and figures were too small, and that we would leave out the posts on the left-hand side of the lane. If we made the car and figures larger and took away the posts, this would help to attract the eye back to the large, ivy-clad tree in the foreground. We also looked at the tonal values to see if we could make it an easier subject to paint using watercolour. Then finally, we looked at what colours could be used. We produced a tonal sketch and colour study to prove our thoughts were correct.…

In this instalment of my graphite wildlife art series, I'm answering some of the most common questions I've been asked about my approach to creating realistic wildlife drawings. From selecting the right tools and reference photos to achieving lifelike textures and strong contrasts, this Q&A covers techniques and insights I've developed through my experiences. Whether you're looking to refine your own skills or simply curious about the process, I hope these answers provide useful tips to help you bring your own graphite artwork to life. What inspired you to focus on wildlife art as your primary subject matter, and how did graphite become one of your go-to media? Wildlife offers such an incredible variety of textures and forms to explore. Whether it's the smooth scales of a reptile or the…

Colour me… The strawberry, with all its surface seeds, can be an intimidating fruit to paint. It can be a good idea to paint the seeds first so you don't lose track of them and accidentally paint over them. When painting the sepals, use your yellow and green mixes to create a nice gradation of colour. Ready for your next challenge? Here is a more detailed pinecone to draw. Remember, you only have 10 minutes! Colour me… Mixing your own browns gives you much more variety and control than using pre-mixed paints. Even by using the same three primaries in different amounts we can create a multitude of colours perfect for neutral subjects such as the pinecone. These exercises were adapted from Draw in 10 Minutes: Botanicals by Emma Tildesley…

Email theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or write to The Editor, The Artist, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH Please note we may have to edit letters for reasons of space This month's star letter writer will receive a pack of eight Spectrum Noir Bright Brush Artliners worth £9.99 (rrp). These thin-tipped pens are perfect for drawing, outlining, calligraphy, and fine detail colouring. The Japanese ink ensures precision, vibrant colours, and flawless coverage, plus they are quick-drying, and smudge-proof. STAR LETTER Don't let anything stop you! When I was 26 I went skiing and broke my leg. At home and bored, an artist friend suggested I painted. I bought oil paints and started painting, and have painted ever since. Now I'm 80 and have broken my wrist. I just…

Increasingly, I find artists are relying on photographs to work from entirely, rather than painting from life, as the latter encompasses many difficulties. These include finding a mutually convenient time where the sitter has time to pose (perhaps for several hours), as well as carting easels, paints and all the additional paraphernalia to their chosen location. As a former illustrator, before I turned to portraiture for a living, I became used to working with photographic images on a daily basis. I am also a published semi-professional photographer, which has put me in good stead for taking, understanding and manipulating digital images. So, rather than discussing how I go about painting a portrait, I thought it might be more useful to describe how I go about gathering and preparing the reference…

Hilary Page is the author of Watercolor Right from the Start, Color Right from the Start, Hilary Page's Guide to Watercolor Paints, Portraits Right from the Start and seven accompanying DVDs. She is a seasoned contributor to The Artist magazine. Originally from England, Hilary lives in Houston, Texas USA; hilarypage.com If you're anything like most painters, you'll have a collection of watercolour paints recommended from tutors, books and articles that you've forgotten what you bought them for. In this article I'll walk you through how to evaluate those paints to help with your watercolour painting. One tip for new paint purchases: never buy a paint that doesn't list the pigment content on the tube, such as pigment blue, PB28 for cobalt blue. You need to know what you are getting.…

Sarah Edmonds is the marketing manager for Pegasus Art, a freelance art marketing consultant and a watercolour painter. Sarah studied a short course at the Slade School of Fine Art followed by a degree in marketing and has worked in the industry ever since. sarahedmonds-marketing.com If asked to name the key figure in Impressionism, few people today would nominate Camille Pissarro. Yet to his contemporaries this quiet revolutionary was the unifying force behind the movement that he had helped to launch with the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. 'We learned everything we do from Pissarro,' said Paul Cézanne in the 1890s. 'It's he who was really the first Impressionist.' Colin Harrison, the curator of Pissarro, Father of Impressionism at the Ashmolean Museum in 2022, says, 'He is the most sincere…

Have your say Learn from each other I have to agree with David Bellamy about art societies being highly valued places for members, where they can pursue their art and meet with likeminded people. At the same time, I was saddened to read that some members feel they have to leave their society due to high-handed rules. I think societies can learn so much from each other and develop practices that serve everyone. I would like to tell you a little about our society in the hope that it may help others. Our Filey Art Society had its 50th birthday in 2024 and the committee organised an afternoon tea celebration for members. At our AGM this month, we increased our membership potential to 50, due to us having a waiting…

Caran d'Ache NEOART 6901 WAX OIL PASTELS The ground-breaking Neoart 6901 Wax Oil Pastels from Caran d'Ache combine quality, performance and endurance, being the first pastel ever to achieve 100-per-cent lightfastness for up to 100 years. As well as unparalleled lightfastness, the pastels, which combine wax and oil offer vibrant colour and smooth application – with an octagonal shape to make them easy to hold for extra precision. Neoart 6901 pastels can be used on a range of surfaces, including paper, canvas, glass and wood, offering endless possibilities for artists. There are 48 colours, available in three distinct sets to cater to a wide variety of needs, including the 12-colour set (rrp £37.99), which includes essential shades for daily use; the 24-colour set (rrp £73.99) that is ideal for landscapes,…