Tabla de contenidos para August 2025 en Leisure Painter

If there is a theme to this month’s Leisure Painter it has to be experimentation this summer – and finding ways and techniques that help you to become more playful and relaxed when painting. I pulled out Nina Squire’s words this month (below) as a way of reminding myself that it doesn’t always have to be about the end result – the creative journey, with all its highs and lows, is just as important as finishing the artwork. Join Nina on the beach to learn the ways she uses soft pastels to fill her sketchbooks; a medium we don’t often pair with sketching outdoors. I think the key here is not being too concerned about the result (although as you’d expect the work in Nina’s sketchbooks looks stunning) – and…

You will learn ● To use methods for painting with soft pastels in sketchbooks ● To relax and stop thinking that sketching must be fast ● To pack light! I often see raised eyebrows when I mention that I love using soft pastels in my sketchbook. Watercolours are a popular choice, being portable and easy to use, but pastels and pastel pencils feel more familiar to me. I used to take watercolours out, but I always missed my pastels. One day, I simply used them instead, and I haven’t missed the watercolours since! In this article, I’ll share my favourite tips and techniques to help you enjoy using pastels in your sketchbook. Why soft pastels? One of the great things about soft pastels is that they’re ready to use straight…

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 we approach World Friendship day (Wednesday July 30), I have been giving some thought to the role friendship plays in the lives of today’s artists. Creativity can be a solitary pastime and, of course, there are times when that isolation can be just what you want. But the support and comradeship of other like-minded people, sharing and identifying with friends, is necessary too in order to challenge us as artists and allow us to grow and flourish. Charles Williams, president of the Royal Watercolour Society, has written for us this month about the forthcoming President’s Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery in London, featuring his own work and that of David…

Karl Terry has enjoyed a successful career as a professional artist since 2008, exhibiting his work widely, including in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, The Discerning Eye and with the New English Art Club (NEAC). He is a prolific and passionate plein-air painter, who enjoys capturing landscapes and cityscapes throughout the UK and overseas in all weathers and has honed his craft by painting alongside some of the UK’s and USA’s finest landscape artists. Unusually, Karl continues to run his heritage roofing company alongside his painting career, which gives him the advantage of an alternative steady income, and the freedom to paint whatever inspires him. Although you still run your roofing company, you combine this with a highly professional approach to your painting practice. Can you describe a typical day?…

Becky Thorley-Fox SWLA is a landscape and wildlife painter specialising in oils. She carries a lightweight palette and easel out into the landscape along with a telescope to capture wildlife en plein air. Originally from Cheshire, she moved to the west coast of mid-Wales where she finds an endless source of inspiration. Becky is a member of the Society of Wildlife Artists; her work can be seen in the annual exhibition The Natural Eye at the Mall Galleries in London each autumn. Becky has an online gallery showcasing her latest work beckythorley-fox.co.uk ‘A special thank you to the Erik Hosking Trust for helping to fund the upgrade of my field scope to a larger Swarovski field scope. This new scope has opened up a new world of painting opportunities that…

Nature in Ink and Coloured Pencil Helen Hanson Books on drawing and painting nature abound and choosing one comes down to personal preference and whether they offer something useful or different. Helen Hanson, whose previous offering dealt with landscape, provides plenty of variety and depth combined with a high level of accessibility, which you might consider to be a winning combination. The media she uses allow for precise work, so we’re looking at a good degree of representation rather than colour – and shape-based interpretation. For all that, the level of detail is not obsessive and it is this, combined with some very thorough explanations that make the book so easy and pleasant to follow. The cover image gives you a fair idea of what to expect – birds, insects…

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 While some artists refuse to paint the same subject more than once, those who do are in good company when we think of the likes of Monet with his famous haystacks and cathedral series. And while we might argue that Monet was exploring the effects of light at different times of the day and at different seasons, the benefits of such a way of painting are still important to artists today. Importantly, paintings done in series don’t have to be executed one after the other. They could be weeks or even years apart. Painting the same thing in…

If thinking about all that layering is making your wrist ache, here are five common smoothing and blending techniques designed to speed up the process. Not all are helpful on Pastelmat though, as you will see. There are three layers of pencil in each section of Figure 2 (below), and for each I applied more pigment on top for a finished piece, but you can instantly see the differences and how some of these methods could help speed up – or slow down – the layering process. (Again, I used Faber-Castell Polychromos on the top half and Prismacolor Premier below.) Why not try these techniques and see which one works best for you, your pencils and style of working? 1 Odourless mineral spirits This must be used sparingly and in a…

1 Rushing to finish One of the biggest misconceptions about sketching is that it’s about speed. Instead, take your time, observe carefully, and capture details with a slow, considered hand. 2 Panicking about smudging Keep a piece of glassine paper between pages if you’re worried about smudging, or try using pastel pencils for finer details. 3 Disasters happen If a page becomes difficult, don’t give up; use it as a chance to experiment. Try different mark-making techniques or layer a new colour over the top. 4 Fall in love with taking notes I love adding notes alongside my sketches, as they help capture the atmosphere and provide useful references for later.…

You will learn How to mix and tint a variety of colours How to hone your observational skills A wide range of acrylic techniques, including sgraffito and impasto The following demonstration puts an emphasis on practising several acrylic techniques. Enjoy working through these exercises in your sketchbook before you begin the demonstration painting in earnest. 1 Colour mixing to create black Black is made up of three Primary colours with a bias on blue in the mix. Mix straight onto the paper and avoid adding water. Use water to clean the brush then dry it well before adding the next colour. 1 Mix burnt sienna and ultramarine 2 Mix phthalo turquoise and crimson 3 Mix Prussian blue and cadmium red. 2 Tinting Tinting is the technique used to make a colour lighter…

One of my top priorities when choosing a surface is to find one that allows me to paint soft transitions and the smallest of details. That usually means something smooth, but it is often difficult to find a surface that is smooth but not ‘slick’. The surface needs to have enough tooth to hold the paint without interrupting its flow. I have been looking to find a new surface for my oil paintings and decided to experiment with an ACF canvas. I have previously only worked on cotton and linen canvases, and ACF canvases are different being 100-per-cent polyester. After reading more about the strength and durability of this canvas it made me keen to give them a try. I chose the 20mm deep 10×14in (25.5×35.5cm) stretched canvas and my…

Catherine Beale specialises in watercolour techniques across a number of surfaces and paints landscapes and portrait commissions from her hillside studio on the edge of Bath. Her first book, Capturing Light – Creating Radiant Landscapes in Watercolour was published in May 2023 by Search Press as part of their Innovative Artists series. Catherine is a member of the Society of Women Artists and teaches at the Royal West of England Drawing School, Cornwall School of Art, Chapel Cottage Studios and art societies across England and Wales. Her current solo exhibition is at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. Keep in touch @catherinebealeart via Instagram and Facebook or view her paintings on her website catherinebeale.com This series of articles is all about encouraging painters to think differently about the medium and…

MONTH EIGHT Regular readers may recall I have had a particularly busy couple of months. Alongside two public displays of my work to prepare for, I have had ongoing workshop and demonstration commitments, and time spent investing in developing the business side of being an artist by completing an intense Business for Creatives bootcamp. As I sit in my studio surrounded by recent work, art materials, easels and a paint-splattered floor I am reflecting on the recent weeks and feel incredibly grateful for the knowledge I have gained by completing the course run by Mastered. So, what made it so good? For starters, my mindset has changed from being someone who has given up employment to ‘try and make it as an artist’ to someone who has given up employment…

Here are some of the entries to the May issue theme of flowers. If you would like to see your artwork published here, take part in this month’s challenge, which invites you to paint a picture on the theme of ‘sweet’ to celebrate world chocolate day on 7 July and national ice cream day on 20 July. We highly recommend that you paint this from life! Send your image, its title, medium and dimensions to ingrid@tapc.co.uk by 14 July, titled ‘Leisure Painter August Challenge’ for your chance to feature in a forthcoming issue.…

Sending-in days Guildford House Open Details: Submissions are now invited for Guildford House Open 2025 – an opportunity for artists working in two and three dimensions to exhibit in a prestigious group show, with a top prize of £1,000 and a solo exhibition at the gallery in summer 2026. The competition is open to all UK-based artists aged 18 and over and entries are invited in any subject, medium and style. Exhibition: A group exhibition of selected works will go on show at the Guildford House Gallery and the top prize winner will have a solo exhibition at the gallery in the summer 2026. When: Closes for entries at 5pm on Wednesday October 1. Contact: artopps.co.uk/opportunities/guildfordhouseopen-25 The John Ruskin Prize 2026 Details: Entries are now invited to the eighth John…

Emotionally there is something calm about the colour green. Summer lawns, picnics on the grass, a walk in the park, leaves of so many shades of one colour on show in nature; it soothes the soul. Yet, be careful, it is also the colour of envy. During the winter months the landscape is laid bare; the trees stark often against grey skies. It is fundamental, elemental, linear and graphic, often monochrome and lacking in colour. It is easier to see the structure, the bare bones as it were. Autumn has its own colours and after the spring an awakening of new fresh growth. As the summer settles in and the trees fill, I used to wonder how to capture the lush green fullness of it all. Green is a predominant…

LEARN FROM THE MASTERS: 8TH OF 12 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 What can I tell you about Pablo Picasso that hasn’t already been told? Born in Malaga in 1881, no other artist has had so much influence on the fabric of the 20th century as he. One of the most ambitious, anarchic and prolific artists, he saw great success in his own lifetime. He catalogued, archived and curated his own collections, controlled his image and protected his legacy. Married twice, with four children by three different women, he was…