Tabla de contenidos para November 2025 en Leisure Painter

Imagine waking up to the golden light of sunrise spilling over a Tuscan vineyard, or the vibrant blues of the Mediterranean shimmering before you. Now picture yourself capturing those breathtaking views with brush and canvas, guided by expert artists who will help you bring your vision to life. Painting holidays are more than just a getaway - they’re an invitation to slow down, reconnect with your creativity, and discover the world through fresh eyes. Whether you’re an absolute beginner looking to explore a new hobby, or a seasoned painter seeking inspiration in stunning landscapes, these carefully curated trips combine the joy of travel with the satisfaction of creating art. You’ll be surrounded by like-minded travellers, sharing experiences, laughter, and the thrill of discovery. For those who prefer to stay closer…

You will learn How to work on a dark pastel paper Using a stencil template to create circular shapes Build a bokeh background up with multiple layers If you’ve never heard of it, ‘bokeh’ is a word used to describe the blur effect produced in out of focus parts of a photograph. Often this takes the form of circular light effects. The word itself comes from the Japanese language and literally means ‘blur’ or ‘haze’. Adding bokeh backgrounds into your work can be a fabulous way to add subtle interest to a blurry background in a way that’s pleasing to the eye. Have a look at some photographs online that have bokeh backgrounds to get a feel for what they look like and how the circular patterns appear. In this…

You will learn How to create a focal point when the sky is the main subject How to add texture by applying paint directly Using a limited colour palette for more dramatic results In this final part of a three-part mini-series, I will use oil colours. These are often preferred by artists for their slow drying properties and forgiving nature. If you don’t like a series of brush marks, simply scrape them off and start over. Ideal for creating skies with lots of atmosphere. Let’s have a look at some of my oil paintings where the sky plays an important role. Understand Oils Surfaces: Primed canvas is the most popular surface to work on, either mounted on stretchers or glued to a board. Some artists cut MDF or plywood to…

Christopher Aggs Christopher’s works are in several public collections in Sussex, including Worthing Museum and Worthing Hospital where he was commissioned to produce Sunrise over West Sussex. In 1976 he won the David Murray Award for Landscape Painting and the Richard Ford Award in 1977. After an English Literature degree from Exeter College, Oxford, Christopher studied fine art at the City and Guilds of London Art School and later at the Royal Academy Schools, graduating in 1980. A teaching career as lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Chichester followed, until he retired in 2012, to concentrate on painting from his studio in West Sussex. He has exhibited at the Royal Academy since the 1980s and the Mall Galleries with the Royal Society of British Artists and other societies…

What pens are best for sketching? There’s no one answer to that question, it will often depend on the subject, time available and your style of working. For instance, I’ve got a couple of Ackerman ink pens, which have a range of steel drawing nibs, and make beautiful calligraphic lines, but they aren’t nearly as fast to draw with as a Rotring or Pilot Profipen. These are a few of the pens that I use for my daily sketching routine: Rotring Tikky: I usually opt for the finer points, 0.2mm is my preferred choice. Other good brands are Pilot and Staedtler, but there are so many options. Make sure that they are reasonably lightfast and waterproof… you don’t want the ink running when you add a wash. Faber-Castell Pitt artists…

Affordable Art Fair will once again be taking over the iconic Battersea Park for its 2025 Autumn edition. From 15-19 October 2025, with the Private View on 15 October, the stunning London park will become home to an incredibly exciting display of art from both established and emerging artists from around the globe. Highlights will include a striking installation by Beth Shapeero, the annual Recent Graduates exhibition, a curated display for Black History Month, new audio guides, Art After Dark Lates, fun for all ages on the weekend Family Mornings, special events, and drop-in workshops. Artworks on sale will range from exciting up and coming artists to watch, to household names including Grayson Perry, Damien Hurst, and Anish Kapoor. With 8 new exhibiting galleries, the autumn edition will give visitors…

Today, the Great British allotment is itself a kind of horticultural ‘National Treasure’ as they are well and truly back in fashion after their popularity dwindled to an all-time low in the 1970s. Environmental awareness and a desire for growing organic, locally grown produce have led to this renaissance. This has also filtered through to the art world as many artists love the variety of colours and textures with the plants, ramshackle sheds and associated paraphernalia, as well as the wonderful characters you meet, uniting people from a broad range of ages, jobs and social backgrounds. Gardening and farming have inspired many artists throughout history, such as: Monet’s Haystacks series, Pissarro’s Apple Picking at Éragny-sur-Epte, van Gogh’s series on vegetable gardens at Montmartre, The Harvesters by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Sower…

The amalgamation of these two venerable magazines, Leisure Painter and The Artist prompted me to wonder at which point a leisure painter becomes an artist. Of course there is really no answer to that question. It could be argued that everyone is an artist as soon as they take up a brush and equally, loving painting means that we will forever be leisure painters. If you ever wondered if there may be a suitable time to change from one magazine to the other, that is something you no longer have to worry about. In the first few editions of the new magazine I have found plenty to interest me in both sections and this started me thinking. I am quite sure that if you are a beginner reading this magazine,…

For all of my painting life I have been a figurative artist. Trying to capture landscape through direct observation or from sketches and I got immense pleasure from doing so. But recently, that is, over the last two years, I have tried to move more towards abstraction. The original appeal simply wasn’t there anymore, and I was starting to find it all a bit tired and stale. As much as I tried, I kept coming back to the same way of painting. It was as if the mind and hand wouldn’t do what the heart wanted to do. Every time I started on a new painting with the aim to abstract, somehow, I began drifting backwards. When one is used to painting in a certain way it is sometimes difficult…

DEMONSTRATION The Kennet in Flood REFERENcE PHOTO My photograph was taken on the banks of the flooded Kennet River near Marlborough in Wiltshire. I admired the twisting floodwaters encroaching the banks and enveloping the associated willow trees. I used photo editing software to twist the green colour of the riverbanks towards a mustard which simultaneously altered any blues towards a complimentary light turquoise. Step away from your brush! Abandon your hair dryer! Be brave. Trust the movement of water. Use the power of suggestion to force viewers to ‘lean in’ closer. 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…

You will learn How to choose the right pigments How to mix pigments to create full palettes of colours Using the best surfaces & brushes As with all artists, there is a need to create in us all. How we do that often depends on the materials and equipment that we choose. I have been painting and drawing for over 40 years, which has given me plenty of time to try many mediums and brands, but my first love will always be watercolour. The way the pigments flow across the wet paper, blending and merging, continues to thrill me. You’re never fully in control of the paint when using these techniques, which adds to the excitement and mystery of watercolour. The luminous, glowing qualities of the medium are forever appealing.…

Exhibitions ■ Alton Art Society 100 Year Celebration Exhibition. Saturday October 11th till Sunday October 19th, The Assembly Rooms, Alton, 10am to 5pm (3pm Sunday). ■ Association of Formby Artists Autumn Exhibition, Saturday 8th November 9.30am to 4.30pm. Holy Trinity Parish Hall, FORMBY, Merseyside. L37 3HA. A variety of work using different mediums to view and buy. £1 admission Refreshments available. For more information search for Association of Formby Artists on Facebook. ■ Bury Art Society 76th Annual Art Exhibition, Bury Art Museum, Bury, BL9 0DR, from 23 August until 11 October. Tues to Fri 10am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 4.30pm. Free admission. Visit www.buryartsociety.com ■ Dorking Group of Artists October Exhibition 2025, Denbies Wine Estate, London Road, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6AA. Friday 10 to Sunday 12 October 10am…

Artists from around the world are once again taking over Wells Cathedral, with the 2025 Wells Art Contemporary exhibition opening this October. Out of over 2,400 submissions from 1,500 artists across 35 countries, 93 artworks by 89 artists were shortlisted by Charlotte Hodes and David Ferry to be part of the Gallery Show in the Cathedral’s cloisters. In addition, 22 site-specific installations by 21 artists will transform the Cathedral and its grounds, selected by Laura Moffat and Cathy de Monchaux FRSS. This year’s installations respond to the theme ‘Flowing Light’, created in collaboration with the Dean & Chapter of Wells Cathedral. The exhibition is included within the entry fee for the cathedral. For further information, please visit wellsartcontemporary.co.uk The Lost Spells: Listening to a Landscape of Voices Until 5 October…

Long-time regular contributor to The Artist magazine, Paul Talbot-Greaves specialises in watercolour, oil and acrylic painting. Many of his landscape subjects are sought amongst the moors and hills of his native West Yorkshire. He is a member of and regular exhibitor with The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours (RI) and president of The Halifax Art Society. He has won multiple awards including Best in Show Award at Holmfirth Art Week, first prize in the Broadway Arts Festival Exhibition, and The Artist Purchase Prize in the TALP Open competition and exhibition at Patchings Art Centre, amongst others. Paul has also had four practical art books published and contributed to many more. In addition to having taught painting for 27 years, his vast experience means he is well placed to provide…

Putting 30 minutes aside each day for sketching is something that I’ve been doing for several years now, and I’ve filled at least a dozen sketchbooks during that time, plus numerous separate sheets of paper. Of course, I miss the occasional day here and there. It isn’t mandatory, after all, and you aren’t under any pressure… it’s just you, your subject and your sketchbook. “Why bother!” is something I’m often asked, and “What do you do with them all…?” For a start, sketchbooks don’t take up much room, and there are several reasons why I bother! I want to keep active mentally, and I believe sketching helps this. I’m continually honing my drawing skills, and that’s important, no matter how long you’ve been drawing, or how proficient you may think…