Tabla de contenidos para December 2025 en Leisure Painter

In the September issue of Leisure Painter and The Artist, I presented my top 10 tips for painting outdoors on location. This month, I share my tips for painting indoors. An indoor painting space is anywhere under cover where you can set up your equipment to make art. It could be as simple as a corner of the kitchen bench, garage or backyard shed, or something more elaborate, such as your own home studio. 1 Cleaning brushes Fine art brushes are an investment worth looking after so they stay in good condition and produce quality brush strokes, and to prolong their life. If not cleaned properly, paint residue builds up at the base of the bristles, causing them to stiffen and become misshapen. Never let paint dry on a brush. The…

Exhibitions ■ Chelsea Art Society CAS Members Autumn Exhibition. Gallery: 340 Kings Road, London SW3 5UR. Saturday 22nd November to Sunday 30th November 2025, 10am to 6pm. chelseaartsociety.org.uk ■ Byfleet Art Group Autumn Art Exhibition, Cornerstone Centre, St Johns Church, West Byfleet, KT14 6EH. Free entry, refreshments available, art for sale. Open Saturday 22ND NOV 10:30am-5pm. byfleetartgroup.com ■ Dedham Art Society Winter Exhibition. The Sentinel Gallery, Wivenhoe, CO7 9DX. 24th November to 7th December. dedhamartsociety.co.uk ■ Fair Oak Art and Craft Society Autumn Exhibition, Fair Oak Village Hall, Fair Oak, SO50 7EJ. Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November, 10am to 4.30pm on and 10am to 4pm respectively. Admission free. Paintings and craftwork available to purchase. Refreshments available, free parking and wheelchair access. ■ Highgate Watercolour Group Annual Exhibition 2025. Lauderdale…

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 Many painters struggle when painting from a photographic reference and the problem often is, that we can easily assume that if our painting does not match the photo, it is a failure. The issue is an inherent yearning for perfection. Even if we are not basing our efforts on a photograph, that same problem can exist. The very first step to negating this debilitating mind-set, is to change our thinking before we even begin to paint. I look at it this way… no matter how brilliantly a painter can copy a photograph, in the end it is only…

Paul Riley has been a practising professional artist most of his life starting at the very top with a painting accepted by the Royal Academy at the tender age of 15. Paul's watercolour painting is heavily inspired by the Oriental traditions of Zen painting, and he has “always explored, challenged and pushed the boundaries of my chosen media; nowhere more than in the elusive spirit of watercolour.” paulrileyart.com About two years ago I received a commission that required a large amount of detail painting. I immediately remembered my lounging airbrush. On digging it out, I realised I had a lot to learn. I turned to Google and found ‘The Art Workshop’ and ‘Airbrush School’ starring Marissa Oosterlee. I also obtained the ‘Complete Manual of Airbrushing’ by Peter Owen and Jane…

PERSPECTIVE The word is enough to send shudders through many painters, and not just beginners. For me, an understanding of perspective was absolutely fundamental in allowing me to create an accurate drawing and painting. Some artists may argue that perspective can be altered in the pursuit of a particular effect. This may be true but without understanding perspective how can an artist make any meaningful alterations? Altering is not the same as ignoring. There are two categories of perspective; linear and aerial, and although linear is the one that causes most problems for painters, both essentially are ways to describe the effect of distance on the subject. As painters we are attempting to produce a two-dimensional suggestion of a three-dimensional world. On a flat sheet of paper there is no…

Five years in the making, Exhibition on Screen's Caravaggio is the most extensive film ever made about one of history's most revolutionary and controversial artists. Having already won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Chichester International Film Festival, the film is now set for its nationwide cinema release on 11 November 2025. From the streets of Milan and Rome to Naples and Malta, Caravaggio takes audiences on a dramatic journey into the life and work of the master of light and shadow. Featuring testimonies from leading international experts, and the artist himself on the eve of his mysterious disappearance, the film brings new insights into the personal struggles, genius, and enduring mysteries surrounding Caravaggio. Caravaggio immerses viewers in the hidden narratives of his masterpieces, unravelling self-depictions concealed…

When I came across a gorgeous photo of a red squirrel, I felt the urge to immortalise his cheeky face and create the tactile textures on the tree trunk that the squirrel was hiding behind. The out-of-focus background of beautifully rich colours and the cuteness of the squirrel caught my eye straight away. If you haven't tried this before, I'm sure you will love this technique. It gives wonderful depth of detail in such a short amount of time and with minimal effort, and it almost looks like I have painstakingly painted each line on the bark of the tree. Art is sometimes just an illusion! You will learn How to create a pleasing composition using the rule of thirds Using masking fluid to protect areas of your painting Working…

You will learn How to choose worn and decayed buildings as your subject matter Apply loose background washes Using brushes and colours to suggest texture and decay Old buildings tumbling into decay have always fascinated me as a painting subject, and adding that time-worn, tatty appearance can infuse your work with an extra dimension that will increase its appeal. One of my first regular subjects for members of my courses many years ago was an old, dilapidated wooden barn on the Malvern Hills that looked as though it had come straight out of a Cotman masterpiece. Sometimes you come across buildings already in a state of severe decay, but often it pays to exaggerate weatherworn stonework, or the rotting doors and windows alongside a mouldering pile of agricultural or industrial…

The Blue Vase painting has a strong nostalgic pull for me. Both the vase and its location on my fireplace in Barnes evoke an exciting time when my career as a painter was just beginning to gain traction. At that time, I was interested in tonal painting, attempting to minimise form and structure whilst focusing on narratives driven by atmosphere. Following is a breakdown of the technique I used for that painting. Robert E. Wells was born in Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. He is a member of the New English Art Club (NEAC) and the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA). He regularly exhibits his work in solo shows in the UK and USA. His website is www.robertewells.com. The origins of the blue vase I lived for several years in…

Invented around 1893 by watercolourist Charles Burdick, an airbrush blows air over a supply of pigment and finely splatters it onto a surface. It is entirely possible to do the same kind of thing by flicking paint from a stiff brush or by using a mouth diffuser/sprayer as used for spraying fixative. The difference with the airbrush is that you can have complete control of the finest particle spray and spray area. The barrel contains the operating parts, with the nozzle from where the spray emanates. Back from this is the cup into which you put your thin medium. I tend to use special airbrush acrylics. From underneath the barrel is the air hose which supplies the compressed air (approximately 1-3 bar + -25 psi). Above that, slightly behind, is…

I first met Soraya in 2005 at Art in Action, where she was demonstrating for an art materials company. Impressed by her experimental approach, communication skills and ability to inspire, I invited her to become a regular contributor to The Artist magazine and have followed the evolution of her career as a professional artist with interest ever since. She works in all media, capturing a variety of subject matter including flowers, landscapes, musician and café scenes, amongst others. Many of her subjects are travel based featuring people in everyday situations. Light, colour and semi-abstract passages feature prominently in her paintings. Soraya has received several prestigious awards and many of her paintings are held in private and public collections at home and abroad. Her various books have increased her international recognition,…

A new tomorrow for the National Gallery The National Gallery is launching an international architectural competition for a brand-new wing. The competition is the third stage of an ambitious masterplan commissioned by the Gallery in 2018 and is supported by an unprecedented £375 million pledged to date. The funding will also support the Gallery's move to develop and expand its historic collection. This will make the National Gallery the one place in the world that presents the history of Western painting, spanning eight centuries at the highest level. Find out more at nationalgallery.org.uk A Letter in Mind National Brain Appeal The National Brain Appeal's A Letter in Mind (ALIM) is returning for 2026, inviting artists to take a plain white envelope and transform it into a work of art around…

This article has been one of the most ‘mind-searching’ artistic journeys I've done! I felt that the idea of combining both the celebration of life and contrasting it with the eventual natural act of decay, within the same space, was an amazing challenge! This was a wonderful way for an artist to express their reaction to the very essence of life itself, and to interpret it so individually. We've all probably watched, or caught sight of a bowl of fruit, or a vase of flowers, slowly dying. Losing its sparkle, shapes and colours, shrinking and morphing into other mindblowing visions… called decay! A study of fruit Ideally, the collection of brightly coloured fruits is allowed to ripen and become mouldy over several days, preferably in a warmish atmosphere. Then watch…

Into the white - negative painting for dramatic brightness This time I am looking at uses of ‘white’ paper in a painting to suggest a light source, exploiting the benefits of light bouncing back from unpainted paper. Diluted watercolour prefers to run around a dry area of paper and so, by planning to leave a brightly lit object dry, I can safely surround it with running paint, and my loose painting style can remain free. In this example a bubbling waterfall glows in the sunlight, surrounded by darkly contrasting, freely running painted foliage and rocks. DEMONSTRATION Easedale Waterfall STAGE 1 Easedale falls After a day of rain, waterfalls were tumbling down from a tarn high up at the head of the Easedale, a valley near Grasmere in the English Lake…

DEMONSTRATION Westminster Bridge in the Mist Westminster Bridge is one of those quintessentially London locations that has been painted many times before, but with this piece, my aim was something different. Here I wanted to capture not the landmark but the feeling of a wet, misty evening setting in. I've always loved the elusive quality of mist and rain in watercolour, how it softens detail until what's left is atmosphere and, in this case juxtaposed with lamp and car lights. I love the paintings of John Atkinson Grimshaw and of course, JMW Turner for these sorts of qualities. This painting is a personal exploration of those effects, using a carefully controlled palette, a suggestive approach, and a commitment to mood above all. This step-by-step demonstration breaks down the process I…

Twenty years in the making, Elizabeth Nast's style has evolved from an interest in urban scenes, people, history, psychogeography and humour. Like William Hogarth, she strives to record and capture the essence of the scene, creating a story to depict everyday life. “A bin, bus stop, shop front or a sign, can be interesting, and often the way we interact with these inanimate objects is visually striking or even humorous.” The theme of psychogeography, as defined by Guy Debord, provides a fascinating study. She explores how the environment - urban and rural spaces, consciously organized or not, affect the emotions and influence experiences and behaviours of individuals. “For me the visual representation is about creating a balance, capturing a likeness without being too photorealistic whilst maintaining the hand of the…

KIMBERLEY KEEGAN The Ask an Artist podcast has been releasing episodes for over five years, with total downloads now exceeding 450,000. The podcast aims to assist and support working artists and makers with the administrative and business side of being an artist. This year, podcast producer Kimberley Keegan has been writing this exclusive Q&A feature for The Artist magazine, sharing advice from the podcast and her own wealth of experience. Kimberley, who has a Fine Art degree and is a qualified teacher, is also the co-director of Art Profile, an agency representing over 150 UK artists who teach workshops and deliver demonstrations for art clubs, groups, and societies. You can listen to the podcast on any of the usual podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify as well as…