Sommaire pour May 2022 de Leisure Painter

EVENTS Earthbound The Harbour House Gallery, occupying beautiful Georgian buildings on the promenade in Kingsbridge, Devon, is hosting an exhibition of landscape paintings by Sue Ifould and handmade books by Gaynor Williams, called Earthbound, from 29 March to 3 April. Sue will be giving watercolour demonstrations in the gallery on Saturday 2 April at 11am and 3pm. These workshops are free of charge. For more information visit the website at www.harbourhouse.org.uk Music and Raphael To coincide with the Credit Suisse Exhibition: Raphael at the National Gallery, London, from 9 April to 31 July, lutenist Simone Vallerotonda will give a solo concert dedicated to Raphael and the composers of his time. Punctum Contra Punctum: Symmetries and Visions in the Italian Renaissance takes place in Room 32 on Friday 29 April between 2…

With such a large choice of pigments available today, learning to mix colours and hues in watercolour can be one of its most challenging aspects of painting. A limited palette is, therefore, always a bonus when using this medium. Some students attending my painting courses arrive with quite a collection of paint colours, some hardly used. Their palettes, containing numerous mixing wells, are crammed with a cornucopia of pigments, each one carefully labelled with felt marker. Unfortunately, as colour collections grow, the more complicated colour mixing becomes. This makes the whole painting process very time-consuming. All can be avoided by working with a limited palette, which can also make your work look balanced and visually appealing. The additional advantage is that fewer colours take up less room and a limited…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Understand your choice of materials ■ Tips and techniques for using watercolour pencils ■ Follow a simple step-by-step process Using watercolour pencils is fun. There are so many ways they can be incorporated in your artwork and like many art techniques, you are only limited by your imagination. I only have space to touch on a few ideas in this article. A watercolour pencil contains a solid core of pigment, which can be used like a regular coloured pencil or, as I have done in the demonstration opposite, the pigment can be dissolved with water to produce a wash on your paper. I have several sets of watercolour pencils in my collection and above are colour swatches of two of them. The Caran d’Ache ranges comprise good-quality…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to paint with acrylics ■ Use photos as a starting point ■ Introduce drama to your painting I have a small confession to make, and I’m sure that it resonates with many people, I often take my sketchbook and art materials with me on holidays or days out, with good intentions to grab a few minutes and capture the perfect little sketch on paper, perhaps to become the basis for larger studio pieces. Then, I remember that it’s a family holiday and there are other people to consider, there’s little time to waste in seeing the sights, finding somewhere to eat – and the weather takes a turn for the worst. There ends up being a lot of excuses and I return home with empty pages,…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Overcome problems associated with lack of confidence ■ Build your mark-making skills ■ How to work with reference material In over 20 years of teaching watercolour painting, I am used to seeing familiar and repetitive problems, some of which are caused by a lack of conviction or, at least, a reluctance to step out of one’s comfort zone to face what must be done. First comes the practice of cherry picking, in other words, choosing to start by painting those parts of a subject that we are confident about, leaving until later the awkward, less familiar parts, to which we suspect we may not have a solution. There are several downsides to this. One is that at least some parts of the painting are likely to be…

WWW.PAINTERS-ONLINE.CO.UK Karen Hall was inspired by a sketch she made while on a painting holiday in Staithes, North Yorkshire. Here she describes how she developed her pencil sketch and gouache study into this freely-painted oil of boats in the harbour. To see more of Karen’s work, post a comment or upload your own images, visit www.painters-online.co.uk ‘Despite being interested in going to art school,’ writes Karen, ‘I launched into a career in construction when I left education. The artist in me had to be relegated to spare time only, but over the years I learned slowly by watching demonstrations and attending workshops. I battled with watercolour for a long time before finding more success with oil, gouache and acrylic. ‘Five years ago I reduced my working hours and relocated to…

Portraits The Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London, celebrates the Platinum Jubilee of HM The Queen with a special collection of portraits to commemorate the event. Over 200 new portraits will be displayed, featuring the famous as well as the not-so-famous by society members and non-members whose work has been selected from open submission. This year there will also be a section dedicated to self-portraits. The Royal Society of Portrait Painters: Annual Exhibition is at the Mall Galleries, London SW1, from 5 to 14 May. For more information telephone 020 7930 6844 or visit www.mallgalleries.org.uk LONDON ■ Bankside Gallery 48 Hopton Street SE1. 020 7928 7521; www.banksidegallery.com ‘RWS Spring Exhibition’, 25 March to 24 April. ‘Edward Hutchison: New Work’, 25 April to 8…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Practise wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry watercolour techniques ■ Follow exercises to point flower heads and leaves ■ Decide your approach to painting from a photograph Camellias are attractive flowers that add colour and interest to the garden, as they brighten up even a dull day with their bright and showy jewel-like colours. The flower heads vary in design according to their variety and are found in a selection of different shades from white through to pinks and red, whilst yellow can be found in south China and Vietnam. The centres of many of the flowers are characterised by a dense cluster of yellow stamens. Their leaves are also beautiful, arranged alternately on the stem, simple in shape, and serrated on the edge with a glossy shine. Before beginning…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Understand a flower’s anatomy ■ How to produce a strong composition ■ Draw a single pansy and a raindrop effect You will need • Graphite pencils – HB, 2B & 4B • Watercolour sketchbook • Pencil sharpener • Putty eraser • Eraser template shield Welcome to the fifth instalment of my learning-to-draw series for beginners. We have already had quite a lot of practice in the basics of drawing three-dimensional shapes, shading variations in tone, and creating realistic lost-and-found edges. Now we apply these skills to the art of drawing flowers with graphite pencils. Flower anatomy Some knowledge of flower anatomy can help in understanding what you are observing and drawing. Flowers are the reproductive part of a plant. The filaments (stamen) with pollen on the tips…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Practise the wet-in-wet and wet-on-dry techniques to paint effective reflections ■ Practise colour-mixing skills You will need • Bockingford 140lb NOT watercolour paper, 7x10in. (18x25cm) • Winsor blue (red shade), cadmium yellow and Indian red • Pro Arte Series 100. No. 6 Round • 3B pencil Painting water and its reflections can be the most difficult part of landscape painting. Is it capturing the likeness of a liquid that is so hard, or is it because it is often the last area we paint before completing the painting? Perhaps it is the pressure we put on ourselves when we are painting the last few brushstrokes and worry that it will ruin that well-painted landscape in front of us. Whatever the reason, those thoughts can interrupt the free-flowing…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to create an impasto effect ■ Use glazing to adjust and increase tonality ■ Work wet into wet using several colours You will need ■ Surface • Stretched canvas, canvas board or an Ampersand board, 16x20in. (40.5⧖51cm) ■ Acrylics • Tinting white • Cerulean blue • Cobalt blue hue • Indigo • Madder brown • Toning grey • Light bright green • Sap green • Arylamide yellow light • Cadmium yellow light ■ Brushes • Any large painting brush to paint the background • A palette knife • Long flat acrylic brushes, Nos. 6 & 2 • Fan hog hair, No. 4 • Point Round acrylic brush, No. 2 • An old hog hair Round brush ■ Miscellaneous • White Inktense pencil or white charcoal pencil…

Leisure Painter & PAINTERS ONLINE in association with Search Press We have great pleasure in presenting the winner and three runners-up of our recent painting competition, which paid tribute to the work of firemen and firewomen on the National Fire Service’s 80th anniversary, or any or all our emergency services. Our sincere thanks to Search Press for sponsoring the £80 book voucher prize, which went to Jennifer Leslie for The Rescue (below). Our congratulations also to the three runners-up. Here are the winning entries... David Wharton, runner-up ‘I am delighted to be a winner in the competition celebrating the work of the emergency services. ‘I have had an interest in art for as long as I can remember, working mainly in oils, acrylics and pastels. After a long career in…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to draw accurately in detail ■ Understand your materials ■ Top tips to build confidence using ink Pen and wash is a popular technique with many artists. It has been used for hundreds of years, at least back to the 13th century when the Chinese used transparent ink washes to paint atmospheric effects. As this study includes a lot of detail, I divided the demonstration into a drawing and a painting session. This month, we will focus on how to draw our subject – an ammonite – in detail, while next month, we will complete the painting by adding the washes. Your materials A waterproof fine-tipped pen, dip pen, or specially produced drawing pens are needed to draw the image. These pens vary in nib sizes…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Compose the picture using the rule of thirds ■ Build colour-mixing confidence ■ Complete the painting with candle wax texture and white gouache The rule of thirds will help you in composing this painting. Divide your paper into thirds, vertically and horizontally. You should then place the focal point on or very near to one of the intersections. Having the focal point off centre will make a more satisfying composition than placing it centrally. This applies to most artworks. Demonstration Dunstanburgh Castle You will need ■ Surface • Watercolour paper, 12x19in. (30.5x48cm) ■ Miscellaneous • Candle wax • White gouache ■ Watercolour • Ultramarine • Burnt umber • Raw sienna • Light red • Aureolin • Payne’s grey • Neutral tint Prepare the following washes before you…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to plan a painting with sketches ■ Never be afraid of a blank canvas again ■ Use harmonious colours to create a fresh, modern effect While I am a huge advocate of the benefits of giving in to the impulse to throw paint at a canvas and enjoy the creative experience, I also think there is an argument for taking your time and planning a piece of work in advance. Both are valid, if opposing, approaches, and both bring their own rewards, depending on your mood. For this acrylic painting of daffodils, I chose a carefully planned approach then threw in random colour mixes at the end, just for fun. Planning enables the artist to develop a harmonious balance in the finished artwork right from the…