Sommaire pour October 2023 de Leisure Painter

From the colour of a late summer garden and the texture of an old boat on a beach to the contrast of yellow and red on a dark background, we have a variety of demonstrations and exercises this month, all aimed at you developing new skills and confidence, while enjoying the process! I have been asked recently to include more advice on painting with pastels so I have great pleasure in welcoming Nina Squire, who introduces us this month to her techniques, materials and colours in the first of a three-part series, ‘Why pastels?’ Nina specialises in painting beach and coastal scenes and uses her favourite medium to the best effect in creating the energy and textures of nature. We have also converted our usual letters’ page into a Q&A…

Colour and Light Munnings: Colour and Light at the newly decorated home of Sir Alfred Munnings in Dedham, Essex brings together more than 50 oil paintings, drawings, sketchbooks and prints from across seven decades by the artist – from a watercolour The Highwayman, Munnings made while he was just seven or eight years old, to Under Starter's Orders, painted in 1952, seven years before his death. Munnings: Colour and Light takes a unique look at the technical aspect of the artist's work and the importance it had on his paintings, whatever the subject. ‘I am one of those artists,’ he wrote, ‘who wants to paint pictures. The tone of a day, the light-grey or sun on things, on horses – people.’ Munnings: Colour and Light can be seen at Castle…

Learning objectives ■ How to add texture to your drawings using mark-making techniques ■ Add just one colour to create an atmospheric painting Demonstration The Moonlit Shore If you are adding colour to your drawing you will need to use a watercolour paper. A smooth Hot-pressed paper or one that is not too rough will be kinder to the nib of your pen. I chose a Langton 300gsm which has a light texture but not too rough as to wear down the pen's nib too quickly. You will not need to stretch your paper if you are adding colour, as working wet in dry does not need it. You will need ■ Surface • Hot-pressed or smooth textured watercolour paper, 11½×8¾in. (29×22cm) ■ Drawing pens • Water-resistant drawing pens such…

Trees, whether capturing their essence in loose studies or including them as part of a vast landscape, is always a popular subject with the artist. They are not the easiest subject to sketch and paint however, and within the following pages we hope you find practical help and inspiration to develop your skills and build confidence. Paul Weaver begins with a look at the methods he uses for including trees in his landscapes, how he simplifies the essentials and captures structure and colour through the seasons, before demonstrating a four-step process. Julie Collins follows with loose and lively renditions in watercolour and ink (to prove trees are the perfect subject for this mix-media approach), while Caroline Ward-Raatikainen discusses the materials, techniques and approach she uses to paint vast forests of…

Julie Martin-Molyneux asks I'm thinking of framing a few of my pastel pieces; just for me, not for sale, unless someone makes me an offer I cannot refuse! Do I need to do anything special with them to protect them? I have seen contrasting comments about if you need to fix them or not and if air space should be left between the glass and the picture. Having not produced anything worthy enough previously I am totally new to this. Any advice is welcome. Nina Squire replies Congratulations on your first completed soft pastel artworks. It's a lovely idea to frame these for your walls, to enjoy and celebrate your new skills. An artwork is like a virtual escape, which you can enjoy every day. If you are using a…

Exhibitions ■ Bury Art Society Annual exhibition at Bury Art Museum, Moss Street, Bury, Lancashire BL9 0DR, until 1 October. Open Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5pm; Saturday 10am to 4.30pm. ■ Canterbury Society of Art Open-air exhibition at Westgate Gardens, Canterbury on 9 September, 10am to 4pm; www.canterburysocietyofart.org.uk ■ Carleton-le-Moorland and District Art Group Exhibition at the Village Hall, Brigg Lane, Carlton-le-Moorland, Lincolnshire LN5 9HP, on 7 and 8 October, 11am to 4pm daily. ■ Cheltenham Art Club Autumn exhibition at the Gardens Gallery, Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham, from 6 to 12 September, 10am to 5pm each day. ■ Mellor Art Society Annual exhibition at St Martins Church Hall, Brabyns Brow, Marple, Stockport SK6 5DT on Saturday 14 October, 10am to 5pm and Sunday 15 October, 11am to 4pm. July…

Learning objectives ■ Capture quick holiday sketches ■ Work out what's important and what isn't ■ Keep things simple I hope last month's photo from my Lake District holiday inspired you to produce your own indoor version of a quick, on location ‘holiday sketch’ that captured whatever appealed to you most about the scene. I set a time limit of 30 minutes for my sketch to mirror a typical coffee or lunch break stop during a walking or sightseeing holiday with other people. Rather than diving straight in and attempting to include the whole scene in such a short time, I started by taking a couple of minutes to look closely at the photo to decide what I most wanted my sketch to capture (just as I would have looked…

Learning objectives ■ Know your materials ■ Practise wetting pastel layers ■ How to finish and store pastel paintings I'm passionate about pastels! I love to paint with them, and I derive enormous satisfaction from teaching and inspiring others to express themselves by painting beautiful pictures of their own. There is nothing quite as rewarding as sharing my love of soft pastels with a fellow enthusiast and seeing their excitement as I help them to master a new technique. The technique that I'm going to share in this article is the wetting of soft pastels, in other words painting with pastels using a solvent, such as water or alcohol, to create a wonderful underpainting. When the liquid is applied, the effect is akin to oil paint in consistency. I chose…

OPPORTUNITIES ING Discerning Eye Now celebrating its 25th year, the ING Discerning Eye is calling for entries to its annual exhibition, which takes place at the Mall Galleries, London from 16 to 26 November. The closing date for entries is 31 August. For more information and to enter go to https://new.artopps.co.uk John Ruskin Prize The 6th John Ruskin Prize is now open for submissions, inviting artists, designers and makers from around the world to participate. An exhibition of selected work goes on show at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London from 1 to 18 February 2024. The closing date for entries is 20 September. For more information and to enter go to https://new.artopps.co.uk EVENTS ■ Ten Artists This year will be the 27th Ten Artists exhibition, showing paintings by ten well-known…

You will need ■ Inside Tony's ‘bare essentials’ sketching kit • Mixed media or watercolour paper 9×12in. (23×30cm) • A mechanical pencil and soft eraser • A 0.5mm waterproof fine liner pen (black or sepia) • A white gel pen • Travel brushes: flat ¾in. (19mm) and Round No. 10 • Water container • Paper towel • A half-pan travel palette with eight colours (a warm and cool version of red, yellow and blue, an earth colour and a ready-made convenience green) COLOURS USED Step 1 The big shapes 1 Using your pencil, lightly and loosely sketch the big shapes, starting with the barn, first the roof then the walls. Add the two shrubs on the left making them a little larger than in the photo to balance the composition.…

Learning objectives ■ Work with a palette of three colours ■ Paint from light to dark ■ Develop confidence in colour mixing Iwonder how many artists out there, beginners and more advanced, have ever bought, or received one of those watercolour sets containing 30 to 40 colours? I did, many moons ago. Years later, my own choice of colour palette has evolved through both trial and error and learning from other artists and is now considerably smaller. My full palette now contains about a dozen colours, although I would never use all of these in a single painting. In fact, I am a great believer in using a limited palette and, for most of my paintings, I probably use from four to six colours. You may have heard the term…

Learning objectives ■ Work with just three colours ■ How to add natural detail and texture ■ Build confidence with your brushstrokes I had great joy in painting these pebbles. Not only are they beautiful in all their shapes and colours, but it is also a great exercise in tonal values, mixing colours and hard and soft edges. This painting was created using only the three primary colours: ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson and cadmium yellow. Colours Mixing colours is one of the trickiest aspects of painting. It is all too easy to end up with a selection of muddy colours to apply to your painting and as we all know, mixing the three primary colours will give black or neutral grey, depending on how much they are diluted. By carefully…

Visit www.painters-online.co.uk/store and click on the link to books to buy the latest practical art books available from LP's online bookshop. Watercolour Landscapes Part of the Anyone Can Paint series from Search Press, Grahame Booth's Anyone Can Paint Watercolour Landscapes has been reimagined from his previously published book, The Paint Pad Artist: Watercolour Landscapes. Six projects are included, increasing in difficulty as you progress, and outlines for each are provided, with step-by-step instructions from Grahame to help you produce your own impressive landscapes. Short ‘what you need’ sections organise your workstation and the ready-made outlines allow you to get painting straight away. There's helpful advice on general techniques, mixing colours and on how to frame and display your work. Grahame Booth is an inspiring and experienced tutor and he shares plenty…