Artists & Illustrators
August 2021Artists & Illustrators is the UK’s best-selling magazine for artists and art lovers, providing advice and inspiration every month. Published for almost 25 years, each issue of Artists & Illustrators contains a colourful palette of profiles and features, together with valuable practical ideas, expert technical advice and useful product tests. Whether you favour oils or watercolours, portraits or landscapes, abstract art or botanical illustration, Artists & Illustrators brings a refreshing blend of creativity and advice every four weeks throughout the year.
in this issue
symbolic still life
When I make a painting, my first thoughts are very much about composition, colour and visual balance. However, every picture has a narrative element to it and View Through a Window [right] is no different. With this painting, I was trying to construct a story around the making of a picture, its historical context and influences. Ostensibly it is just a still life but it’s also full of historical references to picture making and the illusion of a painting. It’s curious but anyone who has seen this picture has never questioned the spatial contradictions. It’s as if there is a kind of satisfaction in understanding the illusions and formal twists and turns as a puzzle resolved by artistic sleight of hand. Rather than focusing on my paint techniques, I wanted to…
win £1,000 of art materials
Experimenting with art materials you’ve never used before is a sure-fire way to spark up your creativity. That’s where the London Graphic Centre comes in. The online arts supplier, which also has a flagship store in Covent Garden, can help with every artistic eventuality and offer expert advice on how to get the most from your new products. This month, London Graphic Centre is kindly offering four lucky Artists & Illustrators readers the chance to each win a themed bundle worth £250. Two of the packages have been put together with our wildlife painting special in mind. From a Bob Ross Master set of oil paints to Liquitex acrylics and Winsor & Newton markers pen, the “Wildlife Art” bundle is perfect for the animal artist looking to mix up their mediums. Meanwhile,…
12 ways to wondrous wildlife art
1 USE THE FULL PALETTE Laura Hardie: “I use Unison Colour soft pastels. They are a medium, buttery-soft pastel that doesn’t crumble when used. I love their silky-smooth application, rich pigments, and vibrant colours. “Unison’s colour range is great with more than 400 colours to choose from – my favourites, and most used in my work, are the earth colours and subtle greys, but when I need brilliance and vibrance for my flamingos, the reds and oranges never let me down. “Other than my pastels the only tools I use are the PanPastel Sofft [sic] sponges. These are great for blending the first layers of pastel.” 2 TRY A FIRMER SUPPORT LH: “It’s so important to have a good support to work on and like many fellow pastel artists I use Clairefontaine Pastelmat Board. I…
beech tree in pencil
Denis' materials •HB, 2B, 4B and 6B graphite pencils •A3 cartridge paper •Putty eraser •Eraser shield •Craft knife •Scrap paper 1 Draw outlines This drawing was made in the studio using sketches and photos made on location. I drew the main trunk and root shapes with an HB pencil. In life, objects do not have lines around them, so these lines should get lost as we introduce tone. Don’t include any background at this point. Use the side of a pointed 2B pencil, held underhand, to lay an initial tone within this outline, using a light circular action. Always test the working edge of your pencil on scrap paper first to check it makes the required mark. 2 Push the tones Working from the top of the image, add variable toning to suggest form. Use short, vertical strokes with slightly blunt…
exhibitions
1 AD MINOLITI: BIOSPHERE PLUS 24 July to 8 May 2022 Biosphere 2 was one of the strangest experiments in the history of science. Begun in 1991 and aiming – yet failing – to replicate Earth’s eco-systems, eight people were sealed in a high-tech glasshouse in Arizona for two years. Forgotten by many, this bold project has now been critically reimagined by Argentine artist Ad Minoliti. Yet rather than isolating a minority, Minoliti’s first UK solo exhibition is an inclusive space. Her playful paintings have roots in geometric abstraction, while she intends to use part of the gallery as a space for visitors to explore feminist and queer theory via twice-weekly art workshops. BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead. www.baltic.art 2 SIDNEY NOLAN: COLOUR OF THE SKY – AUSCHWITZ PAINTINGS Opens 13 August Despite deserting the…
claude monet
If it wasn’t for Claude Monet, many of us would never have given the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen a second thought. Part way between Paris and France’s English-facing coast, it has been built and rebuilt a number of times over the 800 years prior to the Impressionist painter’s first visit in 1892, even briefly becoming the world’s tallest building several years prior to that point. Yet it took Monet’s multiple depictions – more than 30 in total – of the French cathedral’s west façade for the world to really sit up and take notice. In many cases these weren’t studies, but rather full-scale canvases measuring more than a metre tall. He used every inch of the stretched linen to carve out a very vivid impression of this stately building in pastel…
