Table of contents for September 2022 in Leisure Painter

Inspiration can strike at anytime, and just as quickly disappear. You think you have a fantastic idea for a painting one minute, only to find that it simply doesn’t work half an hour later so you put away your kit and leave it for another day. All too often, the days turn to weeks and even months and you still haven’t picked up your brushes again. That’s when it’s vital that you have fail-safe prompts and ideas to help you feel re-motivated and ready to take on the challenges of learning to draw and paint successfully. Taking painting seriously as a hobby is not for the fainthearted, and having a ‘creative mind’ or natural ability is often not enough. This is why Milly England kicks off this issue with the…

LONDON ■ Bankside Gallery 48 Hopton Street SE1. 020 7928 7521; www.banksidegallery.com ‘Laurel Holloman: Deep Dive’, exploring our relationship with water, 20 to 31 July. ‘Summer at Bankside’: original works by members of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers, 4 August to 11 September. ■ The Courtauld Gallery Somerset House, Strand, WC2. 020 3947 7777; www.courtauld.ac.uk ‘Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen’, until 4 September. ■ Mall Galleries The Mall SW1. 020 7930 6844; www.mallgalleries.org.uk ‘Huaicun’s World Blossom’: solo exhibition, until 23 July. ‘Winners’: Award-Winning Artists 2020-2022’, 27 July to 6 August. ■ National Gallery Trafalgar Square WC2. 020 7747 2885; www.nationalgallery.org.uk ‘The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Raphael’, until 31 July. ‘Picasso Ingres: Face to Face’, until 9 October. ‘Winslow Homer: Force of Nature’, 10 September to…

Applying a varnish to an oil painting is necessary to protect the paint surface and unify the paint colours. The varnish helps to protect the painting from dirt and dust. Some brands also resist damage from UV light. Varnishes come in different grades, from matt to gloss. The most common type is Dammar, a pale yellow varnish that dries quickly to a high-gloss finish. I find the gloss varnish too reflective when the light catches the painting and usually opt for a professional satin finish, with UV resistant properties, which gives an appearance half way between the other two options. The difficulty is knowing when the time is right to apply a coat of varnish. Apply too soon and the varnish layer may crack as the oil paint contracts and…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to work with tone and colour ■ Make each brushstroke count ■ Divide the subject into a series of shapes When I look back at all the interiors I’ve painted over the years, a vast majority of them include a window or an open door. Such elements break from the idea of dark or static interiors, and instead inject a lovely dose of mystery. They represent a new world of possibility, an invitation to enjoy the comfort of the room while being tempted to walk outside and explore the landscape. Successfully combining both worlds often lies in mastering the tonal range to depict the contrast between the light outside and the dark elements inside correctly. So I hope you will join me in this step by…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Follow an easy acrylic process ■ Practise a variety of brushstrokes You will need • Daler-Rowney System 3 Acrylics: cobalt blue, burnt sienna, Naples yellow, Hooker’s green, raw umber, Payne’s grey & titanium white • The Langton Rough 140lb paper • Aquafine watercolour brushes: flat ¾in., Round No. 8 & Rigger No 4 ƒ Step 1 1 Draw a similar outline of trees as this. 2 Paint a sky wash using cobalt blue for a clear summer sky. 3 While the sky is still wet, and with the No. 8 Round brush, drop in the distant trees using a mix of Hooker’s green and burnt sienna. 4 Finally add a touch of cobalt blue to the base of the distant trees. Step 2 Use the No. 8…

WWW.PAINTERS-ONLINE.CO.UK Judit Matthews is a self-taught illustrative artist originally from Hungary, now living in Banstead, Surrey. Judit is passionate about the natural world and is keen to educate others about the need to protect our environment. Here she describes her thoughts behind her very personal painting of sunflowers. To see more of Judit’s work, post a comment or upload your own images, visit www.painters-online.co.uk Judit Matthews won Landscape Artist of the Year 2017 organised by Surrey Life magazine. Her work has been selected by the Society of Women Artists and the Society of Graphic Fine Art to be displayed in their annual open exhibitions. In addition, she has illustrated four children’s books by the author, Tina Talbot (available from www.survivalsupersquad.co.uk). These are eco-books that teach children about the environment and…

ON SALE 19 AUGUST • Summer staycation! Paint exciting images at home • Top tips for finding your own style • What is urban sketching and how to join in? • Practise line-and-wash techniques • Sketchbook challenge – be inspired to draw and paint every day this summer • Essential watercolour techniques to paint boats for beginners • How to paint landscapes in watercolour and acrylics • Follow step-by-step demos using watersoluble pencils, acrylics & watercolour • ... and lots more!…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Explore different palettes and media ■ Look for new subjects to paint ■ Play more with your paints Sometimes, in amongst all the painting and creating, I run out of oomph. I’m not necessarily blocked, but bored, and any ideas that I have, I just don’t fancy bringing to life. It can also feel as if all the ideas that I normally think are fabulous, seem rather drab. Does this happen to you? If it does, take the opportunity to relax, play and ignite your imagination. We have all heard the usual advice on how to encourage the creative juices to flow – take a break, get outside, go for a walk or exercise – but what happens when we then sit at our desks, still uninspired…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Practise the wet-in-wet watercolour technique ■ Keep brushstrokes to a minimum ■ How to add flowers and foliage to a landscape You will need ■ Surface • Bockingford 140lb Cold-pressed paper, 14×10in. (35.5×25.5cm) ■ Brushes • Rounds Nos 12 & 6 ■ Watercolour • Cobalt blue • Cadmium yellow • Permanent magenta • Burnt umber • Burnt sienna • Payne’s grey Step 1 Apply a watery mix of cobalt blue, leaving white gaps for the clouds and making sure the colour goes behind the magnolia tree on the left. Step 2 Paint simple shapes in magenta for the small flowers on the tree. It’s important to do these at an early stage to ensure they are applied on white paper to keep them bright and fresh. Step…

FIFE J & G Innes Ltd 107 South Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9QWTel: 01334 472174Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am - 5.15pmSunday 12.30 - 4.30pmwww.jg-innes.co.ukStockists of: Winsor & Newton, Daler-Rowney, Hahnemühle, Staedtler, Parker, Waterman, books, magazines, cards, games and a gallery, Upstairs @ J & G Innes Ltd GLOUCESTERSHIRE Cotswold Art Supplies Church Street, Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire GL54 1BBTel: 01451 830522Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9.15am - 5.15pmwww.cotswoldartsupplies.comStockists of: Winsor & Newton, Daler-Rowney, Pro Arte, Unison pastels, Sennelier, Conté, Paperblanks, Reeves. Picture framing on site. Pegasus Art Shop Griffin Mill, London Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2AZ Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am – 5pmwww.pegasusart.co.ukStockists of: Williamsburg, Rembrandt, Old Holland, Cranfield paints, Cobra, Winsor & Newton, Daler-Rowney, Derwent, Daniel Smith, Schmincke, Caligo, Da Vinci, Pro Arte, Arches, Japanese…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Look at your subjects as shapes ■ Practise essential watercolour techniques ■ Learn colour mixing with a limited palette of warm and cool colours Herbaceous borders are brought to life with the striking presence of poppies, bringing vibrant colours and contrast to a backdrop of green foliage. Poppies open to reveal voluminous, flouncy and almost ethereal flowerheads. Although they look fragile, almost like fine tissue paper, they are remarkably strong, and I love to see their open heads swaying in a breeze. This stunning poppy (below) caught my eye in a beautiful cottage garden in the Fens. Before beginning, take time to experiment with mixing colour and trying the following techniques to suggest the character of the plant. Feel free to simplify and modify the scene. I…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Follow a gouache painting process ■ Top tips for sketching outdoors in the sunshine One of the great things about gouache is the way that it dries so quickly. This makes it a great medium for painting outdoors in a sketchbook or on a pad of watercolour paper. You need to wait only a few minutes for the paint to dry before safely closing your sketchbook or pad and heading home. Gouache is opaque so you can paint quickly without needing to reserve whites or lighter colours as you do in watercolour. You just add these lights in later when you need them. This also makes it a quick medium to work with, which again is essential when you are painting en plein air. When I paint…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Work with more confidence ■ When to use different pens ■ Practise mark making in ink I often tell fellow artists at demonstrations or workshops that it’s far better to draw and paint from your own sketches. Copying from a photograph can often be disappointing, as we all generally try to copy the photograph as carefully as we can. Often you will compare your picture against the photograph and be disappointed. So, you will improve your technique and style far quicker by working from your own sketches. Having nothing to compare it against, you will find your confidence and style will improve. As always, there are exceptions to the rule. Often when I find myself out with friends or family, it can be difficult to hang around…

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. There’s also 20% off all Search Press books in our bookshop this month! A history of orchids RHS Orchids: A History Through Botanical Illustration provides a fascinating history of the orchid, specifically the RHS Collection of Orchid Award Portraits, which provides a unique record of over 7,000 award-winning orchids. Made popular in Britain by the Victorians and often changing hands for huge sums of money, it has been estimated that there are as many at 30,000 orchid species, from the delicate bee orchid, native to the UK to large tropical plants. The author, Charlotte Brooks, an RHS art curator, explores some of the personal, professional and artists’ lives revealed…