Table of contents for October 2022 in Leisure Painter

OPEN STUDIOS Niddart Trail 2022 The Niddart Trail welcomes visitors to its free event, from 19 to 29 August, in celebration of the work of artists, craftspeople and makers of Nidderdale and the surrounding areas. This year there is a voluntary theme of Celebration, and visitors can expect an uplifting display of the area’s talent as well as demonstrations taking place in some venues. Work will also be available to view online at www.niddart.org.uk Worcestershire Open Studios The Worcestershire Open Studios event returns this summer, with a ten-day event, from 20 to 29 August, with artists and makers across the county opening the doors to their homes and studios. One-hundred-and-eight artists are taking part across 91 venues, featuring a diverse range of artwork including painting, sculpture, printmaking, jewellery, ceramics, photography,…

Working on the wild Atlantic coast of Pembrokeshire, I find the turbulent conditions exhilarating, especially when sketching surf soaring above 150-foot cliffs. Crashing surf is always exciting and is an excellent way to breathe life into a shoreline painting, or to enhance a centre of interest in conjunction with rocks or cliffs. There are a number of different methods to develop the splashes, but here I will just concentrate on the wet-in-wet method. The camera and a video camera are so useful for these moments, but to help capture that sense of powerful movement on paper there is nothing better than sketching the action with a water-soluble graphite pencil. This allows you to work rapidly, to create soft wet-in-wet effects, as you can see in the sketch, Marloes Surf (below…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Understand basic copyright issues ■ Experiment, learn and practise ■ Diversity is key For those of you starting your creative journey as an artist, no matter the medium, finding your own style is often considered like a proper achievement, a tangible milestone. There is an understandable desire to be settled and comfortable into a specific genre and aesthetic, and confidently produce art that could be instantly recognisable by friends, peers and collectors. But what does ‘your own style’ mean? How do you find it and how long will it take to get there? Let’s explore these questions below, while covering the many myths and preconceptions around the subject. What is style? The style of an artist is more than the choice of medium or subject. It is…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Start filling your sketchbook ■ Where to go to find inspiration ■ Try a variety of quick challenges I am an artist, author and art tutor based in Surrey. A daily sketching habit is at the heart of all my creative activities (and I have a lot of those). I find that picking up a pencil, pen or paintbrush in short, regular bursts keeps me in tune with my creativity and inspired for the longer or larger projects that I undertake. After years of experimentation with different sketchbooks and methods of working, I have figured out that small amounts of sketching on a more frequent basis works best for building a habit and boosting creativity. It is this habit – and how I achieve it – that…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Practise colour mixing for natural and manmade elements ■ Paint shadows effectively ■ Work with different brushstrokes for various effects The following painting demo was taken from a client’s photograph (below), but I wanted to paint the mill, which is now converted into a home, in a more traditional setting. I made the changes via the drawing (below) to take the image back in time. I put back the wheel, added the lucam – the structure in the roof of a mill that projects out from the building to allow the hoist to winch up sacks clear of the mill and give protection from the weather – and took out the car and replaced it with a horse and cart. I was then ready to paint. You…

LONDON ■ Bankside Gallery48 Hopton Street SE1. 020 7928 7521;www.banksidegallery.com‘Summer at Bankside’: original works by members of the RWS and RE, until 11 September. ‘LOOP’: new work by an informal co-operative of artists, 13 to 18 September. ‘International Original Print Exhibition 2022’: annual Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers’ open exhibition, 21 September to 2 October. ■ The Courtauld GallerySomerset House, Strand, WC2. 020 3947 7777;www.courtauld.ac.uk‘Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen’, until 4 September. ■ Mall GalleriesThe Mall SW1. 020 7930 6844;www.mallgalleries.org.uk‘Minerva 2022’, 24 to 27 August. ‘Royal Society of Marine Artists’: annual exhibition, 22 September to 1 October. ‘SWLA: The Natural Eye 2022’, annual exhibition by the Society of Wildlife Artists, 13 to 22 October. ■ National GalleryTrafalgar Square WC2. 020 7747 2885;www.nationalgallery.org.uk‘Picasso Ingres: Face to Face’, until 9 October. ‘Winslow Homer:…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Find local scenes to revisit and repaint ■ How to paint from photographs and life ■ Small paintings say a lot Are you thinking of taking a staycation this year? We all have access to the outdoors, whether that be a local park, canal, forest, woods or a line of coast, and painting locally has its advantages, too. There’s no need to worry over restrictions on what you can take, unlike air travel. You have more time to immerse yourself in the subject and return whenever you want to paint in the right light or weather conditions, and repeated visits to any site makes for a fuller understanding of the place, an opportunity that’s hard to replicate on a short vacation. Not knowing what to paint can…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to paint from a photograph ■ Try preliminary planning ■ Practise essential watercolour techniques Last month I showed you how I create sketches and small watercolour paintings whilst on holiday. You should, of course, use whatever medium you’re most comfortable with. Last summer I was fortunate to be able to visit Iceland and Greenland on a cruise ship; places I’d never visited so I was excited by the opportunity. You never know what to expect with new locations, but that’s part of the fun. In addition to my various small drawings and watercolour sketches, I produced two quarter Imperial sheet (11×15in.) watercolour paintings whilst travelling, the largest size I paint on-site, as it still fits in my backpack. The first is a scene from Iceland (below)…

WWW.PAINTERS-ONLINE.CO.UK Self-taught artist, Ellie Thomas, is motivated by the therapeutic qualities of painting inspired by the landscapes around her home in the Cotswolds. Here she describes how she captured this glorious summer’s day in pastels. To see more of Ellie’s work, post a comment or upload your own images, visit www.painters-online.co.uk Ellie began painting six years ago, discovering a love for it following a difficult time in her personal life. Since then, art has become a form of therapy. She fits painting around her work as a part-time teacher of Special Educational Needs students and works from her garden studio in the evenings and on days when she is not in school. ‘Much of my art is inspired by walks in the Cotswolds where I live,’ she writes. This piece…

Middle Eastern adventures Reading David Bellamy’s articles on painting in the Middle East in LP (July and August issues) had me digging out my old sketchbooks of a visit to Oman where my brother was working. It is such a beautiful country, rich in history, with interesting and friendly people. I always carry a small Daler-Rowney watercolour pad when I travel, as I find it doesn’t warp and has a nice surface to paint on, along with a propelling pencil, rubber and two brushes – a medium, and a half Rigger for details. I carry water in an old film container that has a lid. It’s always interesting how many people stop to chat and watch when I am sketching and painting outside. I would encourage everyone to have a…

Highlights Arnold Art Society The Arnold Art Society will display paintings, crafts and cards at its autumn exhibition at Ponds Hill Lane Community Centre, Arnold NG5 8DR, on 22 and 23 October. There will also be painting demonstrations, a raffle and refreshments. For details visit The Arnold Art Society on Facebook or www.art4arnold.net Bothwell Art Club This year the Bothwell Art Club’s annual exhibition takes place during the village scarecrow festival in Bothwell Parish Church Centre, Main Street, Bothwell G71 8EX on Saturday 17 September, 10am to 5pm and Sunday 18 September, from 11.30am to 5pm. Visitors have an opportunity to vote for their favourite painting. See Bothwell Art Club on Facebook. Easingwold & District Art Society The Easingwold & District Art Society is planning a lively event for its…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to tackle green in the landscape ■ Plan your painting with a tonal sketch and a colour study ■ Add more atmosphere to your work You will need ● Smartphone to take photos ● 140lb Cold-pressed watercolour paper ● Sketchbook, pencil & eraser ● Medium flat watercolour brush (for instance, a hake) ● A large palette for mixing ● Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colour: ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium red, alizarin crimson & burnt sienna In this month’s painting project from a photograph, I selected a photo of a scene (below) that you will eventually go on to paint yourselves. This month, I will discuss the elements of the photo and how to turn it into a good composition,…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ How to paint night scenes in gouache ■ Paint on dark smooth card ■ Apply gouache using a variety of techniques This month we are using the amazing opacity of gouache to paint onto dark-coloured card with light paint. I chose a couple of night scenes for this exercise, with glowing lights and buildings half-obscured in the darkness. The way we will paint them is quite loose, because I want you to have fun with the process, and to create something that is uniquely yours as you discover just what covering power gouache has. In the other articles in this series, we have already used light colours over dark colours (as well as the other way around), but here I want you to experience first-hand the strength…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Practise applying a wash, stippling, rubbing, dry-on-dry and lifting-off techniques using water-soluble pencils In this year-long drawing series we have been exploring a variety of mark-making techniques to create different effects. We now put this theory into practice by combining several techniques to draw an interesting scene. Room with a View (below) is an acrylic painting on canvas that was inspired by the seaside ruins at Kingston on Norfolk Island. Follow my demonstration to reinterpret the scene as a drawing using wet and dry media on paper, practising the techniques of applying a wash (sky and sea); stippling dry on wet (sand); rubbing (textured wall); dry media over dry (the cracks in the wall); and lifting off (the white sailing boat). You will need • HB graphite…

LEARNING OBJECTIVES ■ Produce a monochromatic study before painting ■ Use a rag and wipe, to establish tonal balances ■ Blend colours wet into wet with acrylics When considering the creation of a landscape dominated by a large sky, a knowledge of clouds is helpful. The different strata and cloud patterns are worth learning when painting believable dramatic landscapes. Adjacent to my studio in north Cornwall is a view across the Camel river towards Egloshayle village with its imposing church and surrounding hills. It’s a perfect view for painting anytime. I chose for my painting a day with an outstandingly clear blue summer sky. It was a perfect setting, the high cirrus clouds were cut underneath with a band of interestingly shaped cumulus clouds, to make a sublime sky. You…