Table of contents for April 2023 in Leisure Painter

Highlights ■ Bournemouth Arts Club The Bournemouth Arts Club will be holding a very special 102nd annual exhibition at Red House Museum, Quay Road, Christchurch BH23 1BU, from 11 March to 23 April. Since its foundation in 1920, the club has recruited new members exclusively by selection. ‘Some may say we are elitist,’ says one of the club’s members. ‘I suppose we are – and proud of it! Our annual exhibitions always maintain a particularly high standard of work.’ The membership selection process involves an interview before a panel of members of long standing. Applicants must present three finished works (framed in the case of paintings and prints), a work in progress, plus sketchbooks and back-up materials. One of the selectors explains, ‘The Bournemouth Arts Club is not for beginners,…

Learning objectives ■ How to follow the ‘5Cs of Painting’: concept, composition, contrast, colour and completion ■ Practise essential watercolour techniques Last month I set you a project to paint a winter snow scene from Bavaria of a barn surrounded by winter trees, focusing particularly on the winter trees. How did you get on? Here is my painting of the scene (right), followed by the stage-by-stage process I used to complete the painting. I will use my ‘5Cs of Painting’ again to analyse my painting approach. Concept The concept is clearly winter snow with the snow-covered barn and the surrounding winter trees the centre of interest. However, I refined the concept as Winter Dawn, Bavaria to show a dawn sky with pink at the horizon. I hope you feel the…

Learning objectives ■ How to create a textured background ■ How to draw your subject accurately ■ Practise painting highlights and shadows This month we continue our marine life painting series in acrylics with a nautilus shell on a sandy background that is created using a sponging technique. We will introduce the concept of painting on a coloured ground, practise using transfer paper to trace a drawing of the shell, and the fundamental acrylic painting technique of drybrush blending of highlights and shadows. You will need ■ Surfaces • Canvas 12×12in. (30×30cm) • Paper 12×12in. (30×30cm) Acrylics • Titanium white • Raw umber • Burnt sienna • Prussian blue Brushes • Round bristle No. 4 • Liner No. 2 • Large flat Miscellaneous • Selection of foam and/or sponges •…

Learning objectives ■ How to use the ebauche method ■ Practise traditional oil-painting techniques ■ Use a painting of an Old Master to paint your own version Last month I showed you how to use a grisaille (black and white) underpainting, which can be done in water-based paint. Over the top of this base layer the painting was completed using coloured oil glazes, and gradually thicker oil paint. This was a common method used by painters until the mid-Renaissance. The result tended to look quite stiff because the appearance of the finished picture was decided in the early stages of the underpainting. The next big step in the craft of painting was the development, in the middle of the Renaissance, of the ebauche method. In art we use the French…

Opportunities DSWF's Wildlife Artist of the Year 2023 Entries for the DSWF’s Wildlife Artist of the Year founded by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation in 2008, open in early January. The competition is open to amateur and professional artists and uses the power of the arts to celebrate wildlife and raise vital funds for endangered species. The deadline for entries is 11.59pm on 29 March. Find out more at www.davidshepherd.org The Pastel Society Entries are invited to the 124th annual exhibition, open to any artist over the age of 18. An exhibition of selected work will go on show at the Mall Galleries, London, from 25 May to 3 June (tbc). The deadline for entries is 24 March. For details go to www.mallgalleries.org.uk New English Art Club Artists are invited…

Learning objectives ■ Practise methods to simplify landscapes ■ How to paint successfully from photographs ■ Follow a step-by-step watercolour technique The mass of visual information confronting the landscape artist can be truly daunting, and many times we wonder where on earth we should make a start amidst all that overwhelming detail. You could perhaps begin by choosing a gentle waveless seascape with a solitary seagull, but you’d quickly feel the need for something more interesting. At this point you don’t need to include everything you see, and indeed it is rather self-defeating to attempt to do so. We need to aim at recording a flavour of the scene instead. My over-riding aim in landscape painting is to portray the local character and mood of a place, with a strong…

Acrylics Learning objectives ■ Know your materials ■ Essential techniques from Amanda’s repertoire I started painting, initially as a hobby, many years ago at the local art centre. I’d always loved being creative from when I was a child. I took O’level art, and over the years I took up many creative hobbies, but I kept going back to painting. When I first started painting again in 2000, I painted in watercolour. My first attempts were not very good but although my skills improved, I would often make a mistake that couldn’t be rectified and the painting would be ruined. A tutor introduced me to acrylics 20 years ago, and I haven’t looked back. I paint with them, because I love the bright colours. They are also versatile and quick to…

Mixed media Learning objectives ■ Why paint abstractly? ■ Materials and techniques needed ■ Be creative! Working abstractly stimulates experimentation, discovery, creativity and the activation of your talent. The total freedom of action adds an extra dimension to your experience of painting. Even if you do not have any drawing or painting experience, you can learn the expressive abstract method without any complicated techniques. Abstract painting paves the way to originality and individuality. There are countless ways to begin creating an abstract. You can draw an object, simplify that drawing then draw it again from the simplified version, making it even more simplified; or paint something in vertical and horizontal brushstrokes and see what picture emerges. A fun way to create an abstract landscape is by placing a thick line…

Mixed media Learning objectives ■ Build confidence by using mixed-media techniques ■ Study your subject from life and photographs ■ Follow a step-by-step process Trying to capture the exhilaration and majesty of one of nature’s natural beauties is a challenge at every stage. This is especially important if a relatively innocent beginner is unaware of the many pitfalls they may encounter along the way. When visiting the seaside, whatever the weather, how many times do you feel that the urge to start painting becomes overwhelming? But how to begin? When I first encouraged my students to begin painting the sea, many years ago, we visited assorted shorelines, clifftops, and rocky places. There was a flurry of bags being opened, painting equipment scattered about, papers being carried in the wind -…

WWW.PAINTERS-ONLINE.CO.UK David Barber is revelling in his new-found career as a full-time artist and urges others to discover the joys of painting en plein air. Here he describes how he works quickly and economically to create paintings that are full of light and life. To see more of David’s work, post a comment or upload your own images, visit www.painters-online.co.uk ‘In 2021 I made the momentous decision to resign from my position as deputy head teacher to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a full-time artist. Prior to teaching I had gained a degree in fine art and worked for several years as a commercial artist and illustrator. However, the arrival of our two children back in the early 2000s meant that I needed a more predictable career, hence the…