Table of contents for September 2024 in Leisure Painter

LONDON  Mall Galleries The Mall SW1. 020 7930 6844 www.mallgalleries.org.uk ‘Minerva 2024’, work by contemporary Japanese artists, until 27 July.  National Gallery Trafalgar Square WC2. 020 7747 2885 www.nationalgallery.org.uk ‘Discover Degas & Miss La La’, until 1 September.  Royal Academy of Arts Piccadilly W1. 020 7300 8000 www.royalacademy.org.uk ‘Summer Exhibition 2024’, until 18 August. ‘In the Eye of the Storm: Modernism in Ukraine, 1900-1930s’, until 13 October.  Tate Britain Millbank SW1. 020 7887 8888 www.tate.org.uk ‘Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920’, until 13 October.  Tate Modern Bankside SE1. 020 7887 8888 www.tate.org.uk ‘Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider’, until 20 October. REGIONAL  Kennaway House Coburg Terrace, Sidmouth, Devon. 01395 516284 www.artistcollective.uk ‘The Artist Collective’: an eclectic exhibition of work by eight selected artists, until 31 July.…

BEFORE YOU BEGIN Don't be tempted to skip the thumbnail sketch, tonal plan and colour test stages (see last month). They only take a few minutes, but together they form a road map for everything that follows. As artists we usually draw or paint scenes or subjects that appeal to us, but we're also lucky enough to be able to change, omit or add whatever we want to make the scene or subject even more appealing in terms of composition, or to capture our own personal reaction to how it makes us feel or how we'd like it to look. Last month, I introduced my photograph of a seaside fish-and-chip hut (above) and invited you to let your imagination loose, be creative and have fun producing your own unique version…

After last month's look at drawing dynamic figures, this month I want to show you how to capture those figures quickly and effectively in watercolour. Before we go into the details, there is something important you must understand. When it comes to painting, forget about accuracy, achieving a good result or following the correct process. Instead, it is about the ability of the artist to bring themselves fully into the painting; to leave it all on the field. Complete joy, play and self-expression are precisely the attributes that enable true, masterful art to arise. This means that there is no predetermined path. Anything I show and explain here, is merely an example of exploration and freedom. Every artist finds their own path, and their own unique solutions to problems; you…

Sketching outdoors can pose particular problems – changing light, adverse weather, elements that move in and out of picture, and so on – and the potential for these should be taken account of, to minimise their effect before we start. Shadows may lengthen or shorten, and light and shade patterns might be reversed in a couple of hours with the sun's movements so be aware when you take up a position to sketch. Attenborough Sailing Club (below) and Pots (left) both illustrate the point. The first is an outdoor scene pointing out to a client the effect on a composition of choosing different times of day, afternoon and morning. The second is a cluster of garden pots, the arrows above each showing different lighting directions. The resulting disposition and ratio…

TOP TIPS • Always ensure good ventilation to avoid any respiratory issues when using traditional oil paints. • Work from dark to light throughout the painting. • Remember oil paint can take six months to dry sufficiently to allow varnishing. The trees stand exposed now as autumn colours surrender to winter. Their stripped, imposing and dark shapes reflect in nearby puddles, stark and haunting. Twisted and gnarled branches await the oncoming weather, where the once autumnal carpet at their feet drift and swirl to a blanket of white. Distant fields and hills veiled with a light dusting of snow now recede into the background. This then is the inspiration for the final oil painting of trees in this series. Oil paint is pigment blended with oil (usually cold-pressed linseed oil)…

Working on a non-traditional surface with watercolour opens up a world of creative possibilities, allowing you to explore the interplay between the medium and unexpected materials. While watercolour is traditionally associated with paper (and nothing can take away the beauty of fine art paper), new substrates allow artists to achieve unique textures, effects and visual interest. Why surface matters The transparency of the medium means that the surface becomes an integral part of the final artwork, in a way which it simply does not for acrylics or oils. The hue of the surface influences every single colour placed upon it. The tone of the surface will become the lightest tone of the image, unless an opaque medium is introduced. As watercolour has no body, any surface texture will be fully…

This demonstration continues my mini-series on drawing and painting British butterflies with the peacock (Aglais io). It is so named because of the very large eye shapes on each wing tip that resemble the markings on peacock tail feathers. This common butterfly is found in towns and gardens, grasslands and woodlands. I will be using water-soluble coloured pencils to lay in the background and coloured pencils to draw and shade the butterfly in this month's demonstration. The grainy look of coloured pencils on paper is an effective way to indicate the powdery texture of butterfly wings. Demonstration Peacock Butterfly You will need ■ Surface • 300gsm watercolour paper 8x12in. (21x30cm) ■ Water-soluble coloured pencils • Dark green • Light green • Light brown ■ Coloured pencils • Light brown •…

Coloured pencil For me, coloured pencils are simply slow art. Because of the technology that surrounds and controls our lives through the necessity to use electronic gadgetry, what was heralded as quick and efficient has made our lives faster. We pay bills, book appointments, research and do our reading all at the touch of the keyboard. Meals can be cooked faster, travel is quicker, and speed is the controller of it all. You will need • Coloured pencils - dry and water soluble • An electric eraser (useful and efficient at lifting fine areas of light) • Pencil sharpener or craft knife. It is imperative to keep a good point on pencils • Drawing paper. I recommend a pad of heavyweight cartridge paper • Coloured paper (light and dark…

Plein air or plain daft? One thing is certain, attempting to paint a watercolour when it's raining is plain daft. Or, to qualify that, attempting to paint a watercolour when you are outdoors, painting en plein air as the French so eloquently put it, and it's raining, is obviously plain daft. I know; I've done it when painting the picture above. Let me take you back a few years, to the first time a very accomplished artist friend invited me to paint beside the picturesque River Mole. Not having a clue what kit to take with me, I arrived with a foldable table, a collapsible chair, a flask of tea, a cheese sandwich and enough tubes of paint, brushes and watercolour paper to fill a decent-sized suitcase. Having lugged all…

The National Gallery of Ireland celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition that took place in Paris in 1874 with a major international loan exhibition. Women Impressionists focuses on four women artists associated with Impressionism – Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), Eva Gonzalès (1849-1883), Marie Bracquemond (1860-1914), and Mary Cassatt (1844-1926). All but Eva Gonzales exhibited at Impressionist exhibitions (of which there were eight over the following 12 years). Women Impressionists will include some 60 works that have been drawn from collections worldwide. The exhibition explores how each of these artists navigated complex personal and professional networks to create and exhibit their art. It highlights their collective desire to make modern art and shows how they interpreted the evolving idea of Impressionism in individual ways. Women Impressionists continues at National…

Oil pastels are pigments in a binder of oil and wax, and are not to be confused with chalk pastels, which are quite different. When deciding which brand to use, be aware that they can vary in quality. The more economical brands tend to be hard and waxy, and can be limiting when creating artwork. I have used this medium for a number of years now, and find that Sennelier oil pastels give the best results every time and fit my requirements perfectly. Oil pastel's history Sennelier oil pastels have quite a pedigree. Henri Goetz and Pablo Picasso would sometimes outline their studies in oil pastel, but both were aware of the medium's limitations. Henri decided to approach art materials’ manufacturer, Henri Sennelier, with a request on behalf of his…

You will need ■ Surface • Bockingford 200lb Rough watercolour paper 10x8in. (25.5x20cm) ■ Daniel Smith Extra Fine watercolour • Green apatite genuine ■ Miscellaneous • White gouache • 2B pencil ■ Winsor & Newton Professional watercolour • Transparent orange • Naples yellow • Perylene maroon • Cadmium red • Cobalt blue • Ultramarine • Light red • Burnt sienna • Raw sienna • Viridian • Lemon yellow Step 1 The drawing 1 On a 10x8in. (25.5x20cm) piece of paper, mask out an area approximately 23x20cm then tape this to your board. Draw the scene. Notice how I kept the horizon low, moved the Thames barge to the right a little and the yacht to the left. I left out all the other boats in the photograph. 2 Having completed…

You will need Surface • Art sanded paper dark 400 11x15in. (28x38cm) Soft pastel Use shades of • Pale, mid-tone and darkish blues • Light, mid-tone and darkish greens • Deep purples, purple-mauve, mauve • Pink, terracotta, sand • Orange, brown, grey-brown, beige • Warm blue, turquoise Miscellaneous • Craft knife or blade • Greaseproof paper Step 1 Drawing and the sky 1 Begin by using a pale-coloured pastel or pastel pencil and roughly sketch the building, the trees and the distant hills. Just use lines to indicate the rows of lavender radiating from the building outwards. 2 Use three blues: a pale, mid-tone and (not too) dark. Start to block in using the side of the pastel, with the pale blue at the bottom of the sky, grading…