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The document discusses art materials, techniques, and stories from various artists. It provides information about exhibitions, workshops, and art supplies.

John Standing shares tips like starting watercolors with a wash, using small details as a focus, changing up your style by working outdoors, and enjoying the creative process.

The classified directory advertises art material suppliers in London and the UK that provide items like canvases, pigments, brushes, printing services, and framing services.

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as a first time exhibiting artist with The Society of Graphic Fine Arts in London in their highly acclaimed open art exhibition in London. With
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I L L U S T R A T O R S
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G AME
bonnard
The secrets behind the new
O F TO N
ES
Learn les
s
working i ons
blockbuster Tate show n black
and white
!

urban
scenes
Why one artist left
the Caribbean to
paint Birmingham

How to...
•Sketch confidently
•Paint perspective
•Draw in crosshatch

Lay it on t hi c k artworks
Artists & Illustrators,
The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd.,
Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place,
London SW3 3TQ
Tel: (020) 7349 3700
www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk
EDITORIAL
Editor Steve Pill
Deputy Editor Rachael Funnell
Art Editor Lauren Debono-Elliot
Contributors Hannah Ivory Baker,
Ray Balkwill, Grahame Booth,
Laura Boswell, Amanda Hodges,
Tom Hughes, Rosalind Ormiston,
Anne-Katrin Purkiss and Jake Spicer
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Welcome
Steve Ross
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IT IS TIME TO FIND
ISSN NO. 1473-4729

YOUR CHOSEN PATH


I was honoured last month to be invited by the Hertford Art Society
to give a critique of members’ work. As someone who is far happier
typing out his words and editing them until they make sense first,
COVER IMAGE BY JUDITH BRIDGLAND it was a rather fun and novel experience to be stood in front of
an audience trying to find constructive advice to a succession of

Stay paintings (and one sculpture) that I had only just set eyes upon.
There were lessons for myself in the experience too. One artist
inspired had painted a nude with rather thick illustrative lines, which I felt contrasted
with a badly with the more expressive background. Embarrassingly, I’d already told
subscription... him to soften those outlines when I discovered that was his favourite part of
Artists & Illustrators the picture and his aim all along. For the rest of the session, I made a point of
Tel: +44 (0)1858 438789 asking each artist’s intention first so I could better guide them towards their
Email: chosen ends, rather than forcing them to change things as I may have wanted.
[email protected] The experience underlined for me the fact that there is no right or wrong
Online: answer in art. With that in mind, I hope the articles in this issue give you some
chelseamags. practical advice and gentle guidance as you try to find your own chosen path.
subscribeonline.co.uk As Grahame Booth succinctly puts it in this month’s masterclass, “Remember,
Renew: when you are painting, the only opinion that matters is yours.”
www.subscription.co.uk/
chelsea/help
Steve Pill, Editor

Post: Artists & Illustrators,


Subscriptions Department,
Chelsea Magazines, Tower
House, Sovereign Park,
Lathkill Street, Market
What have you been working on this month? Share art and stories via email or social media...
Harborough, LE16 9EF
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Artists & Illustrators 3


18
Contents C I T Y SC E N E S
B Y WA Y N E
AT T W O O D

Go for the
essence of
the place and

36
mood... Allow
the viewer to
read into it
what they want
regulars
7 The Diar y
Our pick of the top events for
28 LUCY MARKS
– PAGE 2 8

artists taking place this month


10 Exhibitions featureS
Find gallery inspiration in April 18 Wayne Attwood 53 Monochrome
12 Fresh Paint The RBSA artist on why he ditched Hannah Ivory Baker on the
Introducing great new works the Caribbean for Birmingham benefits of black and white
24 In the Studio 28 Lucy Marks 58 Sketching with
Annabel Gault experiments with Talking techniques with the Conf idence
new sculpture-inspired techniques expressive landscape painter Three great drawing exercises
27 The Working Artist 36 Pierre Bonnard from wildlife artist Tim Pond
Our columnist Laura Boswell Join us on the French Riviera 60 Assemblages
on the joys of artist residencies to discover first-hand the source Ray Balkwill changes style for this
33 Prize Draw of his love of colour textured mixed media project
Win one of seven sets of oil paint 64 Joaquin Sorolla
courtesy of Pegasus Art practical Discover the light-filled techniques
34 10 Minutes With... 43 Sketchbook D raw in g of this Spanish master artist
Illustrator Sarah Papworth Our selection of tips, reviews, a fi n e li n e 70 Your Questions
82 Five Things short guides and much more Judith Bridgland has all the
I've Learned 48 Masterclass
w it h th e answers for impasto painting
Sage advice from the actor-turned- Grahame Booth shows you how to
b e st p e n s 74 Pens
– pa ge 74
artist Sir John Standing keep perspective painting plein air Jake Spicer's kit recommendations

4 Artists & Illustrators


Letters
LETTER OF THE MONTH Write to us!
Send your letter or email SOCIAL SCENE
THE ART OF GIVING to the addresses below: The latest chat from our
busy social media channels
I am in remission from breast cancer and to express how grateful POST:
I am for my renewed good health I decided to do something to Your Letters, This month: Readers share
contribute to the research into this illness, so I formed Portraits Artists & Illustrators, advice for getting over the fear
for Charity five years ago. The Chelsea Magazine of starting a new painting…
I work in the window of the Lewes branch of the Cancer Research UK Company Ltd.,
shop, charging £100 for a portrait and giving all the proceeds to the Jubilee House, Tony Hogan: Don’t set your
charity. As a result, I have painted so many interesting people and 2 Jubilee Place, expectations too high. No one
earned more than £28,000 for Cancer Research. I also paint greeting London SW3 3TQ started producing masterpieces
cards of the local area to be sold in the shop. immediately. Make a few marks,
This is such rewarding work and I am sure it is helping to keep me EMAIL: info@artists enjoy the experience.
well as I look forward to every day I spend painting in the window. andillustrators.co.uk Polly Tatterling: Are you trying
Leslie Norah Hills, via email to convey beauty or evoke an
The writer of our ‘letter emotion? Ask yourself that.
This is such a wonderful project, Leslie. We hope the £50 GreatArt of the month’ will receive Having an idea of the subject
voucher pays for more materials to create your portraits. a £50 gift voucher from matter is the biggest hurdle.
our partner GreatArt, Bernard Stewart-Deane:
who offers the UK’s Decide on a topic, then outline
wonderful jobs of all – that of largest range of art in it your sketchbook and mess
becoming a mother. Two years materials with more around with different layouts.
later and still up to my eyeballs than 50,000 art supplies When you think the composition
in Pampers, I felt it was time to and regular discounts is OK, start on the canvas.
revitalise my creative side. and promotions. Adele Gregory: I start by lightly
Having never studied any kind of www.greatart.co.uk outlining with dots in pencil or
art whatsoever, I took up drawing pastel. They’re easy to change
with the help of several short and give a sense of the whole
tutorials on the internet. It took me composition.
five years using watercolour pencils, Clare Russell: Put a rough wash
pastel sticks and of tone down first. Scrub it on,
coloured pencils scumble it on, drip it on. If your
MONEY WELL SPENT to finally achieve my canvas is already messed up,
In last August’s issue you very first portrait of my adding a painting on top isn’t
kindly awarded me “Letter of the beautiful dog, going to make it any worse.
Month” and I duly received my Millie [right]. Jennifer Garbutt Winahradsky:
voucher from GreatArt. I treated Now to crown it all, The way to get better is just to
myself to a selection of Winsor & as a Christmas make more art. You will fail. Just
Newton Professional Acrylic paints present, my mother do it and fail better next time.
which I used to produce Fusion very kindly Add your comments to our next
No.1 – Garden [above], a painting subscribed me to topic via the addresses below.
which now appears on my Portfolio your magazine which
Plus page. I found the creamy I can hardly wait to receive through
consistency of the acrylics really my letterbox every month. Not only
easy to work with, they didn’t dry has it introduced me to a whole new
Share your thoughts and get a daily
too quickly and they gave excellent world and reconnected me to the
dose of Artists & Illustrators tips,
coverage in a one-coat application. UK, but also inspired me to try
advice and inspiration by following
LETTERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS FOR PUBLICATION

Many thanks again for the voucher. many different things as well as
PLEASE NOTE: WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT ALL

us on our social media channels...


Russell Simpkins, guiding me through some rather
www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/ important decisions. @AandImagazine
russell-simpkins Thank you with all my heart for
that and thank you to all your artists ArtistsAndIllustrators
FEELING PAMPERED and experts for their tips and tricks AandImagazine
After 30 years as a British citizen which are absolutely invaluable to a
working and living in Switzerland, novice like myself.
AandImagazine
I finally landed one of the most Sarah J Schams, Switzerland

Artists & Illustrators 5


the diary

9 ARTISTIC THINGS TO DO IN

April
PINTAR RAPIDO
The UK’s biggest plein air painting
competition and exhibition returns to
London this summer (22-23 June) and
you can sign up online now to take part.
Register your canvas, paper or boards
on the Saturday then go out and paint
plein air anywhere in the capital.
On the Sunday, all the fresh works
will be featured in a public exhibition at
Chelsea Old Town Hall. Participating
artists are also eligible to win the
£1,000 Pintar Prize.
www.pintarrapido.com
ADAM RALSTON
the diary

5 PAINT
Buxton Spa Prize 2019
This competition challenges you to
capture the historic Derbyshire town of
Buxton en plein air between 3 May and
22 June. Painting locations are drawn by
ballot and the open category has a first
prize of £5,000. Sign up to take part on
DRINK the website from 1 April onwards.
2 Van Gogh’s Britain
& The Green Fairy
www.buxtonspaprize.co.uk

To celebrate the opening of Tate’s

STEVE DIXON
exhibition, Van Gogh and Britain,
this Artscapes event (3 April) at
Library on St Martin’s Lane in
London will guide you through the PRINT
life and libations of the great artist.
The menu includes the infamous
7 Monoprinting from
the Human Figure
‘Green Fairy’ – the affectionate Try your hand at capturing the
name given to absinthe. human figure in mono print on
www.lib-rary.com this one-day workshop with tutor
Steve Dixon (13 April).
Based in the Pegasus Art Studio

3 ENTER
The Grosvenor Museum’s
13th Open Art Exhibition
in Stroud, you’ll learn how to
effectively capture light and
atmosphere using pioneering
Chester’s premier gallery is offering techniques used by Edgar Degas
the chance to win a share of in the late 19th century.
£1,850 prize money. Hand-in days www.pegasusart.co.uk
for artworks are 26-27 April with
entry forms available to download
from the website.
www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk 8 EXPLORE
Using Mixed Media
to Create a Picture
Experiment with mixed media

d o n’ t
SUBMIT as part of this day-long workshop
4 The Natural Eye 2019 (29 April) run by artist Amanda

mis s!
ALEX KELLY

If you’ve created an Hoskin in the cosy mezzanine of


animal portrait bursting with life, the Truro Arts Company, Cornwall.
the Society of Wildlife Artists wants Beginning with a demonstration
to see it. Submissions open on from Amanda, you’ll then have
29 April for the annual exhibition
(24 October to 3 November) with
a £2,000 Terravesta Prize up for
6 READ
Colour – A Visual History
Learn about how new
chance to combine oils,
watercolours, inks and charcoal
with layers of collage.
grabs for the best work exhibited. pigments were www.truroartscompany.co.uk
All work must be submitted online discovered in this new
by noon on 26 July. book from art historian
www.swla.co.uk Dr Alexandra Loske and ESCAPE
the Tate. Bringing 9 Drawing and
CARRY AKROYD

together formative Painting on Kintyre


charts, wheels and This week-long residential painting
rare documentary course (28 April to 4 May) promises
images, it will inspire to help you develop a new way
you to consider of seeing. Artist Fiona Macrae will
colour not as a explain how to capture the colour,
collection of paints texture, light and form of the
but as an active part landscape on the remote
of art history. Scottish peninsula.
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Exhibitions
APRIL'S BEST ART SHOWS
LONDON British Museum. Rough drawings and book BELOW LEFT William George Shaw:
In the Studio www.britishmuseum.org dummies for the 14-million- Holman Hunt, A Corner of a Foreign Field
Until 27 April selling children’s classic. Pathless Waters Until 6 May
Royal Watercolour Society 1890s Illustration: What House of Illustration. (Homeward Bound), Hyper-realistic paintings of the
members capture the essence inspired the Beardsley www.houseofillustration.org.uk 1869, watercolour Tile Hill estate in Coventry.
of their working environment. Generation? on paper, Holburne Museum, Bath.
Bankside Gallery. Until 27 May Sorolla: Spanish 25.5x17.5cm www.holburne.org
www.banksidegallery.com Explores the influences which Master of Light
transformed illustration. 18 March to 7 July Louise Bourgeois: Prints
Reimagining Captain Cook: Heath Robinson Museum. The most complete collection Until 7 May
Pacific Perspectives www.heathrobinsonmuseum.org of the artist’s paintings seen The anxious latter years of the
Until 4 August outside of Spain. influential artist’s career.
Pacific Island artists re- Ludwig Bemelmans: Sketches National Gallery. Victoria Gallery, Bath
examine Cook’s relationship for Madeline www.nationalgallery.org.uk www.victoriagal.org.uk
with the people of the Pacific. 1 March to 28 April
The Renaissance Nude Exeter’s Fine Art Collection:
Until 2 June Women Artists
PRIVATE COLLECTION

Moonscapes Explores the emergence of the Until 19 May


2 April to 23 June nude as a prominent artistic Highlighting artworks from
The moon controls the tides and the human body is about theme in Early Modern Europe. women artists in the collection.
60% water, so it stands to reason that the earth's only Royal Academy of Arts. Royal Albert Memorial Museum
natural satellite has a strong pull on our daily lives. Artists www.royalacademy.org.uk and Art Gallery, Devon
through the ages have been more in tune to these www.rammuseum.org.uk
fluctuations than most, so on the 50th anniversary of the Eric Parry: Drawing
first moon landing, this new exhibition looks at Victorian Until 27 May Max Gill: Wonderground Man
visions of the moon above. Exploring the role of drawing in Until 28 April
They range in scope from the nocturnal melancholy of contemporary architecture. Explore humorous works of
William Holman Hunt's 1869 watercolour Pathless Waters Sir John Soane’s Museum. illustration and decorative art.
(Homeward Bound) to the science-inspired symbolism of www.soane.org Ditchling Museum of Art and
GF Watts and Evelyn de Morgan. Craft, East Sussex.
Watts Gallery, Surrey. www.wattsgallery.org.uk Van Gogh and Britain www.ditchlingmuseum
27 March to 11 August artcraft.org.uk
Vincent’s years in England and
influence on the likes of Martin Snape:
Francis Bacon is explored. An Artist’s View of Gosport
Tate Britain. www.tate.org.uk Read our Until 20 April
Bonnard Features 40 works from
Pierre Bonnard: feature on Hampshire’s “Master of Light”.
The Colour of Memory page 36 Gosport Gallery, Hampshire.
Until 6 May www.hampshireculture.org.uk
Spirited brushwork and
imaginative colour from the The Young Turner:
French master. Ambitions in Architecture and
Tate Modern. www.tate.org.uk the Art of Perspective
Until 22 April
ENGLAND – SOUTH The artist’s first commissions
Elizabeth Blackadder: and most celebrated works.
From the Artist’s Studio Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire.
Until 12 June www.blenheimpalace.com
Pioneering paintings and prints
spanning six decades. Greg Gilbert: A Gentle Shrug
Willis Museum and Sainsbury into Everything
Gallery, Basingstoke. Until 6 May
www.hampshireculture.org.uk Showcasing the photorealist
artist’s evolution from Elegant illustrations, stained
impressionist biro studies to glass, furniture and more from Edvard
surreal imaginings. the Art Nouveau master. Munch: Love
Southampton City Art Gallery. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. and Angst
www.southamptoncity www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk 11 April to 21 July
artgallery.com This collaboration
Prints of Darkness: with Norway’s
ENGLAND – MIDLANDS Goya and Hogarth in a Time Munch Museum is
Rodin: Rethinking of European Turmoil the biggest UK
the Fragment Until 4 August exhibition of Munch
Until 28 April A unique chance to compare prints in almost 50
How the French sculptor of The extraordinary graphic work. years. It will
Thinker was inspired by relics The Whitworth, Manchester examine some of
in the British Museum. www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk the artist’s most
New Art Gallery, Walsall. famous prints and
www.thenewartgallery Whistler and Nature their ability to
walsall.org.uk Until 16 June capture raw human
Etchings, watercolours and oil emotion.
Painting Childhood: paintings by one of the 19th World renowned
From Holbein to Freud century's greatest artists. for his beautiful
Until 16 June Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle. printmaking, Edvard
Explores the subject’s specific www.laingartgallery.org.uk Munch used his art
PRIVATE COLLECTION, NORWAY. PHOTO: THOMAS WIDERBERG

challenges, from capturing to portray


fleeting youth, to encouraging Ruskin, Turner and experiences of the
young subjects to sit still. the Storm Cloud human condition from love to loneliness. the artist’s travels through Europe, which
Compton Verney, Warwickshire. Until 23 June Perhaps one of the most iconic images in part shaped his artistic vision, with a
www.comptonverney.org.uk Marking the 200th birthday of on display, and indeed in art history, will small selection of personal postcards
the artist and social critic. be a rare lithograph version of The and maps on display to provide and
Radical Landscapes: York Art Gallery, York. Scream, the painting which catapulted insight to his many journeys.
Pre-Raphaelites and their www.yorkartgallery.co.uk Munch to fame during his lifetime. The British Museum, London.
French Contemporaries exhibition will also pay close attention to www.britishmuseum.org
Until 9 June WALES
How leisure and tourism Victor Cirefice: Aspect
affected artists’ approaches Around the Coastal Path new paintings. and astrophysicists.
to plein air painting. Until 28 April Maclaurin Art Gallery, Ayr. Inverness Museum & Art Gallery.
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, A retrospective of plein air www.themaclaurin.org.uk www.highlifehighland.com
Wolverhampton. local landscapes.
www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk Oriel Ynys Môn, Anglesey Imprint IRELAND
www.anglesey.gov.uk 13 April to 12 May Cherishing Mythology
ENGLAND – NORTH New prints by Academicians Until 6 April
Association of Animal Artists Kyffin Williams: The Artist including Barbara Rae. Armagh Art Club members
Annual Spring Exhibition and Amgueddfa Cymru Royal Scottish Academy, explore myths and legends.
5 April to 11 May Until 1 May Edinburgh. The Market Place Theatre,
Beautiful new wildlife artworks. Centenary celebration of the www.royalscottishacademy.org Armagh. www.visitarmagh.com
Castle Park Arts Centre, Welsh landscape painter.
Cheshire. National Museum Cardiff. Andy Warhol and Eduardo Christopher James Burns:
www.castleparkarts.co.uk www.museum.wales Paolozzi: I Want to Be a Limbo Land
Machine 12 April to 7 July
Refuge: The Art of Belonging Then & Now: 80 Years of CASW Until 2 June New sculptural works focusing
15 February to 29 June Until 12 April Pop Art masters playing with on memory, identity and place.
Telling the story of artists who Works by the Contemporary Art photography and advertising. The MAC, Belfast.
entered Britain as a result of Society for Wales members. Scottish National Gallery of www.themaclive.com
Nazi occupation. Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Modern Art, Edinburgh.
Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, Swansea. www.swansea.gov.uk www.nationalgalleries.org Making their Mark
Cumbria. www.abbothall.org.uk ABOVE Edvard Until 30 June
SCOTLAND Victoria Crowe: Munch, The Introduces early modern Irish
Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Twelve Ayrshire Colourists Beyond Likeness Scream, 1895, painter-etchers.
Making the Glasgow Style Until 28 April 23 March to 4 May lithograph, National Gallery of Ireland,
Until 26 August Small, engaging collection of Sitters include Nobel Laureates 35.7x23.6cm Dublin. www.nationalgallery.ie

Artists & Illustrators 11


Fresh
Paint
Inspiring new artworks, straight off the easel

Lewis Hazelwood-Horner
Growing up in a house of creatives meant Lewis was
raised to share his parents’ passion for art. Being a
LEWI S’s shy child, he found solace and confidence in art, an
to p tiP enthusiasm which spurred him on to enroll at the London
ir b ru s he s Atelier of Representational Art (LARA). Here, he developed
U s e hog ha
rger, more his drawing skills and learnt the sight-size method which
to c reate la troke s
s
ex p re s s ive was to become an integral part of his practice.
s y nthetic
and turn to detail Lewis’ performance at LARA earned him an invitation
b ru s he s for from the New Generation Festival to capture their four-day
opera gala via a series of live paintings. To be given free
range to explore the festival was a dream come true for
the artist, who grew up playing the violin and so feels a
close affinity with orchestras and classical music.
In this painting, Garden Gathering, we see the interval
of Don Giovanni in the gardens of the Corsini Palace.
The artist was drawn to the energy of the audience whose
conversations were emotionally charged by what they had
just witnessed. Looking back at the image now, Lewis sees
similarities with Édouard Manet’s 1862 painting Music in
the Tuileries Gardens, though he admits this wasn’t a
conscious influence at the time.
Lewis prefers to work from life, with many of his paintings
being themed around pubs where he finds the hive of
activity and energy of the room feeds into his work. He also
takes inspiration from Jan Steen paintings and has a keen
interest in Velázquez’s drinking scenes. As a self-confessed
stickler for detail, he likes to immerse himself fully in a
scene and become very familiar with his subjects before
beginning a piece. He starts by making graphite sketches
before moving on to oil studies made in-situ. Then, if
possible, he has the models visit his studio for sittings or
otherwise works from photos. He uses hog hair brushes,
reserving synthetic ones for finer detail, and mostly works
in Old Holland and Michael Harding paints.
LARA runs full-time and part-time courses, as well as evening
LEFT Garden and weekend courses, in drawing and painting in London and
Gathering, oil Bristol. Each year, one LARA alumni is invited to act as artist in
on canvas, residence for the New Generation Festival. If you would like a
109x130cm chance to take part, visit www.drawpaintsculpt.com >

Artists & Illustrators 13


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Fresh Paint

c h a r les
’s
to p tiP
B uil d p aint
in layers of
inc rea s ing
thic k ne s s .
T he p aint s
hould have
Charles Simpson During these trips, Charles won’t sketch or a deg re e o
f tac k ine s s
For some, landscape painting can be a rather breathless paint, but rather soak up the experience and b e fore add
ing more
pursuit, throwing down colour as quickly as possible to take hundreds of digital photos. “Painting is about
capture a fleeting record of a scene before the clouds shift continuous decision making,” he reasons. “The more
and the light changes forever. Charles Simpson, however, time I have to make these decisions the better – and this
is a man who likes to take his time about things. process is more suited to my working in the studio.”
He is a fan of Scotland’s “notorious changeable” Big Cloud over Portuairk was based upon a series of
weather, yet he has honed a way of working that allows pictures taken overlooking Sanna Bay near to Stevenson’s
him to really absorb his subjects first. “I probably spend famous lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point on the most
as much time looking at and thinking about a painting than westerly tip of mainland Britain. “I was just lucky with the
I do actual painting,” he reveals. weather,” says Charles. “I do recall it was remarkably hot.”
After graduating from Glasgow School of Art and working The key, he says, to doing justice to his subjects back in
for 15 years as a graphic designer, Charles moved to the the studio is creating subtle variations of colour, tone and
Scottish Borders in 1991. Eight years later he turned to temperature within the large expanses of sky and water.
painting full-time and has since completed more than 30 “For example, a great variety of warm-cool and dark-light
solo exhibitions for top-end galleries in London, Edinburgh tones can be achieved through mixing Burnt Umber and
and beyond. Ultramarine Blue with a white. Similarly, more neutral paint
Despite this prolific output, he works methodically, colours such as Payne’s Grey or Cool Grey can be warmed
heading out for research trips before each new body or cooled by adding small amounts of colour, such as ABOVE Big Cloud
of work. As well as exploring the farming country that Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Light Red or Ultramarine.” over Portuairk,
immediately surrounds his cottage, he regularly ventures Charles Simpson: Painting the Light runs from 14-29 March oil on canvas,
further afield to Scotland’s islands and west coast. at Panter & Hall, London SW1. www.csimpson-art.co.uk > 90x110cm

Artists & Illustrators 15


Fresh Paint

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Rod Shaw he now works exclusively in oil paints, favouring their


This artist’s talents stemmed from humble beginnings, slow-drying time which gives him more time to reflect
as the painting-by-numbers sets of his youth were, to some and return to his work, blending areas of colour creatively.
initial dismay, replaced by a set of acrylics. Sensing his mild For Flooded Path with a View Towards Tarn Hows, Cumbria,
disappointment, his parents suggested he could perhaps Rod used water-mixable oil colours, a combination of
paint his own pictures now. “I thanked them, somewhat Winsor & Newton’s Artisan range and the Cobra range
belatedly,” says Rod, “when I graduated with a degree in by Royal Talens. He painted on an acrylic-primed board,
Fine Art from Newcastle University in 1986.” preferring the smoother surface to that of canvas.
After graduation, an appreciation of the natural world in He was drawn to the scene as, following a rain shower,
all seasons drew Rod towards landscape painting. Having the emerging sun created a crisp, clear light which caught
toured Britain and Ireland for many years, from the Western the mountains in the background as well as the posts,
ABOVE Flooded Isles of Scotland to the creeks and coves of Cornwall and grasses and reflections in the foreground. Rod created
Path with a View the Isles of Scilly, he still enjoys the endless possibilities the composition using sketches before painting on a
Towards Tarn Hows, for painting presented when observing how the landscape monochromatic outline and finally, harking back to his
Cumbria, oil on is transformed by the fleeting effects of light and weather. colour-by-number days, filling in the rest with colour.
board, 60x80cm Having previously focused on acrylics and watercolour, www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/rod

16 Artists & Illustrators


8 February — 6 May 2019
Open daily

The Holburne Museum


Great Pulteney Street
Bath BA2 4DB

George Shaw, Ash Wednesday: 8.30 am, 2004–5


© George Shaw / Image courtesy Anthony Wilkinson
Gallery, London / Photo: Peter White
WAY N E AT T WO O D

Coming
Home
WAYNE ATTWOOD spent seven years living
on a yacht painting in the Mediterranean and
Caribbean, yet it took a return to Birmingham to
truly find his artistic calling he tells STEVE PILL

W
ayne Attwood was incredibly hard to get himself into that
a man with a plan. position in the first place. Born in
His two life-long 1970, he grew up on a Birmingham
passions were council estate yet was fortunate to
painting and boats, so he thought he find encouragement for his passions.
would combine them both and set sail Despite living in the country’s most
across the world, making art as he land-locked city, he began sailing at
went. He and his wife, the textile artist a young age thanks to a local charity
Angela Attwood, spent 18 months that took council estate kids off the
renovating a classic yacht before street and taught them how to sail.
launching from Plymouth. What could At another after-school club, a
possibly go wrong? metalwork teacher also introduced a
The couple sailed down the coast of pre-teen Attwood to oil painting and
Spain and Portugal before heading up the art of the Pre-Raphaelites. His
the Mediterranean, stopping at Malta, father further encouraged his son,
Sicily and other islands along the way. having been a skilled draughtsman
They eventually made their way across himself. “I think deep down he wanted
the Atlantic to the Caribbean and it to pursue artistic career but he had a
was here that Wayne first got the first really rough upbringing.”
inkling that this lifestyle was not for When Attwood left school, he took
him. “It was all pretty beaches and a media arts and design course that
the Another Day in Paradise scenario, lead to a career in advertising. He
and it just didn’t inspire me,” he says. spent his days as an illustrator and
While this could easily sound like creative director, while developing a
the ungrateful complaining of a spoilt sideline career in fine art painting on
artist, nothing could be further from evenings and weekends. The young
the truth. Attwood is a fiercely artist was employed by various manor
talented painter who has grafted houses to create Pre-Raphaelite-style

18 Artists & Illustrators


Artists & Illustrators 19
WAY N E AT T WO O D

portraits of previous tenants, including After just more than a decade advertising industry and set sail in
the Marquess of Anglesey. “I probably balancing two careers, the workload his newly-renovated yacht, Hitrapia.
got paid really badly to be honest but took a toll. “I basically wasn’t sleeping,” He painted mostly watercolours
when you’re 20 and someone says I’m he admits. “I remember getting a brief initially and would spend occasional
going to pay you £500 to paint, it’s from a client and falling asleep while days working for boatyards to top up
great,” he says. “Looking back on it he was talking. I thought, ‘This isn’t savings as the couple lived frugally.
now, I was too young to have anything very good’. Something had to give.” “I thought I was going to become a
to say myself, so it was good for me to The next phase of his career began marine painter but as I anchored up
focus on that illustration work.” in earnest in 2004 when he quit the in these beautiful harbours, the thing

LEFT St. Phillip’s –


Afternoon Sunlight,
oil on board,
25x20cm
TOP RIGHT
Birmingham Nights
#2, Colmore
Row, oil on board,
71x91cm
RIGHT Dear Friends,
oil on board,
51x51cm
PAGE 18-19 A Quick
Pint on a Sunday
Afternoon, oil on
board, 91x77cm

20 Artists & Illustrators


that drew me to paint was the urban
stuff,” he says. “I was just fascinated
by the cities.”
He found a good compromise in
Malta, for a while at least. For several
years, they spent winters there, with
Attwood switching to oil painting and
finding gallery representation. The
capital, Valletta, provided a pleasing
mix of history, architecture and
bustling crowds. Exhibitions followed,
including several for the Maltese
Prime Minister and President.
While the artist confesses to
“really falling in love with the place”,
the craving to return to Birmingham
remained. “You get to a point where
you start to miss something about
your own culture,” he says. “I wanted
to come home and paint.”
On permanently moving back to
the UK in 2011, Attwood’s friends
questioned his sanity: why on earth
would anyone swap the tropical island
life for Birmingham city centre? Yet it
WAY N E AT T WO O D

own A Quick Pint on


a Sunday Afternoon,
which caused a stir
at the Royal Institute
of Oil Painters annual
exhibition in
December. While it
was based on a
specific, well-known
pub in Birmingham’s
Jewellery Quarter, the
artist chose not to
name it because, he
says, “the painting is
not about the location,
it’s about the
atmosphere.”
The hope is that
through mining a very
personal connection
to a place, he will hit
upon something more
universal. “I’ve made
an active decision to
paint what I feel and
hopefully someone
will have the same
emotional attachment
to it.”
After exploring the world in search
Having a cushion between me and of inspiration, Attwood has found it

the subject means I can be creative close to home. His love for the local
art scene extends to him being vice
president of the Royal Birmingham
was precisely in trying to answer perception of colour and lead to his Society of Artists, of which he hopes
that question that Attwood found his pictures having a green cast. This to become the president following
calling. Having struggled for years for forced a change in approach that the AGM in April. While he remains
something to say, he finally had a continues today, as he now favours surprised that paintings of local
purpose. He set about exploring creating studies on location that he building sites have wide commercial
through his art why he felt this deep later works up into more expressive appeal, the success of his recent work
connection to his home city. studio paintings. “Having that cushion has reminded him to always paint
His first major project on returning between me and the subject means what he feels and try not to pre-empt
ABOVE The Green was to become artist-in-residence for I can be more creative and playful what might sell. “It just goes to show it
Kiosk, St.John’s the renovation of Birmingham’s New with them,” he reveals. is sometimes down to this connection
Street, Valletta, Street station. Eventually given access The New Street experience also we have with a place, which I probably
oil on canvas, via an enthusiastic marketing reminded Attwood that his real feel more acutely from travelling for a
61x61cm department, Attwood spent two years interest wasn’t just urban scenes but number of years. It’s what we do as
LEFT She Loves the visiting the construction site every rather the people that within them. artists really: explore these connections
Winter Sun, But couple of weeks. He painted on He has since explored the works of that we have with each other.”
Can’t Stand the location initially yet soon realised the Walter Sickert and Édouard Vuillard, The RBSA Prize 2019 exhibition runs
Cold, oil on canvas, large industrial lighting required trying to capture some of the intimacy 23 May to 22 June at the RBSA Gallery,
91x61cm underground was distorting his of their paintings in the likes of his Birmingham. www.wayneattwood.com

Artists & Illustrators 23


ON A ROLL
Annabel uses
gesso-primed
paper for her
oil paintings

IN THE STUDIO THINK INK

Annabel
The latest
work involves
pressings
made in ink

Gault
The landscape artist embarks on a new series
in her Suffolk workspace. Words and photos:
ANNE-KATRIN PURKISS

You are known as a landscape and from her I learned how to make
painter. Do you spend much time plasters. The result is a mixture
in your studio? of both of our practices.
Yes. During the past three years,
I have spent most of the time here. Can you explain the process you
Normally, I work outdoors as much are using now?
as I can and use the studio only in I start with rolling clay out in large
the winter months and as a ‘base plates, that part is incredibly what I do. I absolutely love painting
camp’. But with my recent work, that physical. Then I make drawings on outside. I like the immediacy of
has changed. It’s a new experience. these clay plates, and I take plasters working outdoors.
from the clay. The pressings are
Can you tell us about the new work? done from these plasters, using How do you know when one of your
The pictures are pressings or normal printing ink. works is finished?
rubbings from my plasters, it is a The thing about working outside
process that is closely related to Where do you find inspiration? is that you are very much in the
printmaking. In the landscape that surrounds me, moment – you’re not really aware of
here or in other places that I visit. time, which I really like. You are not
What prompted you to break from It changes constantly: the light, the thinking in terms of ‘finishing’ a
painting and try a new technique? weather, and the seasons are never painting, you just arrive at a point.
I love images in black and white the same. It is important to be open I never touch up things back in the
– for instance, charcoal drawings to ideas and to follow them. studio. Once it’s finished, that’s it.
have always been a separate thread
for me that is not really connected When you work outdoors, do you Do you ever return to earlier work?
to painting. About four years ago, use sketchbooks? There will always be a connection
a sculptor friend invited me to her I just paint. I have got sketchbooks, between what you are doing now
studio. We experimented there, but when I go out to paint, that’s and things that you have done in the

24 Artists & Illustrators


IN THE STUDIO

always preferred paper, much to the


despair of some people – it is that
assumption that a painting on paper
hasn’t got the same value as one
done on canvas. For large work,
I prefer John Purcell paper that
comes in a roll. I prime it with gesso
before I apply the oils.

What is your daily routine?


I am in the studio at 9am. That is
critical, otherwise the morning is
wasted and that is my main working
time. You’ve got that fresh attention
in the morning. I’m in the studio until
SOFT START about 1.30pm and then I get back
When she first to work again later.
moved here,
Annabel often How long have you had this studio?
used pastels We moved here in 1981. At first,
I had a small room in the house.
I worked mainly in pastels at the
time. Later, we converted an
outbuilding into this studio.

Is there a difference in your studio


practise with the current work?
Yes, here I work in a very different
way. The studio is a much more
self-conscious place. It’s about
the feeling for something, it’s the
heart that takes over everything.
And that’s when something
can happen…

Do you plan to spend more time


in the studio in the future?
The studio has come into its own
more in recent years. It has been
a good time, I have really enjoyed it.
past in some way and, in that sense, But there will also be a time when
I am returning sometimes to earlier I will work more outdoors again.
work. If you open any of my plan
chests, they are stuffed full of What are your plans for the
drawings. I may go back to them, immediate future?
but it’s perhaps unlikely. I will have an exhibition at my gallery
in London, Redferns, later this year,
When you work outdoors, do you and I hope to show some of the new
paint straight onto a canvas? work that you see in the studio now,
No, I don’t use canvas. I paint on apart from my landscape paintings.
paper, even for oil paintings. I have www.redfern-gallery.com

I am in the studio by 9am...


That is critical, otherwise
the morning is wasted

Artists & Illustrators 25


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COLUMNIST

LEFT Skye to the


Mainland, linocut
print, 46x73cm

An artist’s residency
can be as basic as
housesitting for a friend

fully-funded international residencies paying a stipend.


Even if you simply swap sheds with a fellow artist for
a weekend, the very act of calling the experience a
‘residency’ will be refreshing. By ignoring the family’s
sniggers, removing yourself from your home life and
concentrating solely on your work, you’ll likely surprise
yourself with the art you make.
If you want something more formal, some time spent on
the internet will reveal almost limitless opportunities and
a huge variety of experiences from fully-funded to entirely
self-funded residencies worldwide. Typical timescales
range from a weekend to several months, and residencies
can be highly specialised or just offer space to work.
You might find yourself working in isolation, with the local
community, or sharing both studio and living space with
other artists.
Research up front is vital for any residency: decide
what you want to achieve and do check for scams before
applying for organised residencies. Plan carefully to ensure
you can meet your goals and your host’s requirements
during your stay, especially if there are cultural differences.
If you are sharing the residency with others, don’t be
uncomfortable about the need to focus on yourself.
That said, a sense of humour and plenty of give and take
definitely helps, especially when sharing a living space
with strangers.
Whatever kind of residency you consider, remember that
Artist residencies aren’t just for professionals, you will only get out of the experience what you put into it.
says our columnist LAURA BOSWELL. We should Treat your residency as a holiday and it will swiftly become
all take a little time to focus on our art. a missed opportunity to regret. If you need motivating,
make yourself accountable by telling people about your

H
ave you ever thought about attending an artist’s plans or, even better, organising a show or talk for your
residency? Residencies come in all shapes and return, even if it’s just in a local café or church hall.
sizes, but the one thing they all have in common is Work hard and seize the moment and a residency can be
time away from everyday life to develop and grow your art. life changing. It was my first residency in Japan, a terrifying
It is a rare opportunity for some ‘me time’ and focus on leap of faith at the time, that taught me the skills that
whatever creative process you wish to explore. A residency enabled me to turn professional and make art my living.
can be as basic as housesitting for a friend, right up to www.lauraboswell.co.uk

Artists & Illustrators 27


TA L K I N G T E C H N I Q U E S

Lucy
Marks
With an experimental approach to oil mediums
and mark making, this vibrant artist wants to
share her love of the landscape through paint,
as AMANDA HODGES reveals

L
ucy Marks’ upcoming exhibition at the Piers Feetham
Gallery will showcase this distinctive artist’s vibrant
portfolio of work and her enthusiasm for the venture
is evident. “It has been such an exciting and thrilling
journey to get to this point.”
She describes herself as fundamentally a landscape
painter who “walks a line pushing towards the abstract”
and her canvases are distinguished by a sense of palpable
movement and vibrant energy. “The joy of being a
landscape painter – and one of the reasons I fall in love
with painting the land and sea and sky so much – is that it
is forever changing. You can go outside to the same spot
day after day and it never looks the same.”
Her new collection features both watercolour and oil
paintings and they vary in scale to reflect the South Downs
landscape. Growing up in Sussex, her family were keen
walkers and she has a clear affinity for the natural world.
“Today all is so busy it’s hard to find time to connect back
to the basics and just enjoy the fundamental land around
us,” she says, something she’s redressing through her art.
One of the interesting facets of Lucy’s landscapes is that
although each is characterised by depth and vitality, none
is directly representational of any specific place; this is a
deliberate strategy. “We all experience the world differently.
In the same way no one person will ever experience the
same landscape on the same day in the same way. So why
get caught up with whether there was a house or dog in a
LEFT The Sky Grew particular spot? To me it seems unnecessary. Go for the
Darker..., oil on essence of the place and mood. And allow the viewer to
panel, 85x85cm read into it what they want.”

Even on days when things are


tough in the studio, it’s still a
time when I fully feel myself
Artists & Illustrators 29
TA L K I N G T E C H N I Q U E S

To truly capture the energy and vitality of the


landscape, Lucy believes it is important to be in that Know the rules and
then throw them
environment at some point and connect with the
elements. As such, most works will begin on location
between the sea and the Downs. “I am definitely not a plein
air painter,” she says firmly. “I don’t create finished works out and create work
outside. I don’t want to recreate the ‘scene’ – I want to
bring back the experience, vitality and moment.”
that’s exciting and
To this end, she avoids reference photography and authentic to you
instead prefers to make sketches on location that focus on
capturing tangible qualities like the wind, the light and the
colour. “When I work from them back in the studio, the She points to an oil panel titled From the Lane as a good
memories of the place come alive in your mind’s eye and recent example of this considered process. “This painting
this helps you remember the feel and mood of the place.” was in the studio with time on the wall in between layering.
One of the ways in which she does this is by making what I like how the paint layers work together having been built
she calls ‘place palettes’ – small collections of the flora and up over time. I didn’t intend for this work to hang around as
fauna found in the environment. “These small elements long as it did, it just happened like that. However, its long
such as a grass, flower or a stone are powerful fragments gestation period worked well for it.”
of the big vista. I have an inspiration drawer-full of shells, With regards to paint choices, Lucy has a largely fixed
feathers, stones and sticks, I can spend hours with those.” palette of around 10 or 12 colours whether working in oil
That process of rumination is key and she says or watercolour. “I like to know my materials and feel very
‘gestation’ is a very good word to describe the process happy with how I can mix these colours. My favourite is
which occurs between working outside and getting back in Prussian Blue – what a blue!” She favours watercolour
the studio. “My relationship with the painting starts in the tubes to pans: “I still find you can get beautiful washes
landscape and then as I move into the studio it develops and glazes this way, but the pigment is stronger.”
and deepens. The works often rest between layers. During When it comes to oils, it is the visceral qualities rather
BELOW Arcadia as this time, I often leave the works up on my drying wall as it than the colours that really determine her selections,
Darkness Falls, oil gives me the opportunity to reassess with objectivity where always choosing the most thick and buttery options
on panel, 50x50cm the painting is going.” wherever possible. Nevertheless she is a big advocate for
using oil mediums. Two current favourites are poppyseed
oil and walnut oil.
“I don’t tend to use poppyseed oil in the lower layers of
a painting when working wet-on-dry and when applying
paint thickly, as the paint will be liable to crack when it
finally dries completely. However, it does create a lovely
thick texture to the paint.”
Poppyseed oil is, she says, more transparent and less
likely to yellow than standard linseed oil. “I find it’s great for
using with whites and pale colours.” Walnut oil is darker in
colour and has a distinctive smell which “for some reason
reminds me of Christmas”, yet also works well with paler
hues. She finds both options have slower drying times than
traditional or cold-pressed linseed oil, yet stresses this is
entirely a personal take on it. “Every painter is different and
I would suggest that it is important to experiment, research
and trial out what suits you.”
Her approach to applying the paint is similarly
experimental. “I tend not to get hung up on how to
traditionally use paint,” she says. “Know the rules, that’s
important, and then throw the rules out and create work
that’s exciting and – most importantly – authentic to you.”
She avoids relying upon specific brushes or tools to
create particular marks and instead builds a studio painting
with layers of bold brushstrokes and layers of colour.
“Mark-making is so primal, such a human instinct,” she
explains. “From scratching our desks at school through to
doodling in pads in work meetings, that instinct to create
marks is deep.”
Unsurprisingly, when it comes to discussing her painting
heroes, one genre features heavily. “All our wonderful
British landscape painting history has been a huge

30 Artists & Illustrators


LEFT Apricot Nights,
oil on panel,
30x30cm
BELOW LEFT From
the Lane, oil on
panel, 40x40cm

influence. As a country I think landscape painting is in


our bones: Constable, Turner, they are everywhere!”
Modern and contemporary British influences include
the luscious oil paintings of Frank Auerbach and the late
Sir John ‘Kyffin’ Williams, as well as the current Royal
Academician artists Hughie O’Donoghue, Christopher
Le Brun and Frank Bowling.
Further afield she also admires the artists of the Bay
Area Figurative Movement, a group of mid-20th-century
school painters based around San Francisco. Richard
Diebenkorn was their most prominent figure, yet Lucy picks
out Paul Wonner, Joan Brown and Walter Kuhlman as
personal heroes.
Ultimately it is Lucy’s own work which is taking priority
and generating such enjoyment for her.
“Painting makes me so happy,” she says. “Even on days
when things are tough going in the studio, it’s still a time
when I fully feel myself. I love puzzles and I often look at
painting as solving constant problems so when a painting
is finished it’s a wonderful feeling. And off it goes into the
world on its own adventure.”
Lucy’s new exhibition, Big Skies, Land & Sea, runs from
4 April to 4 May at the Piers Feetham Gallery, London SW6.
www.lucymarks.co.uk

Artists & Illustrators 31


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3 Artists & Illustrators


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Artists & Illustrators 33


10 MINUTES WITH...

Sarah
Papworth
This West Midlands illustrator has just published a book
called I Know An Artist – and she knows a few things about
being one herself as well. Interview: RACHAEL FUNNELL

How did you get started as an illustrator? tight deadline. For portrait work I gather a few extra images
Illustration has always been a part of me. I can’t remember so I can get a feel for a person’s face and main features.
a time when I wasn’t drawing, from childhood sketches to I always try to do a different pose from the one in the
studying fine art and textile design at Winchester School of photos, even if it’s an amalgamation of a few. I sometimes
Art. After graduating I worked as an in-house designer for a sketch thumbnails if I’m unsure, to get the layout right,
high street retailer for seven years before finally going then I will sketch up to the correct scale.
freelance. At that time, I decided to invest in my career by
doing lots of online courses, mainly with Make Art That How do you begin a new illustration?
Sells, and they helped me to rediscover the joy in my work. It almost always starts as a doodle, usually made while
My illustration workload eventually grew to fill my time. sitting in front of the TV in the evening. I note down ideas in
a quick sketch and wait for inspiration. Sometimes I go out
You illustrate a variety of subjects. Is there a theme that for some fresh air or do some yoga to help my ideas flow
you particularly enjoy? but, if I have deadlines, I don’t always have that luxury.
There are themes I come back to again and again, but I I then begin sketching up thumbnails before moving onto
also like to experiment. I’m a bit like a butterfly in that I like full-size images and finally working in the colour.
to flit around trying new things. One particular theme I do
like is portraits. Everyone’s faces are so unique which Tell us about your studio.
means it’s always interesting drawing someone new. My studio is my kitchen table, or the garden in spring and
summer. I prefer natural light, so my painting table is by
When did you first begin doing book illustrations? the patio doors overlooking the garden. don’t really use
I started working with a publisher about two years ago. any specific materials, but I did buy some Caran d’Ache
I really enjoy the process of coming up with ideas, water-soluble crayons (Neocolor II) last year which I love.
sketching at my desk, on the sofa or in the garden, and Generally speaking I like to work with anything that gives an
then adding colour and texture, usually on my computer. interesting texture. I use biros and pencils a lot, as well as
I enjoy getting the colour balance to my liking which watercolours, inks and acrylics – anything that layers well.
sometimes can require a lot of fine tuning and other times
comes very quickly. What advice would you give someone illustrating a book?
I love seeing and feeling a book in my hands once it has Books can be long projects, so make sure you work out the
been printed. I’ve always loved books, so there’s something hours before agreeing on a deadline – and double what you
that really resonates with me with this type of work. think it will take! Also, it pays to establish what particular
style you will be working with for the whole book early on.
How did you come to illustrate Susie Hodge’s new book,
I Know an Artist? How do you stay motivated when working from home?
I was very lucky to be contacted by the publisher directly to Generally, I’m pretty well motivated because I enjoy what
illustrate I Know a Woman written by Kate Hodges, which I do. I find it harder to stay motivated when I’m working day
was released last year, and was delighted to be asked to after day on just one project. To overcome this, I make sure
illustrate again. I believe it was a group of illustrations of I take regular breaks and change up the pace by listening
IRINA & SILVIU, TOGETHER & SUNSPELL

Mary Poppins and some birds I had made for a personal to music in the morning and podcasts in the afternoon.
project that first got the art director interested in my work. I also make sure I keep the weekends free for relaxing and
doing something different like gardening or canvas painting,
How do you identify the images to create for a book? then I can return to work with a fresh outlook on Monday.
Usually I’ll receive a brief from the publishing team, which Sarah illustrates I Know an Artist by Susie Hodge, published by
really helps to speed up the process when working to a White Lion Publishing (RRP £20). www.quartoknows.com

34 Artists & Illustrators


I’m a bit like a butterfly
in that I like to flit around
trying new things
BRIGHT
INTERIORS
PIERRE BONNARD was one of the world’s great colourists. As a new
exhibition opens at Tate Modern, RACHAEL FUNNELL visits his former
home to better understand what inspired this artistic visionary
BONNARD

MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART; TATE

P
ierre Bonnard is an artist of two careers. Born on 3 October 1867 in the Fontenay-aux-
His first forays into the art world began Roses suburb of Paris, Bonnard was an unlikely
with Les Nabis, a group of avant-garde artist. He was raised in the bourgeoisie and
artists who first formed in 1890s Paris. encouraged by his wealthy parents to pursue
What started as a group of friends who shared a career as a banker. Instead, he became a
an interest in contemporary art and literature founding member of Les Nabis during his time
became a movement which paved the way for at Académie Julian, a private art school in Paris
the early 20th-century development of abstract where he mixed with like-minded artists who took
art, helped along in no small part by the dawn of a pragmatic approach to their work, believing art
Bonnard’s second career from 1912 onwards should help one to live rather than just be
as one of the world’s great colourists. beautiful. Les Nabis also believed art should
Tate Modern’s new exhibition, Pierre Bonnard: accessible to all rather than tucked away in
The Colour of Memory, is the first UK solo show exclusive exhibitions for only the rich to enjoy.
dedicated to the French artist in more than 20 They created works for mass consumption, which
years. It focuses upon Bonnard’s mature works were used as both commercial posters in the
and explores how the artist used colour to street and decorations in the home. Bonnard
capture fleeting moments in time, creating also began using print lithography to create
masterpieces which he would often revisit, frontispieces for La Revue Blanche, an art and LEFT Dining Room in the
reworking the canvas over several months or even literary magazine. Country, 1913, oil on
years. But how exactly did Bonnard come to In 1893, Bonnard met Marthe de Méligny, a canvas, 164.5x205.7cm
develop such a command of his palette and what companion who was to become the cornerstone ABOVE Coffee (Le Café),
inspired the intimate scenes which featured so of his practice. Initially producing work with an 1915, oil on canvas
heavily in his work during that time? erotic focus, her frequent exposure in his early 73x106.4cm

Artists & Illustrators 37


CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT:
Bonnard in 1941; The
Window (Le Fenêtre), 1925,
oil on canvas, 108.6x88.6cm;
The Garden (Le Jardin),
1936, oil on canvas,
127x100cm; Nude in an
Interior, c.1935, oil on
canvas; 134x69.2cm

younger artists Pablo


Picasso and Georges
Braque. This exploration
of colour soon consumed
him, and he recognised
a need to step back and
focus on structure in his
work. “Certainly, colour
has carried me away,”
he told his nephew,
Charles Terrasse.
“I sacrificed form to it
almost unconsciously.
It is therefore drawing
that I must study...
I draw continuously.
And after drawing comes
composition which must
be balanced.”
works was an act of defiance typical of that In 1914, when war was imminent, a 47-year-old
bohemian era. The artist was never one to shy Bonnard repeatedly tried to enrol in the army but,
away from nudity, as later seen in photos taken alongside Vuillard and Matisse, he was never
in the garden of a house in Montval in 1900 enlisted. When Matisse asked, “How might we
(currently on display at the Tate) that would serve serve the country?” Marcel Semblat, then
as models for his Daphnis et Chloé illustrations. Minister of Public Works, responded,
Material success in his work enabled Bonnard “By continuing as you do, to paint well.”
to buy a car which was considered a great luxury This message led Bonnard to the Missions
for the time. He eventually departed Paris in 1910 d’Artistes aux Armées in 1917, with whom he
after purchasing Ma Roulette, a small house in travelled to the Somme to record the impact of
Normandy, bringing the artist closer to Claude war by creating works that would be exhibited at
Monet, whom he would visit regularly. the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. (This year, the
In 1912, Bonnard’s second artistic career same venue will stage an exhibition of work by
© ANDRÉ OSTIER; TATE

emerged as he began to reconsider the role Bonnard and his contemporaries, Les Nabis et le
of colour in his work. This move came during Décor, from 13 March to 30 June).
a period of artistic reinvention among his The years following the war proved turbulent for
contemporaries including Henri Matisse, and Bonnard, as he suffered the loss of his mother,

38 Artists & Illustrators


BONNARD

Bonnard’s
second
artistic career
emerged as
he began to
reconsider
the role of
colour in
his work
MUSÉE D’ART MODERNE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS/ROGER-VIOLLET; NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, USA

gate cloaked in trees and shrubbery.


While the house is closed to the public, the
nearby Le Musée Bonnard stages regular
exhibitions and artists’ workshops.
During their time at Le Bosquet, Marthe
became an essential element of Bonnard’s art,
but she also became his cross to bear. Once the
centre of the lively art scene in Paris, Bonnard’s
life had been one of social enrichment, but
Marthe couldn’t stand to be around other people.
It’s thought likely that she suffered from a mental
illness and her misanthropy brought the couple
inside, where Marthe would obsess over her
hydrotherapy – a self-prescribed treatment for her
condition which involved repeated bathing – and
Bonnard would obsess over his painting. Their
sister and brother-in-law. In 1925, after 30 years lives soon became isolated, during which time
of living together, he and Marthe finally married the artist created works which captured intimate
in a quiet service in Paris. glimpses of their daily routine, with paintings of
However, this joyous occasion was over- Marthe bathing, such as 1936’s Nu dans le Bain,
shadowed by the tragic suicide of his model and being among his most celebrated.
lover, Renée Monchaty, who fatally shot herself While Marthe remained indoors, Bonnard
just weeks after the couple’s wedding. In 1927, would take daily walks during which he made
Marthe and Pierre retreated to a small house, Le notes about the weather in his journal. He was
Bosquet, at Le Cannet, in the hills above Cannes no Impressionist and never painted in front of
on the French Riviera. a subject, but he would make many sketches
Upon visiting Le Bosquet today, it becomes from life. Back in his studio he would use these
clear how Bonnard’s surroundings came to inspire descriptions and drawings to rebuild scenes on
his command of colour. A short stroll in the the canvas. Freed from the distraction and
garden at dusk reveals a dense gathering of constraint of recording reality with accuracy,
luscious evergreens juxtaposed with sparse Bonnard was able to create iridescent and
autumnal trees with russet fallen leaves. Beyond abstract interpretations of the world around him.
the garden, a sprawling landscape reaches a In 1939 the couple waited out the war at
crescendo where the sun sets behind distant Le Bosquet, a timely retreat as Marthe’s health
mountains, creating a sky that fades from soft continued to decline. This period of isolation was
amber to pastel blue. reflected in Bonnard’s work as the war restricted
This botanical haven captures both the rich the availability of painting supplies and food.
palette and social isolation which defines The produce grown in their garden became of
Bonnard’s work, with the only visible sign of the vital importance and as such featured heavily in
house’s presence from the street being a small the still life paintings he made during this time.

Artists & Illustrators 39


LEFT The view from Le Bosquet today
BELOW LEFT Nude in the Bath (Nu dans le bain),
1936-’38, oil on canvas, 93x147cm

In January 1942, Marthe died of a heart attack


and, after 50 years of living together, her passing
had a profound effect on Bonnard who wrote
to Matisse, “You can’t imagine my grief and my
solitude, filled with bitterness and worry about
the life I may lead now.” Despite her ill-health,
Bonnard had always painted Marthe in a way that
indicated vitality rather than decline, contrasting

MUSÉE D’ART MODERNE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS/ ROGER-VIOLLET; PHOTO: RACHAEL FUNNELL


greatly with his candid approach to self-portraits.
The artist’s own health began to suffer after
the death of Marthe, but he continued to work
for another five years when, at the age of 80, he
completed his final work: a painting of an almond
tree in bloom. Bonnard was known for altering
paintings long after they were ‘complete’, having
snuck art materials into galleries to make
changes to his works while the guards weren’t
looking. This final artwork was no exception.
As his nephew stood by his deathbed Bonnard
reportedly said, “The green on the patch of ground
to the left is wrong… What it needs is yellow.”
Pierre Bonnard: The Colour of Memory runs until
6 May at Tate Modern, London SE1. www.tate.org.uk

Bonnard made
alterations to
paintings long
after they were
‘complete’… On his
deathbed, he said
“The green on the
left is wrong”
PAINT LIKE PIERRE SIX TIPS FOR CREATING COLOURFUL BONNARD-STYLE ART
1 RESTRICT YOUR START POINT where is the observer? Such 4 PIN YOUR INSPIRATION considering a subject, but
Bonnard’s compositions often daring compositions add intrigue Bonnard collected sweet commit to a timeframe when
place the focus to the side, to your work. wrappers, newspaper cuttings creating your masterpiece to
leading your eye off the canvas. and other images which he capture the raw spirit of an idea.
Affix paper to the centre and 3 VARY THE TONES pinned to his studio wall to fuel
margins of your canvas to resist Colour is a complex element of his creativity. Try collecting 6 KEEP MOVING
the urge to place your focal point Bonnard’s work, with each base artefacts to keep in your studio Bonnard’s studio contained a
in an obvious spot. colour appearing in a single which could inspire new ideas. mezzanine which enabled him
painting in a variety of tones. to view his work from a different
2 CONSIDER THE OBSERVER Pre-mix three blobs of your 5 THINK SLOW, ACT FAST height. He also worked with
In Nude in an Interior, what chosen base colour with varying After long periods of long-handled brushes while
initially appears to be a doorway amounts of Titanium White to consideration, Bonnard’s painting on unstretched canvas
is in fact a reflection in a mirror. give a trio of tones to great a approach in the studio was one tacked to the wall. Try these
So where is the subject and varied first layer. of speed. Take your time when tricks to gain a fresh perspective.

40 Artists & Illustrators


Artists & Illustrators 41
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sketchbook

April
TIPS • ADVICE • IDEAS

To p t i p ks.
alcohol in
Consider tiful
he y p ro duce beau
T
atterns on
organic p s
non-porou
glossy or MAKE A SPLASH!
surfaces
BRIDGET DAVIES introduces
three of her favourite artistic inks

Ink is a lively, vivacious medium yet it can be


intimidating, as there are so many different
types and brands on the market. Here are a
few of my favourites:

ACRYLIC INK
Made by suspending very finely ground pigments
in a fluid acrylic binder, acrylic ink can be diluted
with water yet becomes water-resistant once dry.
They work well when you are producing artwork in
layers and you need each layer to remain intact
and avoid bleeding.
These inks generally have good lightfastness,
although they don’t have the translucence and
luminosity offered by dye-based inks.

LIQUID WATERCOLOUR INK


These dye-based inks share many characteristics
with watercolour. They are generally not
waterproof once dry so can be useful if you
might want to re-work further later. They lack
lightfastness so colours will fade over time unless
they are fixed with a UV protection spray.
The colour ranges are vast, however, and
the ink dries to produce a brilliant, almost
luminous finish, so they can be useful for
illustration work. Ecoline Liquid Watercolour
ink is a favoured brand.

METALLIC INK
Metallic inks are comprised of super-fine metallic
pigments, usually suspended in a shellac or
acrylic binder. When mixed with either of these
two binders, the ink becomes waterproof.
Check the manufacturer’s instructions before
using with pens as some brands have larger
particles which may cause a blockage.
If you want some shimmer with your colour,
Daler-Rowney’s FW range has an extensive
choice of pearlescent and shimmering inks.
www.bridgetdaviesart.co.uk

Artists & Illustrators 43


KELMSCOTT MANOR
THE INSPIRATIONAL COTSWOLDS
RETREAT OF WILLIAM MORRIS

Open every Wednesday & Saturday


April – (\N\Z[ 11am – 5pm
Explore the historic manor loved by designer William Morris,

henry moore drawings Father of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Take a stroll around the
Manor’s enchanting gardens, barns, dovecote, stream & meadow.
Enjoy home-made food in our licensed Tearoom and visit our shop for
the art of seeing a variety of exclusive souvenirs.

WWW.KELMSCOTTMANOR.ORG.UK
3 APRIL - 27 OCTOBER 2019
Book online at www.henry-moore.org Kelmscott Manor, Kelmscott, Lechlade GL7 3HJ
01367 252486 | [email protected]
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4 ,. *+,#+(' ,".&0",.- +/'
111*+,#+(' ,".&0",.- +/'

44 Artists & Illustrators


sketchbook

To p t i p k e t he bounce
is li
If you d vas,
a t r a d it ional can
of on
n s id e r painting
c o
panel
a canvas
instead

CANVAS OPINION
Four things to consider when
buying your nex t canvas

1 MATERIAL
Cotton is more economical but lacks the durability of
linen, which is made from longer flax fibres. Poly-cotton
uses polyester for a tighter, more uniform finish.

2 WEIGHT
This is usually expressed as grams per square metre
(gsm) or ounces per square yard (oz). A higher weight is
usually the result of thicker yarn, a tighter weave, or both.
A heavyweight canvas (280gsm or more) is usually more
tense and less likely to rip.

DAILY PAINTING TIPS


3 WEAVE
A ‘fine’ canvas has a smooth finish, ideal for soft skin
on portraits. A ‘rough’ canvas adds interest to abstract work
TOM HUGHE S shares advice f or
creating quick , mini pictures as random flecks of colour catch on the coarse grain.
Cotton duck (not actual duck – doek is Dutch for ‘cloth’!)
“The warm sky in Time to Head Home [above] had to be balanced is usually a tighter weave.
by cooler coolers in the fields to really make both elements pop.
Using a limited palette of French Ultramarine, Burnt Umber, Cadmium
Red and Bismuth Yellow, I mixed a cool grey for the most distant trees.
I blended this forward by adding more Burnt Umber to create
4 SIZING AND PRIMING
A canvas must be ‘sized’ – or sealed – before oil paint
is applied. Acrylic polymer or rabbit-skin glue are common
a darker, warmer tone in the foreground.”
SHUTTERSTOCK

‘sizes’. Gesso primer contains rabbit-skin glue and can crack


See Tom’s latest mini paintings at www.tomhughespainting.co.uk over time. Acrylic paint can be applied directly to unprimed
canvas, but won’t adhere to oil-primed canvas.

PAINT A PERFECT… FLAT WASH


GR AHAME BOOTH on the basic building block s of watercolour

1 Load your brush and tilt your paper. Brush


left to right (reverse if left-handed). Don’t
press too hard or paint will lift off. Choose a
2 For the second stroke, reload your
brush, touch the bead from the first
stroke and allow it to flow down. Continue
3 When finished you should still have the
bead, but this now must be removed to
avoid runbacks. Simply touch the tip of a
brush large enough to paint a full width while this process until the wash is finished, still barely damp brush to the bead and it will
keeping the bead of paint at the bottom. keeping a full brush: dip, stroke, dip, stroke. suck up the excess paint.

Artists & Illustrators 45


sketchbook

EXPAND YOUR PALETTE


VIRIDIAN
Discover a new colour ever y month

THE COLOUR
A dark emerald green leaning towards teal.
The name comes from the Latin word for
green: viridis.

THE PROPERTIES
Viridian is an inorganic pigment made from
chromium oxide dihydrate. It has a high
permanence and tends to dry incredibly fast.

THE USES
First created in Paris in 1838, Viridian was
initially used as a replacement to poisonous
Emerald Green. Though a seemingly unnatural
hue, it is highly versatile in the mix, blending with
Cadmium Red for a warm grey or Cadmium
Yellow for an autumnal green.

MASTER TIPS:
ELIZABETH BLACKADDER
Discover the painting techniques BOOK OF
of the world’s b est ar tist s
THE MONTH
Dame Elizabeth Blackadder became fascinated by Japan in her later
career, visiting many times from 1985 onwards. 2011’s False Palm You Can Paint Dazzling
(Shadow) and Kimono [above] not only depicts Japanese objects but Watercolors in Twelve
also demonstrates an Eastern approach to composition and a Zen-like Easy Lessons by
sense of space that we can learn from. Yuko Nagayama
By avoiding the temptation to centre her composition on a single object This Japanese watercolourist’s paintings capture
and cropping other elements, she encourages our eye to move around the natural subjects in an often-shimmering light, yet her
image in unexpected ways, adding further interest. The tall-and-narrow methods are rigorously organised despite this organic
portrait format further echoes ukiyo-e prints. If you struggle with finish. Across five chapters (there is oddly no mention of
composition, try borrowing an existing layout from a painting or photo you the dozen lessons inside the book), she uses complex
© THE SCOTTISH GALLERY

like and replace all the elements with objects or people personal to you. flow charts to decide background colours, breaks down
Elizabeth Blackadder: From the Artist’s Studio runs from 29 March to 12 June at mixes into easy-to-follow sums, and crafts beautiful
Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery, Basingstoke. www.hampshireculture.org.uk step-by-step demonstrations.
Harper Design, £12.99

46 Artists & Illustrators


courses • retreats • venue

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Artist Residencies
Events

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Courses run in studios in Shoreditch and Chelsea,


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Artists & Illustrators 47


MASTERCL ASS

MASTERCL ASS

Simplifying
scenes
GRAHAME BOOTH shows you why
a strong sense of perspective is
required to turn a bustling scene
into a smart, focused watercolour

Grahame’s materials
he Ghanta Ghar (or avoid drawing too much attention
‘clock tower’) is a heritage to just one and so I was careful
landmark in the centre not to isolate any of the strong •Watercolours
Udaipur, India, and the busy features. I used extensive Cobalt Blue, French
cing street provides a useful softening of edges to allow one Ultramarine, Winsor Blue
xercise in both perspective and element to blend with the next. (Green Shade), Burnt Sienna,
mplification. Indian cities are As for perspective, although Quinacridone Magenta,
ustling, energetic places full of I was aware where the vanishing Winsor Red, Quinacridone
movement and colour and, while point was (just to the left of the Gold, Cadmium Yellow, all
have tried to capture this, what painting, on the eye-level line Winsor & Newton Professional
eally attracted me to this linking the heads) I didn’t want Water Colour
particular subject was the it to be too perfectly defined as I •Brushes
electrical cables seemingly would lose the relaxed feel of the A 1” wash brush, a size 10
festooned in all directions. subject. In the event, I checked sable, a size 6 round, an old
One problem with tackling the lines of the building in the size 8 sable (for lifting out)
this type of subject is that final stages and fixed a line that •Paper
there is so much going on. was just a little bit too inaccurate. Millford 300gsm (140lb) NOT
With such a selection of strong Can you spot the repair? •2B pencil
points of interest I wanted to www.grahamebooth.com

1 Sketch and simplify

I drew this pencil sketch fairly


quickly without too much detail.
If too much attention is paid to
the pencil work, there is a danger
of “colouring in”. I have greatly
simplified the original subject –
there were too many motorbikes for
my liking and the figures will change.
For a symmetrical structure such
as the clock tower, it is helpful to
draw a light, central line to avoid a
tendency for the structure to lean. 2 Place a first wash
Another vital thing to identify is
the eye level. In a street scene After my initial pencil sketch, I wash over
where there are no hills, you will see the entire paper using my wash brush with a
that the heads are more or less on varied but continuous wash. The only place
the same horizontal line (allowing where I have deliberately left a hard edge is
for differences in height). In a street at the right of the clock tower dome – this is
with parallel sides, the horizontal to separate it from the sky. I dabbed random
lines that are directed into the colours in the lower area to indicate the
subject will meet at a single point figures, but these were still done as part
on eye level. of a single, continuous wash.

Artists & Illustrators 49


3 Blend the key shapes

I paint the less-defined areas with my size 4 Keep the light


10 sable brush. For the distant buildings to
the right of the clock tower, I used a varied I continued across to paint the buildings, 5 Pick choice details
mix of French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna and varying the colours and leaving some of the
Quinacridone Magenta. I allowed a hard edge original wash untouched. Remember that the Using a greyish mix of French Ultramarine,
against the sky but softened the edge at the white space is your ‘light’: extra paint can Burnt Sienna and Quinacridone Magenta,
bottom of this area. In the early stages of a always be added, but it can’t easily be taken I added the beginning of some detail to the
painting, I like to allow different areas to away. I continued this wash down and across clock tower. Avoid painting too much at this
blend into one another to some extent. The the street. Remember that the edges of the stage – just enough to partially separate the
trees were painted with French Ultramarine, cast shadows should also follow the single- main parts. Notice how I still allowed some
Burnt Sienna and Quinacridone Gold. point perspective to the vanishing point. edges to soften.

7 Simplify the masses

I added more definition to the scooter and


rider but tried not to overdo things. The soft
blends allowed me to see the scooter and
6 Establish rough figures rider as a reasonably simple mass, blending
it with the background with just enough
Adding figures can so easily dominate a painting. I avoided this by focusing on linking detail to make it identifiable.
everything together rather than defining individual forms. To achieve this, I painted ‘wet in wet’ Too many hard edges command too
so each wash softly blended with the next. I used the brighter yellows and reds in my palette much attention. So how many is too many?
to suggest the vibrant saris. Notice also how the tuk-tuk blended into the two merged figures. That’s where personal opinion comes in –
This produces one big interesting shape instead of many small shapes, something to be remember, when you are painting, the only
encouraged. I deliberately left parts of the tuk-tuk untouched to suggest the glancing sunlight. opinion that matters is yours.

50 Artists & Illustrators


MASTERCL ASS

8 Make a comparative mix

Remember I said it was the electrical cables


and poles that interested me? It is only at
this stage that I added them. I needed to get 9 Add further details 10 Deepen the tones
the background in there first to guide me
when it came to mixing the correct strength I continued to paint in the electrical bits More definition is applied to the figures area
of French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna. and pieces and added a little more strength by using stronger mixes. This also helped to
I wanted the poles to stand out without to the buildings behind to allow more balance the tonally stronger electrical poles.
being too dominant, so I varied the strength connections with the main pole. As before, I was trying for the effect of a general crowd
of colour within a single pole and even left a you want to keep altering the relative of people, not a specific number – the
few gaps. I also allowed the pole to blend quantities of water and pigments in the blending helps this effect further. Is that
with the background. The size 6 round brush French Ultramarine and Burnt Sienna mix vague smudge a figure? Even I don’t actually
is an ideal size and shape for this. to give you variety in colour and tone. know exactly how many people are there.

To p t i p
D o n’ t o
ve r fi l l y
ru l i n g p our
en a s i t
c an b lo
t . Prac t
line s on ise
s c rap
paper fi
rst .

12 Finishing touches

I finish by adding the hanging cables. Brushes


can produce overly thick lines, while ink would
11 Darken for impact stand out, so I use a ruling pen. It allows me
to draw with watercolour while keeping
The painting is nearly finished, but I like to control of the width of the line. The pen has
add small touches of very dark tones. It is two adjustable blades and can be filled with
amazing how these darker strokes can make watercolour simply by stroking a full brush
a painting sparkle. against the inside edge of the pen. For best
I felt that the buildings on the right also results start with the pen almost fully closed.
needed a bit more impact so I worked back I overlaid a little white gouache on the
in with the French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna parts of the cables that were in front of a dark
and Quinacridone Magenta mixes. background to create tonal variety

Artists & Illustrators 51


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T Magic
onochro e
Not everything is black and white, but it can be a lot simpler if it is.
HANNAH IVORY BAKER sings the praises of working without colour
to improve your drawing skills and ability to spot mistakes

O
ver the past year or so I have found myself willow charcoal, compressed sticks and thick stumps.
working increasingly in black and white. I decided I spent the next four hours creating a huge black and white
that I needed to completely change things up as charcoal drawing measuring two metres in length.
I felt that my process of painting had become too formulaic Ever since then, I have incorporated an element of
and my use of colour predictable. One day, instead of black-and-white drawing and painting into my other work
ABOVE Towards the painting, I rolled out a large section of paper and taped it and it is now a regular part of my practice. Aside from the
Pumping Station, to my living room floor. I looked through my drawers of liberating aspect of changing things up, what I found was
charcoal on paper materials and picked out various charcoals, including that using only black and white allowed me to focus on a

Artists & Illustrators 53


MONOCHROME

drawing or painting in a completely different way.


Spending time working in black and white will almost
definitely improve your practice. I found that my ability to
work with colour improved significantly as result. My
understanding of the effect of one colour next or near to
another was improved. It allowed me to paint grass as an
ochre or an umber instead of green, without throwing the
whole painting into a confused mess – the colours were
tonally similar, so it worked.
My focus was no longer on describing a scene through
my use of colour, but rather through form, tone and mark
making. I was now actively thinking about and improving
other areas of my work that I had previously taken for
granted or just simply ignored.
Art is a constant process of learning and unlearning and
no matter how good you are it really is important to break
things up a little and experiment. Not only is this kind of
experimentation where improvement and new direction
in your art comes from, it is also just really fun to try
something different once in a while.
Here are six reasons why working in black and white
could be incredibly beneficial for you too.

1. ERRORS ARE HIGHLIGHTED


When working in monochrome, it is far easier to spot errors
– the contrast is increased so any issues with shape, form
or perspective really do jump out at you. If you’re working
with something like willow charcoal, it is very
straightforward to make corrections. You can use a rubber
to remove or lighten marks, smudge or blend them, or even
just draw lines over each other to alter the form.
Regular practice working in black and white will not only
serve to improve your drawing skills but also prevent those
errors occurring as often in future.

2. SUBTLE TONES BECOME CLEARER


Another plus point is that areas are highlighted in which
a subtler transition between light and dark is required.
Working in black and white without doubt improves your
ability to play with tone and develop subtlety and control.
With practice, you’ll find your eye will pick out the darkest
and lightest areas more quickly and you’ll know
immediately which bits need adjustment. You’ll also notice
the sheer variety of blacks – some warmer, some cooler
– which is one of those subtle differences that can easily
be lost when working in full colour.

3. COLOUR IS A DISTRACTION
Colour can confuse or even destroy a composition.
While I am generally not a fan of fuchsia pinks and lime
greens being on the same canvas in my own work, I am not
“anti-colour” now and I certainly appreciate the ability of
other artists to be able to work with these colours in a way
that enhances a composition rather than distracting from it.
Having said that, colour doesn’t need to be neon in order
to be distracting. Even with a limited palette there are so
many potential colours you could make and use. Sometimes
the distraction is just in being spoilt for choice, let alone
selecting colours that work well together. You may find that
you want to limit your palette further when you return to
using colour after working in black and white.

54 Artists & Illustrators


4. A FOCUS ON COMPOSITION TOP A watercolour
Compositional mistakes (the kind that you don’t want to study with simple
keep) are more obvious and therefore easier to rectify in colour scheme
black and white. TOP LEFT A sketch of
Use of colour very often masks the real reasons a Bedruthan Steps
painting isn’t working and, because colour is no longer LEFT Low Light
a distraction, you can focus on the overall composition, over Fields,
knowing that any issue in your drawing or painting is not charcoal on paper
down to which colours you have used but rather the angle

CONVERTING COLOUR
When working in colour, it can help to take a photograph of a painting
that you are working on and converting it to black and white, either on
your computer or even just with a smartphone. Seeing your work-in-
progress reduced to tones in this way can help to remove the distraction
of colour and identify areas of composition that need adjustment.

Original painting Converted to black and white

Artists & Illustrators 55


NEW TO BLACK & WHITE? HANNAH ON of lines, the size or shape of something or whether it is
THE PRODUCTS TO GET YOU STARTED too light or too dark for instance.

“Nitram charcoal doesn’t break easily and can be sharpened to a fine 5. ECONOMICAL MARK MAKING
point with a sharpening block. It allows for deep dark shades while I found that the ability to develop your mark making is
still being easily erased for luminous light effects. Kneaded rubbers improved when you have to find different ways of making
are fine, but I find the straight edges of these rubbers useful ” marks to suggest the features of landscape, rather than
just resorting to colour.
Crushing bits of charcoal onto the paper, using card or
masking tape to mask sharp white lines, brushing off the
dust to create abstract marks… All are examples of ways to
describe texture and convey movement. Black and white
Soft and firm simplifies everything, which in turn highlights the impact
rubbers these beautiful marks have on a finished piece.

Fabriano 4 6. ATMOSPHERIC RESULTS


200gsm paper roll I have always found monochrome images to be incredibly
evocative. What you lose in not having colour to do the
telling for you, you’ll gain in quality of composition, form
Nitram Maxi Bâton and tone, as well as the ability to communicate mood and
De Saule atmosphere in a totally different way.
It is so easy to think ‘field’ and start using the colour
green or think ‘sky’ and start mixing blues, but when
Jakar you describe these same features in black and white it
Compressed results in a portrayal that is every bit as bold, sensitive or
Charcoal descriptive as any colourful painting, often in a way that
can be timeless and utterly unique.
Hannah’s work features in Out from the Downs: A Study of the
Sussex Landscape from 7-29 March at Highgate Contemporary
Art, London. www.hannahivorybaker.com

Sennelier Winsor & Newton ABOVE Wave Study,


Fixative Willow Charcoal charcoal on paper,
16x18cm

56 Artists & Illustrators


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Artists & Illustrators 57


EXERCISES

ingwith
Sketchconfidence
Wildlife artist TIM POND shares three great challenges
designed to improve your hand-eye coordination and
help you draw with conviction

To p t i p
T he b e s
tw
a c q u a i n ay t o ge t
ted wi t h
animal an
i s to sp
t ime ob e n d
s er v ing
t hroug h i t
d r aw i n g

This is an extract from


Tim’s new book, The
Field Guide to Drawing
and Sketching Animals,
published by Search
Press (RRP £14.99).
www.searchpress.com
EXERCISES

T
he aim of these exercises is to build your confidence
with your drawing materials and give you a set of
mark-making skills that will improve your drawing
– in particular your quick sketching skills.
It is very important that you enjoy the drawing process.
Any memories of previous failures are often associated
with the material we have used before, so for these
exercises I recommend starting fresh with a good quality
colouring pencil, such as a Faber-Castell Polychromos
pencil, rather than graphite. There can be some trepidation
– even fear – attached to sketching with the graphite line
so try changing it to a coloured line. These exercises will Lines
develop your hand-eye coordination and get you to start Try locking your arm at the
thinking about how you can visually dissect a form. elbow to help draw straight
lines consistently. Arcs
EXERCISE 1: DYNAMIC LINES Keeping your joints
Create seven straight lines, moving from a light mark to a locked while you
darker line. Maintain a straight, consistent and accurate move your arm is
line by drawing from the elbow. Draw with a steady pace important.
and then try to speed up. Draw both short and long lines.
Repeat this exercise several times.

EXERCISE 2: ARCS
Using your natural radial geometry to help draw smooth
arcs, by locking your wrist and elbow. Create small arcs
with a wrist motion and large arcs from the elbow. Practise
repeatedly, so that you are able to create these marks
accurately without looking at the page.

EXERCISE 3: ELLIPSES
Freehand ellipses are the hardest part of these exercises Ellipses
and will always be challenging. They are a fundamental You can start from the narrowest angle and then open
element of drawing biological forms. Go through the motion the circle wider, or work the opposite way around.
and ‘air draw’ before your pencil touches the paper, so that
you are confident about the smoothness and symmetry of
the mark before you make it. You can sketch the first line
lightly and then refine the ellipse. Make sure that the Eye level
shapes have round corners and are not spiky.

Ellipses
For this exercise, imagine a cylinder, such
as a cup, turning away from you, so that
the circle of the opening gets narrower.
Degree
The width of an ellipse is called the degree.
This is the angle of the circle relative to the
viewer. At 90° the circle is perpendicular to
the viewer, so the whole circle can be
The point of turn is seen. At 0° the circle is parallel to the
when the ellipse is viewer, so the ellipse turns into a line.
parallel with the viewer

90° 50° 20° 10° 0° 10° 20° 50°

Artists & Illustrators 59


RIGHT Towards
the High Lands of
Orcombe, mixed
media, 39x29cm
OPPOSITE PAGE
Ray’s desk with
potential mixed
media objects

Assemblages RAY BALKWILL lives and paints on the banks of the Exe Estuary.
He found inspiration for his latest project quite literally under his feet

60 Artists & Illustrators


To p t i p
E
dgar Degas once said: “Art is not what you see, important. Appropriately many of these
L e a ve m
a
but what you make others see.” weathered fragments are the remains of old g r oup e d t eri al s
Such is the gift of the artist, where every nuance wooden boats themselves, and I soon found in p ile s
t he floo on
r ove r t i
is observed and considered; taking something often seen, that the aged, weather-worn patina became to see i m e
f t h ey w
or commonplace and drawing out of it some extraordinary the focus of the work itself. we l l t o g o rk
e t her
element, thus to enable us to view it with a new pair of Working with this stimulating material not
eyes. Creativity takes courage and one of the biggest only brought a deep respect, but also an intimate
challenges facing an artist is keeping the creative juices relationship with the subject. These simple pieces of
flowing and not to settle into a groove. wood have already known previous lives, but have long
With this in mind, I set myself a new project each year been discarded as spent, yet they still speak and invite
and take time to experiment in order to find ways to keep rebirth. Their multi-layered surfaces of neglect and decay
my work fresh. It may be simply tackling a new subject, reveal great riches of beauty. My aim for this project was to
or perhaps choosing a different medium to work in. use an assimilation of diverse materials, searched for, or
Last year was no exception and the inspiration struck after encountered by chance and then to reconstruct to give
I happened upon a piece of weathered driftwood on the a new meaningful significance.
foreshore.
Quite remarkably the relentless and continuing effects of METHOD AND MATERIALS
time and weathering had created the view of the scene of Of course, an assemblage not only relies on what material
the estuary in front of me. Although in the past I’ve created is found, but also the intuitive way in which it is put
assemblages using various found objects, this natural
phenomenon planted the seed for a new direction based
on interpreting the landscape from elements actually Creativity takes courage and
one of the biggest challenges
found within the found object.
For the past three decades, the Exe Estuary has been
the mainspring of my art and I’ve captured its many moods
in just about every medium possible. Characterful old
facing an artist is keeping the
wooden boats have always been one of my favourite
subjects, but the stories behind them are equally
creative juices flowing
Artists & Illustrators 61
To p t i p t o c ombi
ne
st r y ted
A l way r u n ex p e c
e o ate
d i ve r s l s to c re
r i a together. These choices will eventually compose exponents of assemblage were Alberto Burri, Joseph
mate s t ing
intere your signature, lending individuality to your work. Cornell and Kurt Schwitters.
st s
c on t ra Just as working in any painting media, the three Cs – Burri used unconventional arrangements of unusual
composition, contrast and colour – are just as relevant in materials such as sacking, glue, charred wood, vinyl paint
bringing the work together. In particular, combining diverse and plastic sheets. These unpromising and humble
materials to create contrasts was one of my aims. collections of materials were brought together to make
The assemblage Towards the High Lands of Orcombe work of arresting beauty. Meanwhile, Cornell was
is a good example of this. It not only contains a number of influenced by the Surrealists and his most characteristic
weathered fragments from wooden boats, but also rusty artworks were boxed assemblages created from
galvanised metal. Although it looks as if I added paint to found objects.
some of the pieces, this is exactly how they were found. Like Schwitters, Cornell could create poetry from
Nature is the great teacher and my belief is that the commonplace. Unlike Schwitters however, he was
the found object is far more powerful than the made. fascinated not by rubbish and the discarded, but by
I therefore decided from the outset to let each piece speak fragments of once beautiful and precious objects that
for itself, and not to alter their appearance in any way. I felt he found on his frequent trips to bookshops and stores in
that the rust, the flaking paint and the fissures had already New York. His boxed constructions relied on the Surrealist
‘created’ the subject without any intervention on my part. use of irrational juxtaposition, and on the evocation of
The pieces were simply cut down to the required size, nostalgia for their appeal. “Somewhere in the city of New
ABOVE, FROM LEFT mounted onto a thin MDF board and then displayed behind York there are four or five still-unknown objects that belong
Below Golden glass in a box frame. Basic materials included a saw, together,” wrote the poet Charles Simic in his book,
Clouds the sandpaper and PVA glue. Where necessary I also used Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell.
Sun Shall Sink, a stronger bonding glue. “Once together they’ll make a work of art. That’s
41x15cm; Distant Cornell’s premise, his metaphysics, and his religion.”
Sea and Rock INFLUENCES As the poet WB Yeats once said: “The world is full
Pools, 40x15cm; The use of assemblage as an approach to making art is not of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow
Upon the Jewelled a new idea. It began in earnest with Pablo Picasso’s Cubist sharper.” I like to think this is also my premise, with walks
Shore, 38x15cm. constructions; three-dimensional works he began to make along the foreshore taking on a whole new meaning.
All mixed media. in the early 20th century. Other pioneers and celebrated www.raybalkwill.co.uk

62 Artists & Illustrators


ARTISTS’
DISCOVER
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24th - 29th September 2019

1st
P
£1, rize
000
Call for entries! !
RBSA Prize exhibition 2019
Exhibition on show at RBSA Gallery, 23 May - 22 June
Artists from across the UK are invited to enter artwork in all
media except photography. 6 prizes to be won, including £1,000!
> Download the interactive application pack at rbsa.org.uk
Deadline to enter Wednesday 3 April, by 4pm
Delivery of selected work Sunday 19 May, 10.30am-1pm
Image: Lisa Henderson, Cannock Chase, Mixed Media, Prize 2018 (detail)
Registered charity no 528894. Registered company no 122616

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T 0121 236 4353 W www.rbsa.org.uk E [email protected]
Charity Reg No 298241

Artists & Illustrators 63


MASTER TECHNIQUES

Joaquín Sorolla
A first major London exhibition of the Spanish artist’s work for a century gives us a rare
chance to admire his light-filled paintings up close, as ROS ORMISTON discovers

A
n outstanding painter of the early 20th century, poster by Grafton Galleries, London, created for an
Valencia-born Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida is the exhibition of Sorolla’s art, named him “The World’s
focus of a new exhibition at the National Gallery, Greatest Living Painter”. The National Gallery introduces
London. Remarkably, Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light is significant works by this master of Spanish impressionism.
ABOVE Running the first major exhibition in the UK in over a century, to Sorolla initially built his reputation on works of social
along the Beach, explore the Spanish master’s work. There are few commentary. Painting on monumentally-large canvases
Valencia, 1908 examples of his art in Britain yet at the turn of the 19th the realism in his paintings exposed the realities of life
oil on canvas, century, in Spain and across Europe, Sorolla was critically in Spain. He painted marginalised characters, such as
90x166.5cm admired, his work readily collected and exhibited. A 1908 disabled children and a woman arrested for murder,

64 Artists & Illustrators


as well as focusing on Spain’s fishing communities in
paintings such as Sewing the Sail. The title of 1894’s Sorolla created works on
location, painting quickly and
And They Still Say Fish is Expensive! is a comment
on the risks taken daily by fishermen and captured a
boat-hold crammed with well-worn marine paraphernalia
and dead fish. directly on to large canvases
As much as the subjects and compositions of his
with long, thin brushes
© THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK; © MUSEO

paintings astound, it is Sorolla’s method and technique


DE BELLAS ARTES DE ASTURIAS. COL. PEDRO MASAVEU

that attracts attention. Photographs reveal he created


works on location, painting quickly and directly on to large “Sorolla only paints what he sees,” adds Riopelle. “He is
canvases with long, thin brushes, in scenic, plein air committed to a kind of accuracy in the transcription of
settings. He often used a screen of sorts to reduce the nature onto his canvas, but he does it very quickly with an
glare of bright sunshine. Sand blown accidentally onto wet economy of brushstrokes. Often the strokes are broader
canvases was an unintentional addition to his paintings. when painting fabrics, water or sand than they are when ABOVE Clotilde in a
“There is no underdrawing,” explains curator Christopher painting facial features, where he slows down. But like Black Dress, 1906
Riopelle, with Sorolla favouring alla prima sketching with [John Singer] Sargent, there is this facility, an innate oil on canvas,
paint to establish “the big, principal forms”. knowledge of how paint can equate to flesh or fabric.” 186.7x118.7cm

Artists & Illustrators 65


LEFT Sunny Afternoon
at the Alcázar of
Seville, 1910, oil on
canvas, 94x64cm

Sorolla’s portraits often paid


homage to other artists. His wife
Clotilde posed for 1902’s Female
Nude, a contemporary adaptation of
Diego Velázquez’s The Toilet of Venus
(‘The Rokeby Venus’), which can be
found in London’s National Gallery
collection today. “It’s such a striking
painting,” says Riopelle of Female
Nude. “It’s a modern equivalent, using
modern tube painting. Sorolla is a
great editor, he does not include
extraneous details.”
Clotilde in a Black Dress,
meanwhile, encapsulates the Spanish
tradition of dress and pays homage to
Goya’s portraits, using thin, graded
layers of black, grey and neutral
shades to represent lace and the
skin’s luminosity underneath.
Sorolla was also a superb
landscape painter and he considered
Andalusia as a ‘garden of light’,
reflected in painterly works such as
1910’s The Alhambra, Tower of the
Points, which was characteristic of
the artist’s change in form and tonal
content after 1900. That year’s
Exhibition Universelle in Paris had
been a turning point for Sorolla. After
viewing hundreds of other artists’
works on show, he was dissatisfied
with his own, even though he won a
Grand Prix medal. Thereafter he
altered his technique to use a lighter,
richer palette, and make his work
more painterly and less dark in both
emotion and subject matter.
Outdoors, only rain halted his work.
Running Along the Beach, Valencia
denotes the subliminal spirit of what
he saw, that sense of the observer’s
presence on the beach, where two
young girls run fast along the
shoreline, their feet and dresses mirrored in the glassy
surface of the seawater’s edge with a naked young boy,
Sorolla only paints what his wet skin glistening in the sun, chasing behind them.
PRIVATE COLLECTION. ARCHIVO FOTOGRÁFICO BPS

he sees… but he does


The horizontal format of this painting echoes that of the
Parthenon Frieze at the British Museum, which Sorolla

it very quickly with an has studied during his 1908 London visit. His short, rapid
brushstrokes, using deepening blue-to-purple tones for the
economy of brushstrokes sea, gives dynamism to the waves, complementing warm
neutrals for the beach and the children’s tanned skin,
– Christopher Riopelle, National Gallery each connoting the warmth of the sun and heat of the
day, engaging the viewer to be part of this world.

66 Artists & Illustrators


In 1904’s Afternoon at the Beach in Valencia, that heat
is connoted in a limited palette, deep browns to bright,
creamy whites, to capture the brilliance of shimmering
reflections on water. The solidity of deep yellow colour for
the parasol – probably Sorolla’s own, protecting him from
the sun’s heat and glare – is a contrast to the short, quick
strokes of colour for the waves. It dominates the upper
third of the composition – cropped, as in a snapshot
photograph, to focus attention on the primary subject of
his picture, the astonishing effect of bright sunlight on
water. The small children playing in shallow water create
perspective. Sorolla stated that it was meant to be a small
© PHOTO ARCHIVE - FONDAZIONE MUSEI CIVICI DI VENEZIA; © MUSEO SOROLLA, MADRID

study of light, and like the French Impressionists, he


sought to capture the essence of that light.
This photographic quality of cropping, bringing the
observer closer to Sorolla’s subject, is a signature style,
a technique that he repeated often in paintings such as
Young Fisherman, Valencia and Portrait of Amelia Romea,
Señora de Laiglesia. He cut out distracting background
objects to focus attention on the subject, much like the
Japanese woodblock prints that were popular at this time.
In another example of this technique, 1905’s The White
Boat, Jávea, the bodies of the boys are viewed above and
below the waterline, colours changing from warm skin ABOVE, FROM TOP Alhambra, Tower of
tones, to an ethereal blue-green translucency underwater, Sewing the Sail, the Points, 1910,
where the body shapes are loosely formed. Sorolla’s 1896, oil on canvas, oil on canvas,
brushstrokes followed the horizontal movement of the 222x300cm; 81.5x106cm

Artists & Illustrators 67


SOROLL A

waves with vertical highlights to express movement.


The deep purple-blue colour was painted on a priming
layer of blue, then overlaid with accents in turquoise,
yellows, white, and darker purple tones. The whiteness
of the boat reflects creamy warm tones on the water’s
surface, highlighted with dashes of purple and green to
suggest movement.
It is a stunning example of Sorolla’s oeuvre, belatedly
being celebrated in England and Ireland this year.
Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light runs from 18 March to 7 July
at the National Gallery, London, and then 10 August to 3
November at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
www.nationalgallery.org.uk, www.nationalgallery.ie

TAKE FOUR STEVE PILL ON


LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM
SOROLLA’S TECHNIQUES

1. PICK A PALETTE FOR PURPOSE


When it comes to selecting the colours for your palette,
it is easy to rely upon the same favourite or trusted
pigments for all occasions. Sorolla, however, regularly
changed up his selection to suit his subject.
Once he had established his mature style, his bright
plein air landscapes and garden paintings were often
created with a similarly fresh palette characterised by
Chrome Green, Cadmiums Red and Orange, and Cobalt
Violet. He once called violet “the only discovery of
importance in the art world since Velázquez”.
His portraits, meanwhile, were almost exclusively painted
indoors, so his palette was deliberately warmer and richer
to reflect the changing light conditions (though note that
shadows are often still cool in the paintings supposedly
made in warm light). He often sidelined the bright hues
listed above in favour of earthier colours such as Burnt
PRIVATE COLLECTION. PHOTO: JOAQUÍN CORTÉS; PRIVATE COLLECTION. © PHOTO: LAURA COHEN; © MUSEO NACIONAL DEL PRADO, MADRID

Umber, Raw Sienna and Naples Yellow.

2. STUDY MASTERS UP CLOSE


Sorolla was unabashed in his admiration of his favourite
artists, absorbing new influences whenever possible and
paying tribute through his own works. His family portraits
showed a debt to Goya in their dark tones, a print of a
Vermeer interior hung in his Madrid home, and he even
admitted to studying Velázquez’s masterpiece Las Meninas
“with a lens” during a visit to the Prado.
When you visit an exhibition or gallery permanent
collection, don’t just admire a composition from afar.
To really better understand a favourite artist’s technique,
get close (but not too close!) to the surface of one of their
paintings and really try to pick apart how the individual
brushstrokes were made and layered together.
Likewise, small individual strokes of colour aren’t always
obvious when a picture is seen in reproduction, especially
when they are shrunk to fit on the page of a book or a
magazine, so pay close attention to any tints or unexpected
flecks that help build the picture. Properly examining a work
rather than just idly admiring it is an important skill for an
artist to develop.

68 Artists & Illustrators


SOROLL A

CLOCKWISE FROM 3. DRAW TIGHT, PAINT FAST


BELOW Female There is a real urgency to Sorolla’s handling of paint that
Nude, 1902, makes hundred-year-old paintings still breathe with life in
106x186cm; the gallery. “I could not paint at all if I had to paint slowly,”
Young Fisherman, he once said. “Every effect is so transient, it must be
Valencia, 1904, rapidly painted.”
75x104cm; And From 1901 onwards, he created some 500 paintings
They Still Say Fish is in four years as he truly embraced a new naturalistic,
Expensive!, 1894, luminous style. The artist was able to do this thanks to
151.5x204cm. a rigorous grounding in drawing from an early age, even
All oil on canvas. though he rarely made more than a few marks in pencil
or charcoal on the canvas itself.
Sorolla painted from life, often taking huge stretched
canvases with him and setting up his tripod on a beach or
in a field. “The great difficulty with large canvases is that
they should by right be painted as fast as a sketch,” he
opined. To achieve this effect, he scaled up his practice.
When painting on supports measuring five or six feet wide,
he matched that scale by using long-handled filbert
brushes that forced him to stand further back and make
the same sweeping, direct strokes as if painting on a
smaller canvas with standard brushes.

4. CONTROL THE TEMPERATURE


A mastery of warm and cool hues is perhaps the greatest
lesson that Sorolla’s work offers. Writing in Art and
Progress in 1912, Duncan C Phillips Jr. noted that the
Spaniard understood “that shadows are not brown and
opaque, but transparent spaces of intercepted light”.
Painting quickly outdoors on a large scale in direct,
overhead sunlight was relatively unheard of during Sorolla’s
day, so his ability to identify and capture the effects of
reflected light were key to the success of his paintings.
A painting such as Young Fisherman, Valencia is tightly
cropped on the figure, yet the green and blue tints on the
boy’s chest hint at his surroundings. Also pay particular
attention to the way that he paints white clothing – while
the overall effect is identifiable as ‘white’ fabric, the
creases and folds are depicted in everything from soft
mauve shadows to creamy yellow highlights.

Artists & Illustrators 69


YO U R Q U E S T I O N S

IMPASTO PAINTING
Scottish artist JUDITH BRIDGLAND knows how to lay it on thick!
Here she reveals how she uses substantial impasto marks to
create her bright, expressive paintings
70 Artists & Illustrators
LEFT Calendula in You paint on both linen canvases and have that resistance too. A panel
Bloom, oil on linen, wooden panels. What determines gives a feeling that there is a great
30x30cm which support you use? robustness underpinning the work.
ABOVE Gorse at I enjoy working on both, as they each
Rhossili Bay, oil on give something special to the painting. Do you prepare the supports first?
linen, 101x122cm I use Belgian linen, as it is better in I give the supports a coloured ground,
RIGHT Judith conservation terms and also usually a warm grey or blue, but
scratches into the preferable when using impasto paint. sometimes lilac, magenta or a deep
impasto on Gorse A linen canvas is made from the long yellow. It’s good to work on a medium
at Rhossili Bay with fibres of the flax plant, which have a tone, as this not only helps to unite
the sharpened end lovely natural oil within them. This the composition and set the mood
of a paintbrush gives a nice flexibility and strength, of the painting, but also can be less
which means the support doesn’t sag daunting than a stark white surface.
when thick with paint. When you apply
a loaded brush to the surface, there is Could you describe how you apply
a lovely responsiveness to it, like a the paint and the tools you use?
tensioned dancefloor. Broadly speaking, the painting moves
However, it’s also rewarding to work from the general to the particular
on a panel, for different reasons. – large, flat, thinly painted areas to
There is a beautiful tooth to the small, complicated, impasto details.
surface, yet a smoothness that means Sometimes I will thin the paint with
the paint slides across it. It’s nice to turps and use a large scenery

Artists & Illustrators 71


YO U R Q U E S T I O N S

painting brush to sweep in the good parts of the accidental and the Do you use any oils or mediums to
background, other times a palette unpredictable, and building upon and help thicken or control the paint?
knife or the edge of a sheet of card. correcting others. The painting I have a large bowl of turpentine
I mix the paint on my palette, pick becomes all about this balance. placed on my palette, so I can dip into
up the amount I need on a palette it and just loosen up the paint when
knife, and make a purposeful mark I love the long strands of grass and required. I also have a good dollop
firmly. I blend the edges of these big plant stems where you appear to of Liquin on the palette. It makes oil
volumes of impasto with a small score the previous layers of paint. paint manageable and glossy, so I
watercolour brush or stipple it in with How do you make those marks? use it when I feel it needs it.
a small, flat, firm-bristled brush. I have a great fondness for painting
landscapes which have foregrounds Do certain subjects lend themselves
Do you have to be very considered containing seasonal plants and foliage better to this style of painting?
with each mark you make? – it’s almost like putting a still life into Seascapes are a special favourite and
Every stroke is completely considered a landscape painting. I carefully place I’ve painted Eastbourne Pier hundreds
and purposeful. Art is a language and the marks of impasto, and then draw of times. That familiarity frees you up
choosing the right mark to make is like into them with the sharpened end of to make marks and just capture the
choosing the right word for a poem. an old brush handle to get individual energy and the character of the pier,
Applying the paint to the canvas is, leaves or details (a technique called which is actually quite fragile against
ultimately, a dialogue between sgraffito) or flick long lines of paint all the force and foam of the sea.
yourself and your materials. loosened with Liquin onto the paint Impasto is also a good form of
You can bring an idea of what you surface, using a long Script Liner painting for describing the petals of
want to paint to the canvas, and you watercolour brush. flowers and the form of plants – again
can control things up to a point, but Incising into the paint using the though, there has to be that contrast
then the materials themselves bring end of the brush means that you can of marks.
a certain unpredictable quality to the draw some nice, precise details and
process, which is good. As you structure which then contrasts with You keep colours very distinct without
progress, you are reacting to the the broader passages of paint. muddying. Do you have any advice for
marks you make and the way the Because the paint is wet, when you how best to achieve that?
materials and colours behave and score into it, is goes right down to I pick up the amount of paint I need
relate to each other, incorporating the the coloured background. for one mark on my knife, choose the
spot and make the mark. I know what
sort of shape of mark each of my tools
is going to make, and I know from the
amount of paint on the knife how hard
I have to press to get the thickness of
mark that I want, and how big a mark
I’m going to get.
I am putting wet paint onto wet
paint, so the more you move it about,
the more the colours will mix together
and muddy up, so the key is just to
make the mark once. Place the paint
on the canvas, move it into shape,
finish the mark – all in one confident,
controlled movement that should last
just two or three seconds.

Which artists who use impasto


techniques would you recommend
our readers take a closer look at?
Van Gogh and Rembrandt. There is
no substitute for standing in front of

I blend the edges


of the big volumes of
impasto with a small
watercolour brush
72 Artists & Illustrators
Sunflowers or The Jewish Bride and the picture surface, even to the extent Obviously, planning for gallery
really looking, and working out how of incorporating real stalks of grass or deadlines is part of my painting
those magical marks were made, and particles of sand into the work. schedule. I try to allow at least three
seeing how full of life they are. weeks before a painting is sent to the
I would also recommend the work of How long do you need to leave a framers, otherwise there’s the danger
Scottish artist Joan Eardley. I saw her typical painting to dry? both of damage in transit and of the
work when I was young, and found the It depends on lots of factors including paint sticking to the slip.
freedom with which she used paint, the time of year and the weather. My largest paintings are unglazed, ABOVE Narcissi in
and her joy in the texture of paint, very Blues tend to be surface dry quite so I try and leave them as long as Bluebell Woods,
liberating. She was painting ordinary quickly, even in a week in summer, but possible, ideally a month or two. Dalkeith, oil on
things I could see – the grey tenements reds and whites can take three or four The impasto needs to be not only linen, 81x101cm
of Glasgow and the wild Scottish weeks in a cold winter in the studio. touch-dry, but firm underneath. FAR LEFT Daffodils
coasts – in a way that made them Different areas of the piece will dry Judith’s next joint exhibition runs 25 May in Govancroft
even more real and alive. She uses a faster or slower depending on how to 22 June at Grilli Gallery, Edinburgh. Vase, oil on linen,
wide variety of mark-making to build thick the paint is. www.jibridgland.com 41x41cm

Artists & Illustrators 73


D R AW I N G M AT E R I A L S

2. PENS To p t i p
Continuing our new series of articles exploring the
A fount a
fundamental materials of drawing, JAKE SPICER turns his c an b e u
in pen
sed to d
attention to ballpoint, felt-tip, fineliner and fountain pens a finer li
ne when
r aw
t u rn e d a it is
nd held
upside d
ow n

T
his month’s article will focus on pen charting the journey of your eye
portable pens that draw from around a subject) or from imagination
an internal reservoir of ink, in (with the pens line allowing you to
contrast to dip pens and brushes that weave your thoughts into visual
require a separate pot of ink, which we imagery), it is a linear language
will tackle separately next month. you’ll be using.
There are a huge range of writing Over the next few pages you’ll find
and drawing pens available, with one an overview of common pen types and
quality in common – the shared some exercises you can attempt to
language of line. Pens are inclined help you explore the range of mark-
towards linear marks, so whether you making possibilities.
are drawing from observation (with the www.jakespicerart.co.uk

74 Artists & Illustrators


PENS

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?


Here are the five main types of pen – and the pros and cons of using them

1 Fountain pens
Fountain pens with nibs that are
suitable for drawing are expensive,
refillable and a portable alternative
to a dip pen.
Their lines vary with the angle
at which they are held and also
the pressure placed on the nib,
which splays the tines of the pen,
dispensing more ink to the page.

2 Fude nib pens


Fude nibs are a rare and
versatile variation on a fountain
pen – the bent tips make a broader,
brush-like mark that varies with the
angle of the pen and they can be
flipped for a finer line.

3 Felt-tip pens
Felt-tip pens come in a variety
of widths and create a bold line that
starts dense and solid when the pen
is new and becomes lighter and
broken as the pen runs out of ink,
creating a new type of mark that can
potentially be used to great effect.
The width of the felt-tip mark will
vary with pressure and pen angle.

4 Fineliner pen
Fineliners are disposable,
affordable drawing pens that are
sold by line width (often ranging
from 0.05mm to 1mm) and make a
consistent, even mark. The plastic
nibs gradually wear down, creating
an angled or flat nib over time, and
eventually wearing back to the metal
when they should be thrown away.
Technical drawing pens with steel
nibs are an expensive, refillable
alternative that won’t wear down.

5 Ballpoint pens
Ubiquitous, disposable and
cheap, ballpoint pens are liable
to be your most readily accessible
writing and drawing medium.
Though no one’s first choice
perhaps, ballpoint pens make a fine,
occasionally unreliable mark that
can be varied with pressure.

Artists & Illustrators 75


PENS

HOW DO I VARY THE MARKS?


Use your pens to expand your vocabulary of drawing marks

CROSS HATCHING
Blocks of hatching can be layered in
different directions to create areas
of increasingly dense tone.

YOUR GRIP
Experiment with holding your pen in different ways to
create a wider variety of line. Gripping the pen as if
you were writing will provide control and suits short,
consistent marks. Meanwhile, a looser pinch of the
barrel further from the tip reduces control and
creates a more gestural and varied mark.

HATCHING CONTOURED HATCHING


Hatching involves building As you become more confident with cross
up parallel marks of hatching, adapt your lines into curved
varying density. Experiment marks that follow the form of an object
with horizontal, vertical and suggest rounded surfaces. This can
and diagonal hatching or simultaneously build up darker tones
a mixture of all three. and sculpt form on the page.
PENS

HOW CAN I USE THEM?


In this fountain pen study of a hand, you can see how to put hatched marks into practice

N e xt
i ss u e …
J a ke t
alk s t h
dip p e roug
n s , ink h
and br s
u she s

1 2

1. INITIAL DRAWING
Establish the overall
shape of the hands with
a swift, gestural sketch
in pencil.

2. DEFINING SHAPE
Refine the edges of the
hand in pencil.
3 4
3. CONTOURS
Draw over the pencil
contours in pen, erasing
the former when the
ink is dry.

4. HATCHING
Use parallel marks to
establish simple tones
over the entire image.

5. EXPLORING FORM
Explore the surface of the
form with sculpted,
curving lines.

6. CROSS HATCHING
Layer marks in varying
5 6 directions to create the
darker tones.

Artists & Illustrators 77


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THINGS I’VE
LEARNED:
SIR JOHN
STANDING
The British actor reflects on
his sideline career in art.
Interview: RACHAEL FUNNELL

1 REMEMBER YOUR ROOTS


“After two years in the army,
I knew I wanted to become a painter.
4 CHANGE IT UP
“I most often work from
sketches and photos but some
I had done some small illustrations of my favourite pieces have been
of fellow soldiers so I took those to done en plein air. One of the first oil
the art school and they let me in on paintings I ever did was on the
that basis. It’s great to keep hold of Thames Embankment, looking out
your old work, because you never over Battersea Bridge. I was sitting
know when it might come in handy there with two other artists and we
or inspire you.” were all painting the same subject
but doing it completely differently.”

2 BEAT WHITE SPACE


“I always begin a watercolour by
applying a wash of Burnt Sienna or 5 ENJOY THE PROCESS
“The things that challenge you
Raw Umber. From here you can build outside the studio are what make it
your composition by making a few so exciting. The light and tone are
sketches, before painting on an constantly changing. Unfortunately,
outline and building with colour. it can be terribly cold. One should
Before you know it, you’re away.” always paint where you’re most
comfortable doing it, and I don’t just

3 EYE UP DETAILS
“When seeking a subject, look
mean physically comfortable I mean
mentally and visually comfortable too.

I always begin a out for small features which attract


your eye and they can become the
Whatever you find is the easiest way
to do it for you, do it like that.”
watercolour with a subtle focus of an intriguing piece of
artwork. I once painted a house in
John’s latest exhibition runs from
11-25 April at Osborne Studio Gallery,
wash of Burnt Sienna Pimlico because I liked the unusual London SW1. www.osg.uk.com

or Raw Umber
blue-and-white striped blinds. They
created a wonderful but subtle focus ABOVE John Standing, Pimlico House,
which brought the piece together.” oil on canvas, 58x51cm

82 Artists & Illustrators


Pastell
Finest extra-soft, hand-made
artists‘ pastels

New sets with half pastels.

www.schmincke.de

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