Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Artists & Illustrators

…in all of its variety, be that with our pets at home or those out roaming in the wild, is a constant source of inspiration and fascination for artists. Which is why Hanna Asfour’s pet and wildlife portraits in pastels, featured in this month’s How I Paint slot, are a delight to behold. It’s impossible not to be captivated by their detail and warmth. Elsewhere, we have a practical step-by-step by oil painter Annie Drew, who shows us how she painted a portrait of a jaguar. Both stories show how each stroke of the brush and every blend of colour, brings us closer to immortalising any animal’s spirit on canvas. If you’re looking for something more architectural, this month’s The Big Interview artist David Sawyer – who won the prestigious…

 HISTORY HAS SHOWN that women have often had to fight hard within the artistic sphere, as in many other areas, to gain both credibility and a visible platform to fully express their voices. Tate Britain’s new exhibition, Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 traces this convoluted arc of women’s passage towards professional validation. It encompasses four centuries of work, beginning with Tudor miniatures (which mark the first record of women working professionally) and ending just after the First World War, when huge societal shifts were beginning to offer women fresh possibilities, edging towards those comparable to male contemporaries. As 20th-century American painter Isabel Bishop once expounded, “I didn’t want to be a woman artist. I just wanted to be an artist.” Tabitha Barber, the exhibition’s curator says,…

“IF THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern.” William Blake is well known as a multi-disciplinary and visionary artist, a man for whom anything deemed ‘narrow’ would be anathema. He’s also a figure who embodies a certain Britishness, largely courtesy of his words for the hymn Jerusalem, but, at The Fitzwilliam Museum this spring, an entirely new dimension of Blake’s art is on offer and it’s one that strongly resonates with our world today. Sometimes seen as an eccentric figure or deemed a solitary genius, William Blake’s Universe is the first exhibition to explore Blake’s illimitable imagination in the context of broader trends and themes…

MESSAGE OF THE MONTH David Smith I’m an Irish artist based in County Sligo on the west coast. The landscape-based work I make is a kind of fusion of Western and Eastern painting traditions. It’s an aesthetic of the work that emerged over a period of 11 years when I lived in Hong Kong and travelled back and forth to Ireland.  davidsmith-studio.com Tracey Morgan I remember picking up my first copy of Artists and Illustrators magazine. I was 19 years old and studying Art and Design at college. I remember being amazed by the talent; I wanted to be those people in the pictures in their studios. This magazine has always been my inspiration. Painting makes me feel better about myself and I feel like I’m telling a story every…

We Brits love our pets, and for many of us who love to paint, a pet portrait seems the perfect fit. For watercolourists, however, painting hair or fur is a daunting prospect; capturing the texture and highlights of hair and fur when working from light to dark is tricky, to say the least. With the help of Molly-Mou – and her delightful mix of doggy wool and hair – I hope this demonstration will give you the confidence to try it for yourself, assuming you can get your pet to ‘sit’ for long enough! Start by choosing materials that will work with you to achieve the effect you want; rough watercolour paper will help enormously. The techniques used in this step-by-step are based heavily on understanding which brushes to use…

I took a slightly different approach to this pet portrait than I would normally do. Rather than looking for a ‘story’ within the image, I decided to just concentrate on the beauty and character of the animal itself. As such, I attempted it in a more photorealistic style. Painting in a photorealistic way involves really considering the reference material closely – in this case, the photograph of my dog, Poppy. I looked closely at the shape of the fur, the sparkle in the eyes, and the wetness of the nose. To recreate these details, I tried to forget what they were and see them instead as individual colours, textures and shapes. This is the key to a good pet portrait – looking past the animal you know and love, and…

ANNA’S MATERIALS Watercolours Scarlet Lake, Opera Rose, Winsor Lemon, Winsor Green (Yellow Shade), Permanent Sap Green, Winsor Blue Green Shade, Cobalt Turquoise Light, Burnt Sienna and Payne’s Gray, all Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colour; Transparent Orange, Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle; Quinacridone Purple, Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolour Paper Hot-pressed (smooth) Arches 100% cotton paper Brushes Golden synthetic pointer spotters, sizes 000, 0, 1, 3 and 5 (available as the Anna Mason Set from Rosemary & Co.) Support Pencil Eraser Kitchen Roll 1 DRAW YOUR SUBJECT I like to work from photos, especially when the subject is tiny and might move. Photos also have the benefit of capturing exactly how light was falling on a subject in a given moment. To make the painting process as easy as possible, the drawing…

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SAM WILDE Bold, mischievous and playful, Sam is an award-winning British artist who crafts eccentric worlds packed to the brim with personality and immersive detail. A master of colour and illustration, his hand-drawn fine art patterns redefine the medium for a new generation. ALCE HARFIELD Alce has been a professional artist for over 33 years and specialises in capturing all the ‘goose-bump’ moments of the Glastonbury Festival, where she has traded for decades. Her work is always evolving and she uses a variety of media, from acrylic to collage, to create, as she says, “colour to lift the soul.” ADAM AND ANDREA CLAGUE Adam Clague, a member of the Oil Painters of America, showcases his talent in capturing the essence of subjects. He resides in Kansas City with his wife,…

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HANNA ASFOUR, AN ARCHITECT BY DAY and artist by night has found the key ingredients of pursuing passion with a purpose. Although he doesn’t belong to a creative family, Hanna has loved art ever since he was a child. “It’s something I’ve pursued on my own, driven by my own passion and curiosity,” he shares. His family has always been supportive of his interests though; with their encouragement proving to be invaluable in his creative journey. Hanna remembers his early days of creative exploration fondly. Creating drawings of family members, friends and captivating scenes from his surroundings ignited a sense of wonder within him. The first time he held a pencil remains a vivid memory, filled with excitement and anticipation. While graphite pencils were his initial tools of choice, Hanna’s…

I’M A LOVER OF ALL LIVING THINGS, from the tiniest beetle to a thundering elephant. I spend as much time out in nature as I can; growing plants, walking in the woods and glimpsing as much wildlife as it’ll allow. I express this love and admiration in my art, through the layering of individual brushstrokes. I like to create a texture that looks as though it should scrunch under your hand; a finished piece that makes you believe you can hear its low rumbling breath and smell the evening air on its fur. I paint exclusively in oils on wood panels and use the wet-on-wet technique. As I layer the fur from dark to light, I paint immediately over my brushstrokes, pulling my brush through them to create clean lines,…

This piece was created while I was just starting to experiment seriously with oil painting; before that, I primarily worked in watercolour. I am deeply inspired by 17th-century Spanish and Dutch paintings, especially the still life paintings of fruit from that era. I wanted to paint an orange that evoked emotion similar to the paintings I was studying. This piece was painted almost 15 years ago; it was the first one where I chose to use a wipeout method. Yet, I find myself gravitating towards it more than some of my current paintings that are larger with complex subject matter. This piece is the one that confirmed my desire to paint in oils and motivated me to persevere, despite many failed attempts. I wanted to depict the common orange with…

Painting wildlife is beset with difficulties not often experienced with other genres. This style of painting can be divided into many categories. One of the problems of painting wildlife is that animals move around and can be hard to see. Many wildlife artists work from photographs, something purists are not keen on. Yet, some animals are so rare, that it is almost impossible to see them in their natural habitat. Many artists also work from captive animals. I would suggest that because of these factors – as well as the huge variation in subject matter – painting wildlife to a high standard is one of the most difficult occupations. Fur, eyes, water, snow, trees, skies, animal skin, tusks, hair and habitat are all within the wildlife artist’s remit. PIP’S MATERIALS…

When possible, I paint with the object in front of me. It is important to be able to feel it, look at the texture and observe the way light hits form. This butterfly had died with its wings downwards, so I painted it like this to show you how to replicate form by leaving areas light and using shadow. When using watercolours it is important to leave areas that will be different colours white at the beginning so you can add it later. This saves colours from becoming muddy. If you need help, use masking fluid. I go back and forth between mixed colours, so save all your mixes to use throughout the process. To create the butterfly, some colours are made into washes and others are neat. Toward the…

Things we love… Ever found yourself wondering where reality ends and imagination begins? Be inspired by Berlin-based artist Franziska Goes who makes abstractions that allude to the visually familiar while defying overt legibility. She is sensitively informed by personal observations and encounters with her surroundings. In her upcoming exhibition Polarity, physical and sensorial experiences of lush nature, pulsating cityscapes and technology collide and coalesce. Bound rhythmically in layered forms, both undulating and rectilinear, a constellation of discrete outlined forms scattered across the composition interrupt, reconfigure and ultimately return the so-called view to flatness. Or do they? moskowitzbayse.com Don’t miss… … the openening of Edo Pop, an exhibition of 19th-century Japanese woodblock prints from the private collection of art historian and writer, Frank Milner. Focusing on the period 1825-1895, this will…

FRUIT OF FRIENDSHIP: PORTRAITS BY MARY BEALE 25 April to 19 July 2024 Mary Beale (1633-1699) was one of Britain’s first professional and most prolific woman artists of her period. Working throughout the turbulent late-17th century, she established one of the earliest successful studios for a British woman artist. This exhibition will span her entire career and include self-portraits, portraits of her family and friends, and formal commissions. Fruit of Friendship will also shed light on Beale’s progressive studio practice and highlight its radical reversal of conventional gender roles for the period. The exhibition will present three works not seen in public before. These include an early re-discovered portrait of the artist’s husband, dressed theatrically in a fur hat, a rare example of a formal portrait of an identified child…

WEATHER CREATES VERY DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERES for a painter to express. By controlling shapes and colours within the sky, I can develop differing moods. White clouds appear positive and stunning, however dark, dominant cumulonimbus clouds tower above and add bulky drama. These thunderclouds and the optimistic, contrasting light of the rainbow are my main subjects. The clouds contain deep brown and purple shadows in their depths; I will enhance the dramatic diagonal pelt of dark rain from its base which will help the rainbow glow. I combine information from three source images in this painting as weather features move and are often hard to capture together. I decide on the dynamic portrait shape to provide more room to enlarge the towering clouds and to make their weighty, looming impact felt. The…

MATT’S MATERIALS Paint Winsor & Newton Watercolours: Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Lavender, Alizarin Crimson, Sap Green, Indigo, Payne’s Grey Brushes Squirrel Hair Mop brush, Sable brush, Rigger brush Support Daler & Rowney Langton watercolour paper 300gsm cold-pressed A4 Desiderata Ebonite flex-nib fountain pen with Platinum Carbon waterproof ink. TRAVEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN IMPORTANT FEATURE of my life, mainly for its ability to broaden our horizons and get fresh perspectives on the familiar. For years, I’ve travelled with a small watercolour paint set and ink pen and have used these simple tools to document, explore and illustrate the world around me. Many people might take a camera on their travels, but I’ve found no better way to capture memories than with a brush, pen and paper.…

They have inspired and featured in creativity since our earliest ancestors were drawing on the walls of caves, whilst nature has consistently been a source of inspiration for artists. With a world of textures, colours and shapes to explore within these species, we can discover new ways of seeing animals, be that of those at home or in the larger world of wildlife around us. With this in mind, I’m delighted to bring you this exclusive supplement, dedicated to animals and art. Full of inspiration for drawing and painting a variety of creatures in a selection of mediums, you will find encouragement and excitement with every turn of the page. Take acclaimed wildlife artist Pip McGarry’s oil work on species included in The Big Five. His work is detailed and…

Does painting different colours of fur need separate techniques? With any fur, you need to observe closely and identify its many colours and tones to make your painting accurate. A white dog is never just white. Light greatly influences what you see. There will be cool blue tints from the sky and warm yellow tints from the sun, as well as reflected light from the floor or other objects. It is a good idea to accentuate highlights you see in the fur of very dark animals to give your painting contrast, otherwise it may look flat. Making sure your subject is well-lit makes your job easier. Fur has different textures, too. How do you study and paint them? I begin by roughly laying down basic fur colours using loose brushstrokes.…

Money, time and access to studio space are challenges all artists face. But for printmaker and muralist Sophie Rae, overcoming such practical restrictions allowed her to develop a unique way of working best suited to her creative process. The artist likes to make her highly attractive, overlapping prints without a press. She explains why: “I started working this way at university. I didn’t want to be restricted to only making prints when I had access to the print room, which I knew after university could be costly.” This constraint, however, became a virtue. “I like to work quite intuitively and the process allows that. It also allows for lovely unexpected, unplanned marks to happen and for me to produce work when I’m feeling most inspired,” she adds. Sophie, who trained…