Artists & Illustrators June 2022

T GREA W NE !

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THE FAVOURITE MAGAZINE FOR ARTISTS

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T I P S • T E C H N I Q U E S • I D E A S • I N S P I R AT I O N

Walter Sickert

The original art provocateur: a major new show at Tate Britain

Learn to paint outdoors

WIN!

£1,000 of Schmincke watercolour products

Botanical art Exclusive insights from the world’s best show

With our guides to landscape and urban sketching

How to... PAINT BLOSSOM • USE PEN & WASH • DRAW IN PASTEL PENCIL

ArtLook

The complete cataloguing and website system that lets you keep a record of your work - and create and manage your own beautifully designed website

“I think Artlook is wonderful! A website gives potential clients and followers somewhere to go to view your work – it’s accessible for everyone.

An Artlook website is a snip and easily worth investing in for any artist.”

Karen Hemsley-Biggs www.karenhemsleybiggs.co.uk

Let’s talk ....

As a professional artist and the ‘Artist Ambassador’ for Artlook I have used the system for many years to manage my studio and my website. This system is beneficial for all artists at all levels and I am happy to share my knowledge and explain how Artlook can help you. Go to our website at www.artlooksoftware.com/chat and book a free 15 minute personal zoom session with me. Or call on 0117 920 0025. No jargon, no hard-sell, just a chat with me. I look forward to meeting you!

“I love my Artlook website and would recommend it to any artist or art gallery. The website was easy to set up with lots of help available from the Artlook team.”

Sheila Fowler www.sheilafowler.co.uk

Sarah Wimperis www.sarahwimperis.co.uk

Find out more today at www.artlooksoftware.com/artists Call on +44 (0)117 920 0025 Email us at hello@artlooksoftware.com

“I just wanted to say thanks for thinking so carefully about what functions to include in your web packages. They look amazing so just thank you for doing such a great job. I think you might be the best artists website provider available – and you’re always there for help when I need it.”

Rebecca Styles www.rebeccastyles.co.uk www.

Contents A RT I S T S & I L LUS T R AT OR S • J U N E 2022

Regulars

7 SKETCHBOOK Quick tips, ideas and inspiration, plus the UK’s top art shows in June 13 HOW I MAKE IT WORK With abstract artist Megan Carter 19 PRIZE DR AW Win £1,000 of Schmincke watercolours 26 WE PRESENT... Portfolio Plus member Glenda Lyons 79 YOU TELL US Write in and win a £50 Atlantis Art voucher 82 PICTURE THIS Zi Ling reveals what her artwork means to her

Inspiration 14 IN THE STUDIO Hannah Shergold on her pivot from pilot in the army to wildlife painter 20 HOW I PAINT Sarah Graham shares the techniques behind her joy-filled oil and acrylic works 28 EXHIBITION What we can learn from the master Raphael 34 THE BIG INTERVIEW Prepare to be wowed by the hyperrealist graphite artist Kelvin Okafour 40 ART HISTORY Why Walter Sickert is as relevant today as he was in his own lifetime

20

46 BOTANICALS Eight entrants in this year’s RHS Botanical Art Show share their work with us

Techniques

52 IN - DEPTH Jake Spicer on life drawing with pastel pencil 58 SERIES The first in a new run of landscape painting guides from art tutor Ann Witheridge 62 MASTERCL ASS Follow Mark Fennell as he paints a portrait with palette knives and oils

34

68 TECHNIQUE Matthew Jeanes shares the skills needed to create a contemporary pet portrait

76 STEP - BY- STEP Pre-empt your values with this spring tutorial on painting cherry blossom

46

SAATCHI GALLERY

72 URBAN SKETCHING Grab a sketchbook and go drawing in the city with help from this demo

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 3

E DITOR' S L ET TER

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THIS MONTH’S COVER ARTWORK

By Haidee-Jo Summers T I P S • T E C H N I Q U E S • I D E A S • I N S P I R AT I O N

Notice anything different?

The only constant in life is change, which is why it was about time for a new look Artists & Illustrators. Not that we went all in and replaced your favourite features and articles. Rather, we changed-up the things that were working well and tweaked those that maybe needed a little polish. The result means that each and every artwork that features amongst the pages of this publication are presented in a way that makes them look like the elite paintings and drawings that they are. We hope you like what we’ve done; it’s certainly been a fun journey. Let us know at info@artistsandillustrators.co.uk.

But it would be impossible to make the magazine look good without impactful art. Those who helped us showcase the brand new design include Kelvin Okafor; his pencil portraits are so lifelike, you’ll do a double-take. Then we’ve got former army helicopter pilot Hannah Shergold whose wildlife paintings are inspired by her service trips to Kenya and Sarah Graham; her colourful, retro portrayals of sweets, toys and kitsch paraphernalia are happiness on canvas.

On the more traditional tip, we examine the life and influence of one of the 20th century’s most important artists, Walter Sickert, and consider what we can learn from the works of Raphael. Both artists have major new London shows, worthy of a visit by all art aficionados. Last but not least, we also have exclusive interviews with eight of the botanical artists showing at this year’s RHS show, seen as the best of its kind in the world.

This, and much more, in just one issue. Be wowed.

EDITORIAL Editor Niki Browes Art Editor Stuart Selner Assistant Editor Rebecca Bradbury Contributors Martha Alexander, Mark Fennell, Matthew Jeanes, Jake Spicer, Haidee Jo Summers, Lis Watkins, Ann Witheridge

ADVERTISING Advertising Manager David Huntington (020) 7349 3702 david.huntington@ chelseamagazines.com Group Sales Director Catherine Chapman Advertising Production www.allpointsmedia.co.uk

MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING Chairman Paul Dobson Managing Director James Dobson Publisher Simon Temlett Chief Financial Officer Vicki Gavin EA to Chairman Sophie Easton Subs Marketing Manager Bret Weekes Group Digital Manager Ben Iskander

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INTRODUCING

MARK FENNELL RBSA

A former advertising Art Director, Mark is now a professional painter and art tutor who, amongst other practises, likes to paint portraits in oil with palette knives. His painting tips?

“Take lots of breaks and stand back to view your painting at a distance.”

4 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

JAKE SPICER

Artist, author and educator, Jake started the Brighton Life Drawing Sessions in 2009, which became Draw in 2011. “People say things like ‘I wish I could draw’ but I tell them it’s not about talent. It’s a skill you develop by practising. You can learn to do it.”

HAIDEE - JO SUMMERS

Hooked on plein air painting, Haidee-Jo paints anywhere, no matter how busy or crowded the setting, how complex the scene or how difficult the weather.

“More often than not, painting outdoors helps me experience a state where time seems to slow down.”

STUART SELNER

A former Creative Director of Elle and marie claire, our Art Editor has worked on the fabulous redesign.

“Working with such wonderful visuals has been a really exciting challenge.

I hope the new look does justice to the amazing talent the magazine showcases.”

Write to us!

Send us your latest paintings, tips or artistic discoveries and you could win a £50 voucher: info@artistsandillustrators.co.uk @AandImagazine /ArtistsAndIllustrators @AandImagazine @AandImagazine

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Sketchbook T I PS • A DV ICE • EX H IBI TIONS • NEWS • R EV IEWS

E D ITE D BY R E B ECC A B R ADB U RY

© ASHLEY LONGSHORE

Things we love...

Ashley Longshore, Peggy Guggenheim, acrylic, 60x48cm

New Orleans-based artist Ashley Longshore is often dubbed a feminist Andy Warhol for her obsession with all things pop. Recently, she turned to some of the most seminal women in history, painting bold, daring and colourful portraits of the likes of Marie Curie, Frida Kahlo, Peggy Guggenheim [left] and Greta Thunberg. Originally curated by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg for an exhibit at New York’s luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman, the works are now available in a new book, Roar! A Collection of Mighty Women, published by Rizzoli International Publications. ashleylongshore.com

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 7

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Sketchbook

Don’t miss...

THE E ARLY WORK OF SIR ALFRED MUNNING S The former president of the Royal Academy is synonymous with equine art. Works of the horses he loved to paint are even going on show in a special exhibit at the National Horseracing Museum in Newmarket from 24 May. Yet what many people don’t know is that Munnings was an in demand commercial artist from the age of 14 to 20. Proving his early talent are the adverts he created for brands such as Colman’s Mustard and Caley’s Crackers, which are now possible to see in Alfred Munnings: the Art of the Poster, running until 6 October at his former home, Castle House, in Suffolk. munningsmuseum.org.uk

T O P Design for Caley’s Domino Crackers, 1890s A B OV E Lorna Doone, 1898, pastel on paper R I G H T Fancy Dress Ball, 1901, oil on canvas

Stanley Spencer, The Dustbin, Cookham, oil on canvas

MASTER TIP If you’re feeling uninspired about what to paint next, why not take Stanley Spencer’s lead and make the mundane beautiful? His lifelong fascination with rubbish led him to elevate household debris into the main subject matter of works such as The Dustbin, Cookham – on show in the Stanley Spencer Gallery’s current display, Delight in Nature: Stanley Spencer’s World. stanleyspencer.org.uk

© ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS / © THE ESTATE OF SIR ALFRED MUNNINGS, DEDHAM

BOOK OF THE MONTH

C IT Y SKETC HING REIMAG INED

by Jeanette Barnes and Paul Brandford Plein air painting doesn’t have to be confined to the countryside, as this new, practical guide advocating the wonders of drawing and sketching in urban locations proves. With easily digestible entries, it covers both the

THE DIARY Open calls, prizes and artist opportunities

1 3 JUNE Enter the Chelsea Arts Society’s Open Art Exhibition by today for the chance to have your art on show at the Chelsea Old Town Hall from 16 to 20 June. chelseaartsociety.org.uk

technical and philosophical sides of sketching in town and cities. Plus, as a leading figure in the field for over 25 years, Jeanette Barnes is on hand to offer tips and ideas on drawing on location and back in the studio, along with her scribbles, sketches and preparatory work that feed into the work for which she is known.

Batsford, £16.99. batsford.com

1 5 JUNE Submit by this date to feature in the UK Coloured Pencil Society’s 21st Annual Open Exhibition. All works must comprise at least 50% colour pencil. ukcps.org.uk

16 JUNE Entries close for the 16th ARC International Salon today. Any work in the genre of contemporary realism is welcome, with over $130,000 in cash awards available. artrenewal.org

Join us online!

The Artists & Illustrators website is one of the biggest resources for artists on the internet.

You can find competitions, interviews, art product reviews and a huge collection of painting and drawing advice. artistsandillustrators. co.uk ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 9

Sketchbook

Exhibitions T H E B E S T A R T S H OW S T O V I S I T T H I S J U N E

IN THE BL AC K FANTASTIC 19 June to 18 September Fantastical imagery in art does not always signify escapism. Take this upcoming exhibition, for example, which will show how artworks by black artists use the fantastic to confront socially constructed ideas about race.

Work will feature from the likes of distinguished American sculptor Nick 10 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Cave, Turner Prize winner Chris Ofili, whose paintings transport the texts of Homer to the Caribbean, and Lina Iris Viktor – a mixed media artist who re-imagines herself as characters from European portraiture, West African textiles and classical mythology in works such as Eleventh [above].

Hayward Gallery, London. southbankcentre.co.uk

NATIONAL TRE ASURE: THE SCOT TISH MODERN ARTS ASSOC IATION 21 May to 16 October When you think of modernist art hubs, Scotland is not the first place to come to mind. Yet in the early 20th century, a group of Scottish artists, including Joan Eardley and William McTaggart, came together to form the Scottish Modern Arts Association, as revealed in this new exhibition.

City Art Centre, Edinburgh. edinburghmuseums.org.uk

© 2018. COURTESY LINA IRIS VIKTOR / PHOTO CREDIT: MUSEUMS & GALLERIES EDINBURGH / © SUCCESSION PICASSO/DACS, LONDON 2021 / © LAING ART GALLERY / © TATE

DAVID BATC HELOR: COLOUR IS 25 June to 2 October David Batchelor is an artist synonymous with brightly coloured installations, but much of his earlier work centred on monochromes. Tracing the Scot’s journey from his black and white days to his three-decadelong colour obsession is this line up of sculptures, installations, paintings, drawings and sketches.

Compton Verney, Warwickshire. comptonverney.org.uk

PABLO PIC ASSO: THE LEGAC Y OF YOUTH Until 17 July No other artist represents the modern age quite as much as Pablo Picasso. Yet many forget the man who transformed the ways in which the world could be depicted grew up in the 19th century. The contrasting values of these two eras caused much friction for the artist and is something explored in this exhibition focused on his formative years.

From charcoal and crayon drawings created in his early teens to his later adventures into Impressionism and Cubism, the work goes on show alongside that of artists he admired, including Bonnard, Degas and Monet.

Sainsbury Centre, Norwich. sainsburycentre.ac.uk

LIQUID LIGHT: PAINTING IN WATERCOLOURS Until 19 August Not always considered as highly as oil painting, watercolour rarely gets the respect it deserves. But putting the medium under its rightful spotlight is this exhibition, highlighting masters from the Golden Age of watercolours – including JMW Turner – to contemporary artists such as David Hockney, Bridget Riley and Tracey Emin.

Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne. laingartgallery.org.uk

SE AFARING 30 April to 25 September From JMW Turner to Eric Ravilious to Maggi Hambling, some of the greatest names in British art have sought inspiration from the sea.

Demonstrating how these age-old themes of voyage and migration, work and leisure, and war and peace have been depicted from 1820 to the present day is this round up of more than 50 works.

At the heart of the exhibition are three oil paintings by the contemporary artist Cecily Brown – Oniops, Shipwreck and Untitled (Shipwreck) – alongside the works of three Romantic artists who inspired the series.

Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex. hastingscontemporary.org ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 11

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G UE S T CO LUMNI S T

H OW I M A K E I T WO R K

Megan Carty A Boston area contemporary painter, Megan makes bold abstract floral paintings. Here’s how she became a professional artist

B

MEGAN ’S TIPS ON BECOMING A FULL -TIME ARTIST

1

Work on having a positive mindset. Be your own best fan and coach.

Remind yourself: if other people can become pro artists, so can you.

2

Share, share, share. The process of creating your art is fascinating. People love to know what inspires you and where your ideas come from.

Share these things on social media. Share your sketches, references, works in progress, and finished pieces, and help collectors envision owning them. This is how people feel a connection with you. This is the gold.

3

T O P She Wasn’t Taking Anymore Shit, acrylic & pencil on canvas, 76.2x101.6cm A B OV E A Latte and Walk in Paris, acrylic & pencil on canvas, 76.2x101.6cm L E F T She Started a Hedge Fund and Then Took a Nap, acrylic & pencil on canvas, 76.2x101.6cm

Go all in; don’t play small.

Really invest your time, resources, and money in the best materials.

Work large. Frame it professionally. Show your confidence and people will feel it.▫

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 1 3

KAT ROKITA

uilding my career as a full-time artist has been a slow and steady process. I first had to lay a solid foundation by determining what I most wanted to paint and what felt good to make every single day. I tried a lot of different subjects and styles before I settled into my own voice. Once I felt confident in the voice, quality and the ‘why’ behind it all, I was able to create lots of paintings and share them for free on social media. I love using Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest for connecting with potential collectors. People love to see artists’ work behind the scenes as they share the ‘magic’ of their processes.

I started out by selling prints, originals and cards on Etsy and soon moved to my own shop website with my own domain. I began advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to help find more people who might be interested in my work and drive them to my website to sign up for my email list. Sharing print sales from time to time or letting people know when a new collection of work is available allows my collectors to be the first to shop.

I’ve had to learn to be vulnerable in sharing my work and facing potential criticism.

The more nos I hear, the more chances there are for a yes. I’ve also learned that my work is not for everyone. It’s easy toget carried away and want to please all, but in the end, the goal is to delight and inspire a small select group who truly love my art. megancartyart.com

MILLIE PILKINGTON

HOW I WORK IN TH E S TUDI O

Hannah

Shergold The former British Army helicopter pilot talks to Rebecca Bradbury about unexpected career pivots, the highs and lows of a self-representing artist and loosening up her wildlife paintings

14 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

All Knowing, mixed media on canvas, 120x 120cm

HOW I WORK IN TH E S TUDI O

O

n one canvas, incomplete parallel lines of cobalt blue crisscross the contoured brush strokes of a closely cropped elephant’s face. In another work, thick diagonal stripes of grey shadow the frantic forms of stampeding wildebeests painted in fiery red hues. A third painting, meanwhile, depicts the time-lapsed motion of a sprinting cheetah, its paws yoked to a radial arc of gold leaf to emphasise its incomparable pace.

Combining geometrical shapes with the greats of the animal kingdom is a rare sight in the artworld. But for Hannah Shergold it has become something of a signature. In just a few years, the self-taught artist has developed a unique, show-stopping style, where mathematical forms weave their way into large-scale artworks of big cats, primates and elephants, all rendered with expressive, thick impasto marks of vibrant colour.

16 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Hannah’s use of lines and contours more often seen in a geometry lesson is hardly surprising, given that she considers herself to be, by trade, a scientist. She has the qualifications to back this up too, having graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2006 with a masters in zoology. A career in this field was not to be, however, as fresh from her studies, Hannah began working as a bronze sculptor, creating realistic studies of pets and other wildlife.

Unfortunately, when 2008’s credit crunch hit, commissions dried up and Hannah was forced to re-consider her profession. Taking another unpredictable pivot, this time to fulfil her craving for adventure, she joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

After being commissioned into the Army Air Corps and touring Afghanistan with the infantry, the artist-to-be then qualified as a Lynx pilot in 2013 and went on to serve in locations across the world.

Geometrical forms weave their way into artworks of primates, big cats and elephants During her final two years of service, Hannah was deployed in Kenya, conducting medical evacuation duties. Not only did the country provide a multitude of inspiration, which continues to feed into her work, but it was also where she found the time to paint.

“When you’re on standby for anything,” she says, “you’ve got a lot of time waiting for things to happen, so people have different hobbies to pass the time. Some people read books or go on the PlayStation. I painted pictures. They were just little sketches of the camp or watercolours of wildlife. I had no intention of selling them.”

Chase the Rainbow, mixed media on canvas, 150x90cm

The chance to monetise her work came, however, when some expat friends offered a free exhibition space. After selling 10 or so works, Hannah soon began painting bigger pieces in oil and, still in demand, she left the forces in 2018 with the resources and client base needed to become a full-time artist.

Today, the painter works in a studio-comegallery in the basement of her Cheltenham home. Recently renovated, the space boosts dark granite flooring, a wood burner, plush leather seating and walls adorned with her recent artworks of big animals.

Gloucestershire might be a long way from the national parks of Africa, but the photographic references Hannah uses transports her back to her military tour of Kenya and travels in Rwanda. But also proving hugely helpful is the anatomical knowledge she learnt during her degree.

“Because my style is a little bit off the wall there must be something correct about it,” ▸

Royal Blue Bull, mixed media on canvas, 75x120cm

What Lies Beneath, mixed media on canvas, 150x90cm

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 17

H O W I WORK IN T H E S TUDI O she says. “If the anatomy is correct, you can muck about with the colour or shape, and it still looks like an elephant or a cheetah.”

Take All Knowing, for example. The aim was to realistically depict a chimpanzee using as little detail as possible. Fine white marks have been scraped off the top layer of paint, representing the primate’s fur without the contours of the face being realised. In turn this allows for the proliferation of random paint drips, splashes and air bubbles.

Like any scientist, Hannah is prone to experimentation and many of her painting techniques have come about through trial and error. In her most recent body of work, this included the introduction of acrylic pours and gold leaf. Yet although the expressive marks and bold colours break conventions, Hannah’s work hasn’t always been this free, with the accuracy and precision of her scientific background proving at first to be a hindrance.

“One of the frustrations early on was that I overworked everything,” she explains. “It had to be too correct, too precise, but I didn’t like what I was producing. It didn’t have any life to it. So, one of the big things for me was figuring out how to stop doing this. My solution was to break it down and go backwards a few steps.

“Sometimes when you do this you regret it for a little while, but it’s worth it for the layers it enables you to get within the painting,” she adds. “It’s a way to unpick some of the tightness in favour of making it a more interesting painting.”

After discovering the magic of scraping back, Hannah regularly uses palette knives, moving wet paint across the canvas, working quickly to capture a likeness. It’s a process replicated for some portraits, such as Motherhood, too. This is unless she plans to enter a competition as she believes getting noticed by the judges calls for a more traditional use of realism.

Also proving extremely useful is the project management experience gained in the army.

It’s a vital skillset for a self-representing artist like Hannah, who is willing to take on the added responsibility for the increased control it gives over her career.

“I have made the decision to do everything I would otherwise be asking a gallery to do,” she says. “I have to do my own website, my own catalogues, all my own photography, and all the PR and marketing side of it…

I only spend about 30 percent of my time painting. The rest is running this business.

“I’m a business owner, and my product is my own paintings,” she continues. “It’s a very different way of looking at it, but I think it is more realistic because there is so much 18 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Motherhood, mixed media on canvas, 75x120cm

Spot my Spots, mixed media on canvas, 120x120cm

Painting what you are passionate about brings a different energy to the work

else that goes into [working as an artist] than just painting.”

Forgoing representation means Hannah also has to organise her own exhibitions, one of which is coming up in June at the Mall Galleries. Part of this involves getting sponsors on board, while another one of her commitments is keeing up her ambassador role for the conservation charity Tusk.

As well as providing an honest account of the life of an artist, Hannah is an advocate of staying true to yourself, too. “With any artist it reflects clearly in their work if they’re painting something they’re passionate about. It brings a different energy and a different understanding,” she adds, calling us all to continue painting what we love.

Hannah’s solo exhibition, The Sovereign Collection, will run at the Mall Galleries in London from 7 to 11 June. hannahshergold.com ▫

PR I Z E DR AW

THE PRIZE Three winners, chosen at random, will each receive 20 different Horadam Aquarell Supergranulating Colours in 15ml tubes in a bundle worth £330.

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HOW TO ENTER Enter by noon on 26 May 2022, either at artistsandillustrators.co.uk/ competitions or by filling in the form below and returning it to: Schmincke Prize Draw, Artists & Illustrators, Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd., Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ TERMS & CONDITIONS Prize is non-transferable.

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Enter our prize draw for the chance to get your hands on one of three bundles of super granulating watercolours, courtesy of SCHMINCKE

PAINTINGS BY ANNA ZADOROZHNAYA

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hen a limited-edition product becomes part of an art brand’s ongoing collection, you know it’s been a hit. Case in point is Schmincke’s Horadam Aquarell Supergranulating Colours which, after launching as a one-off series in 2020, joined the German paint-maker’s permanent product list earlier this year.

To celebrate the new addition to the Schmincke family, we are offering three lucky readers of Artists & Illustrators the chance to each win a bundle worth £330 of these innovative watercolours.

As the name of the product suggests, the supergranulating range is designed to offer watercolourists textured, granulated effects.

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pigments, offering a harmonious dark blue granulation with an underlying hint of green. The finished effect varies, however, depending on the amount of water added, as well as the paper used – the rougher the paper, the stronger the granulation.

Schmincke is the first paint manufacturer to produce watercolours capable of these effects and offers a total of 40 colours. These are then divided into eight thematic groups, including Deep Sea, Glacier, Galaxy, Forest and Tundra. Three new groups – Volcano, Shire and Dessert – were added in early 2022 and all colours are available in either half pans or 15ml tubes.

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Fab!, oil on canvas, 50x50cm

20 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

H O W I WO R K HO W I PA I NT

Sarah Graham Try and look at one of SARAH GRAHAM’S bold and vivid paintings and not feel anything but joy. She tells Niki Browes about the ups and downs that have led to where she is today

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S

arah Graham was just two-and-a half when her nursery teachers noticed her early and extraordinary talent at drawing. Growing up, painting was a constant in her life, giving her strength and confidence as she navigated her way through her much-loved father’s various manic episodes with bipolar.

After completing a degree in fine art painting in 2000, Sarah has mostly been pursuing her practice ever since. Featuring toys, kitsch paraphernalia and sweets – perhaps inspired by a part-time teen job on the pick ‘n’ mix counter at Woolworths – she firstly works on an acrylic underpainting and then paints the final in oil. Absolutely no airbrushing is involved, which is telling of her technique. But, after her father’s death in 2004, her own bipolar kicked in a year later, leading to a full-blown manic episode in 2017. For the following two years she was derailed and unable to work before slowly starting up and almost having to teach herself to paint again. Today, she hasn’t had an episode in three years and is the healthiest, happiest and most content she’s ever been. Sarah’s paintings are in private collections across the world. ▸ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 21

HOW I WORK HO W I P A I N T

Drink me, oil on canvas, 75x110cm

Sweet All Stars, oil on canvas, 80x115cm

Budgie Love, oil on canvas, 50x70cm

My days starts by putting the kettle on.

My studio is a unit in an old factory and I absolutely love it; it has high ceilings and the light is fantastic. Then there’s usually some procrastination, studying the painting I’m working on, but also pottering about. Once I’m painting, I easily get in the zone and get lost in it for hours. I usually do a couple of hours in the morning, and a longer stint in the afternoon, often with a walk in between to clear my head so I can come back fresh.

As I’m running a small business, there are days when I don’t paint at all as there’s a lot of office admin to do, including selling and packing prints and other bits. I’m looking to expand my merchandise this year, as it’s

important to me that my work is accessible, that people can have a little piece of their own to make them smile. After all, I can’t afford my originals, but I could afford a tea towel or a cushion.

Positivity is very important to me. I want my work to be uplifting, and purposefully choose subjects that make me, and others, feel uplifted and smile. Many of my clients are families, who say every member loves my work. I get so many messages from people saying my paintings make them feel happy, which is wonderful and very uplifting for me. Life can be hard, we have tough stuff to deal with all the time, so I

Life can be hard, we have tough stuff to deal with so I hope my art provides escapism hope my art provides light, colour, escapism and joy.

The Wizard of Oz was my absolute favourite film as a child. I identified with the daydreaming of a brighter, more

colourful, magical world. The scene in the film where the screen shifts from black and white to glorious Technicolor has informed my work hugely. So when I was asked to paint a scene from the film in 2009, to mark the 70th anniversary of the film for an exhibition in Harrods, it was a pretty special moment.

It had been a dream of mine since university to paint an album cover. So when Ricky Wilson, the lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs, approached me in 2008 to paint their third album cover, the dream had come true. But for various reasons it didn’t happen. But it did mean we struck up a ▸ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 2 3

H OW I WORK HOW I P A I N T

friendship as he was a fan of my work, and I was a fan of his music. I went to a lot of their gigs. Then in 2012 he texted me asking if I could paint the end of a stick of rock for the Kaiser Chiefs’ retrospective album with the band and album name – Souvenir – running through it. I got such a buzz when I was invited to Reading Festival to see it blown up huge, as the backdrop to their set.

It really matters to me to see young people engaging with art. I’m aware it’s been marginalised in schools over the past decade or so which doesn’t seem right, given how helpful it was to me growing up. So I’ve recently become an advocate for the National Society for Education in Art and Design, to help improve the situation by highlighting it and campaigning for change.

I mainly do this by visiting schools, via Zoom and in person, and by using social media.

2 4 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

People are surprised to hear that I am, still to this day, intimated by a blank canvas I also want to inspire young people and let them know that a career as an artist is viable.

When I was at school, I thought to be a successful artist you had to be dead; I don’t want young people thinking that today.

After my breakdown, rebuilding my life took a long time. I’d had a long depression and the mania itself lasted four months, so it was nearly two years without painting. My depression is very debilitating. I can barely

make myself a cup of tea, so creating a photorealist painting would be like climbing Everest. But I did draw a lot when I was in hospital. Using limited art supplies, I gave them as gifts to patients, nurses and doctors.

I also wrote a lot of poetry, something I’d not done since school.

The painting came back once I was healing mentally and I think it sped up my recovery. It gave me a purpose and, ultimately, brings me a lot of joy. However, I had to go back to basics, and almost relearn my technique. I started with some quite simplistic images of Chupa Chups lollipops, a subject I jokingly say I can paint with my eyes closed as I’ve done so many. Since then my work has become increasingly complex as my confidence has grown alongside my recovery. People find it hard to believe I’ve been depressed when they see my work.

H O W I WO R K HO W I PA I NT Marble Dream, oil on canvas, 100x100cm

Kaisers Rock, oil on canvas, 80x120cm

Confidence comes with doing, making mistakes and learning from them. I was by no means the best artist when I was at university, but I knew how good I wanted to be and was prepared to work hard to get there. Whilst I understand a lack of confidence can be a hinderance to creativity, you have to try and work through it. People are surprised to hear that I am, still to this day, intimated by a blank canvas, but once I get going, I move beyond that initial fear to a place of sheer joy.

I practise gratitude now as part of my self-care. The gratitude I feel for my art is immense. Painting has been my strength from back when I was two years old. I simply can’t imagine life without it. Every day I think, “ How lucky am I; I get to paint beautiful paintings for a living.” sarahgraham.info ▫

Somewhere Over the Rainbow, oil on canvas, 80x120cm

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 2 5

We present...

This m o n t h ’s spotlight on a Portfolio Plus member

a talented pastel artist GLENDA LYONS

N

o nonsense business coaches often say the key to success is working while motivation is low, and applying a similar approach to her pastel practice is the Portfolio Plus member, Glenda Lyons.

It’s a philosophy that accounts for those creativity slumps many artists can relate to.

“I don’t believe in inspiration per se, but in drawing every day,” Glenda explains. “While it seems mundane, it allows my brain to wander through corridors of colour and composition, and the scene grows in my mind.”

Living along the coast of southern Spain, Glenda’s subjects range from sun-drenched harbours and beaches to griffon vultures and egrets which inhabit some nearby mud flats.

But no matter what is being depicted the artist has the viewer at the forefront of her compositional considerations. “I want the audience to fall in love with the subject,” she says. Using her artwork Egret as an example, she adds: “I used the mud piles to lead the eye upward to the beak and onto the bird. The background is simple, with no horizon line so there is complete immersion in the picture.”

Knowing what to leave out of an artwork is as important as knowing what to put in, and Glenda is similarly skilled at pairing back her techniques for the greater good of an image.

“I love to push the boundaries of pastel by creating textures and other non-pastel effects,” she notes, “but in Egret I felt it was important to emphasise the tranquillity of the scene with a richness of colour.”

These vivid hues are created by slowly building up broad strokes of pigment, leaving the light pigments and finer details until last.

Glenda then photographs her work to check both the proportions and colour values.

“I don’t use fixative. I wrap my work in glassine and put it away,” she says, rounding up her process. “A couple of weeks later, I take it out and decide if it has any problems. In the case of Egret, there were none.” portfolio.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/ PredominantlyPastels ▫

26 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Egret, pastel, 35x50cm

The kelp pullers, pastel, 50x35cm

Setting Out, pastel, 50x35cm

Free flight, pastel, 70x50cm

Renaissa The Procession to Calvary, oil, 24.4x85.5cm

Although he was only 37 when he died, RAPHAEL remains one of the most prolific artists who ever lived.

Here’s what we can learn from his body of work. By Martha Alexander

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nce man THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

E X HI B I T I O NS

R

A ffaello

Sanzio da Urbino – also known as Raphael – seems to have been one of those infuriating people blessed with everything: he was handsome, charming, popular and multitalented. Born in Urbino, Italy in 1483, he is best known for his painting but he was also an accomplished printmaker, architect, archaeologist and poet.

He even designed stage sets and tapestries.

Raphael, a new exhibition at The National Gallery in London, lays bare numerous treasures from his short career. Although he was still a young man when he died, his creative output was prolific – the mind boggles at what he might have achieved had he lived longer – and hugely influential. Here we discuss what is behind the enduring popularity of Raphael’s works and what artists today can learn from them.

He experimented with colour Raphael’s treatment of colour changed over his career. “He had an early precocious period, a mature period and a late period all in 20 years,” explains Matthias Wivel, curator of the exhibition. “Colour is part of that. You can see it’s all the same artist but it’s astonishing, the development.”

His early work was characterised by very bright, saturated colours and even lighting: the above painting from around 1504 is one such early piece. What is both pleasing and interesting is how he employs a

repeated pattern of colour to link the line of the procession.

When Raphael moved to Florence, he started to reflect the traditions he encountered there. “His colour is more nuanced: it’s not as evenly distributed,” explains Wivel. “It’s still a broad range of colour but he blends and modulates. Then he changes again in Rome. Raphael is invested in technique and becomes interested in Chiaroscuro and deeply saturated colour with strong articulation of light and shade.” ▸

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 29

EXHIBITIONS Portrait of Pope Julius II, oil on wood, 108x80.7cm

He imbued his subjects with emotion Raphael’s sense of empathy for his subjects is clear throughout his career. He consistently conveys a person’s interior world rather than just capturing their physicality. Wivel explains emotions in painting were nothing new (“Giotto depicted emotion”) but that Raphael had learned from Leonardo to treat this sort of expression in a fresh way. “There is a new sensitivity to psychology [in Raphael’s paintings] – it’s subtler though, not as expressive as earlier,” says

Wivel. “Raphael is aware there is stuff going on that you can’t see – and that he must express that.”

In The Madonna of the Pinks – a small painting possibly made for a nun – the familiar, traditional subject matter of Virgin and Child manages to appear refreshed and new.

There’s a lack of formality, instead the humanity of both mother and child is both obvious and elevated. The painting feels natural and lifts with love and affection.

He was a master draughtsman He makes it look so easy, doesn’t he? Many critics have suggested that Raphael was an even better draughtsman than he was brilliant painter.

The lightness of touch and sense of movement speak to a talent which manages to be both raw and elegant. His paintings were carefully considered, meticulously planned and, in the later stages of his career, contributed to by apprentices. But Raphael’s drawings were always his own and boasted his aptitude for the immediacy and expressiveness that the medium calls for.

While in many cases his drawings were studies or moments of planning, they always convey emotion, movement and tension.

Raphael’s commitment to capturing emotion goes hand-in-hand with his approach to portraiture. Again, he wanted to capture the humanity in his subjects and produce a true character study, rather than just a technically perfect likeness.

One of his most famous paintings was Portrait of Pope Julius II. It was completely different from any previous portrait of a pope in that it laid Pope Julius’s emotions bare revealing both his strength and his vulnerability.

Julius had lost the papal city of Bologna to France in war in 1510 and the beard he sports here was grown as an emblem of his mourning and shame. Raphael didn’t want to erase Julius’s feelings. Instead he depicted him with head bowed and a sombre expression on his face.

3 0 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

His eyes are fixed on the floor.

The angle – neither front facing nor in profile – was not customary and there’s tension throughout his body. The use of colour – most notably greens contrasting with red – only adds to the sense of tension.

The drapery of the pope’s gown is captured in great detail, which suggests closeness.

“His portraits are extremely intimate and go the extra length in animating the sitter,” explains Wivel.

Wivel also points out that while his official commissions, such as the papal portrait, are noted for their innovation, it was Raphael’s paintings of his friends, created later in his life, which are especially compelling.

“Raphael’s friendship portraits are even more intimate – they have a lot of warmth,” he says.

Lucretia, pen and brown ink, 39.7x29.2cm

THE NATIONAL GALLERY AND THE METROPOLITAN MUSEAUM OF ART

He revolutionised portraiture

The Madonna of the Pinks, oil on yew, 27.9x22.4cm

TH E BIG INTERVIEW

An Allegory, egg tempura on poplar, 17.1x17.1cm

He was intrigued by symbolism Raphael’s use of symbolism was basic and not unusual. “There is a Christian symbolism that all artists painting Christianity will tap into,” Wivel explains, citing the lamb often used as an emblem of Christ’s sacrifice as an example. “Raphael used simple things like that but he’s not someone who does complex symbolic painting.”

However, this isn’t to say that some of the symbolism he used isn’t noteworthy. The acorns carved into the back of the papal chair in Portrait of Pope Julius II are a reference to his family name della Rovere, meaning ‘of the oak’ in Italian. In The Madonna of the Pinks the carnations are a symbol of love.

32 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

An Allegory, a diminutive square panel teeming with detail, symbolism and suggestion, shows a young soldier essentially being wooed by two women: Virtue – sensible and serious bearing sword and with a hard road behind her – and Pleasure offering flowers as her hair flows freely. It is not difficult to get a measure of the situation: the choice that the soldier has to make.

A sword stands for valour, while the flowers are synonymous with love. In the middle, splitting the composition right through the centre and just behind the solider grows a verdant bay tree – a symbol of honour.

E X HI B I T I O NS Mond Crucifiction, oil on poplar, 283.3x167.3cm

He was a careful planner The Mond Crucifixion is one of Raphael’s earliest works, an altarpiece commissioned by wool merchant and banker Domenico Gavari for his burial chapel in Città di Castello, Umbria. It gives a fascinating insight into how Raphael planned his work. Although no geometric grid – one of his favoured ways of plotting a composition – is evident, the clear symmetry and sense of careful order across the panel speak to a similar formula.

He almost certainly created thorough and meticulous drawings ahead of painting this piece – why else are there no alterations or adjustments to the work?

Compasses have been used to denote both the sun and the moon, which only adds to the sense of painstaking attention to detail and that the painting was the last step in a deeply considered plan.

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

His work never gets old Why is that? “I think it’s because he reminds us of who we could be,” says Wivel. “He provides us with an ideal of human community and relations rather than perfect reality.

He is the best at showing us how we’d like to think of ourselves.”

The Credit Suisse Exhibition: Raphael at the National Gallery is on until 31 July ▫ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 3 3

The realist K

KELVIN OKAFOR creates

DEXTER McLEAN

art that is so lifelike, viewers often mistake them for photographs. Niki Browes meets the hyper-realistic artist and finds a very dedicated drawer

3 4 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

elvin Okafor has always been obsessed by detail. As a small child, he remembers sitting outside in the family garden, mesmerised by every blade of grass and how the wind and light affected each one differently. Emotional and sensitive, he was inspired and captivated by everything in his immediate surroundings.

When he first picked up a pencil at the age of eight, he was instantly hooked. With that single core of lead, he found he could create defined tones and textures many wouldn’t be able to accomplish with a full colouring set. Even back then, he would begin a drawing by breaking it up into stages, something he still practises to this day.

“I visually dissect facial features,” says the 36-year-old. “I study them and then put them back together like pieces in a puzzle.”

Today, his private commissions can exceed £100,000 but his success won’t be going to his head anytime soon. “I think the human mind is an incredible tool but I do feel it has the potential to feed the ego,” he explains. “I’d rather live in the humble way I was brought up. There’s a lot more I can do and give.” ▸

Kate Moss, pencil on paper, 55x58cm

T HE B I G I NT E R V I E W

TH E BIG INTERVIEW

John Lennon, pencil on paper, 73x55.5cm

T HE B I G I NT E R V I E W My older sister and brother, who are twins, are also creative. We can all draw to a really good standard but they never followed it through. They both studied law but I stuck at my drawing. I was stubborn and it was a struggle because my parents also wanted me to follow an academic path, which is understandable. After all, there’s no blueprint to becoming a professional artist whilst the notion of the struggling one is much more widely recognised.

Skepta, pencil on archival paper, 62x53cm

In 2013, I got my first big break when the BBC covered me doing a masterclass at my old university. My parents saw my hairy face on TV and told me how proud they were. They saw how passionate I was whereas, before, they worried that I wouldn’t be able to sustain myself financially. But when they saw the reaction from friends, family and on social media, they were really happy. And apologetic! But I wouldn’t change any of it. I think my struggle helped shape me. I found the resistance from my family empowering. It’s not that I wanted to prove them wrong, but I did want to show them that it was something that could work.

Now my parents are my number one fans. But I haven’t drawn them yet. I think it’s because they are very, very dear to me so I would like to wait until the right time to create something really special for them.

But tomorrow isn’t promised so it is going to come very soon, I feel.

I draw a minimum of 14 hours a day. I wake up at 5.30am after four hours of sleep, which is all I need. The first thing I do is meditate. Then, I’ll work out for an hour, before sitting down at my desk. I’ll break up the day by going for a walk in the forest near where I live in South Woodford which I find really energising. There is something very divine about nature. By about 2am, my mind, body and spirit have been absolutely depleted so, by the time my head hits the pillow, I’m knocked out.

It sounds anti-social but, growing up, I would have much rather stayed in to draw than go out with my mates. I now feel like it kept me out of trouble, especially growing up in an area like Tottenham. I’ve always experienced nothing but peace and love there – it’s got a very multicultural vibe – but it could have been easy for me to lose track. It also meant I ended up building a skill. My drawings are very lifelike. People assume that I’ve used tracing paper but it’s all freehand. That’s the skill that came about because of the labour I put in. From the age of eight, I drew every day so, by the time

I was in my mid-teens, I’d mastered the technique which then transpired that I had a skill that was a bit above the norm.

Solitude is very important and I work alone all day. I’m probably a natural introvert but, after 2013, everything went viral. I was forced to become more open because I was taking part in so many talks and seminars. But, at my core, I’m probably happiest in my own company.

Mother Teresa, pencil on paper, 43x33cm

I want to paint figures like Nelson Mandela because of what they gave to society

I mean, I know I’m hairy but, when I did my own self-portrait, I got through about 35 – 40 pencils. The celebrity side of my work started after I left university.

I always wanted to draw public figures like Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa because of what they gave to society. In drawing these well-known faces, it showed how accurately I could draw. I’d love to draw David Attenborough. To be in his presence, capture him and draw him whilst he’s still alive would be a great honour.

When I’m drawing someone, I like to meet them first if possible so I can get ▸ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 37

TH E BIG INTERVIEW Timeless, pencil on paper, 43x33cm

For anybody who would like to create as I do, I hope they appreciate the process a sense of the essence of the person.

Because of the nature of my work, how time consuming it is and laborious, I then work from the photographs I’ve taken of that person at our meeting. It helps my practice.

The essence of my art is not to just reproduce, or make a replica, of a visual image but to capture an honest expression which has a narrative. On average, each drawing takes around 100 hours to complete. I spend hours and, sometimes days, intensely studying the sitter before starting a drawing of them.

I’ve just auctioned my Kate Moss piece at Bonhams which was a real thrill and 3 8 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

honour. Auctions open my work up to new collectors, which is really exciting. In the end it went for £62,750. I was pretty pleased with this, not least because 25% of the proceeds will go to a charity of Kate’s choosing called the Imperial Health charity.

It’s not just about the auction or the art; it’s also about giving back.

As an artist, I think it’s very important to create honesty. For anybody who would like to create as I do, I hope that they appreciate the process. And practise, practise, practise. But I’m not sure recommending four hours of sleep is good advice for anyone. kelvinokforart.com ▫

III (selfportrait), pencil on paper, 70x49cm

AandI444.pdf 1 05/04/2022 00:34:02

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ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 39

Walter Si SHEFFIELD MUSEUMS TRUST, LEEDS ART GALLERY

I

Self-portrait, 1869

you google the ‘50 most recognisable artists names’, the chances are Walter Sickert’s won’t be on there. What’s more, if you type his name into your web browser, you’ll instantly, and alarmingly, see him being linked to the infamous Jack the Ripper.

This is the theory of the crime novelist Patricia Cornwell – she even had one of his canvases cut up in the vain hope of finding a clue to link Sickert to the murder and mutilation of five prostitutes – but the case against him comes undone when we realise that evidence suggests he may not even have been in England when the grisly Whitechapel murders were committed. A number of letters from several family members refer to him holidaying in France for the period that corresponds with most of the crimes. So, we can debunk that myth. But who was he, really?

Despite his relatively low-key status compared with the Van Goghs and Constables of the artworld, Sickert was one of the most important, exciting and influential artists of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Born in Munich, he upped sticks and emigrated with his family to England as a child. Although his father was a painter and introduced him to prominent British and French artists, the young Sickert’s focus was on becoming an actor, perhaps after his mother and grandmother who had both been in the arts. Still, after four years of working in the ▸ F

40 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

L’Hôtel Royal, Dieppe, 1894

ckert

A R T HI S T O R Y

A new exhibition at Tate Britain will be the first time in over 30 years that a collection of 150 artworks by WALTER SICKERT will be on show.

Niki Browes gets in the queue

Brighton Pierrots, 1915

TATE GALLERY, WALKER ART GALLERY, YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART MELLON FUND

ART HISTORY

Ennui, 1914

42 A R T I S T S & I L L U S T R A T O R S

theatre, he realised it was not his true vocation. In 1881, he switched to art, briefly studying at the Slade School of Fine Art before becoming an assistant to the great painter and printmaker James McNeil Whistler in 1882.

Although no longer treading the boards, Sickert’s fascination with theatre did not wane and continued throughout his career in both his paintings and drawings. From the 1880s through to the early 1900s – and inspired by Degas’s ballet painting and pastels – he would frequent the rowdy London and Paris music halls to discover subjects to draw from life; Sickert was never without his scrapbook and sketched everything that captured his interest. His early music hall art focuses in on famous performers such as Little Dot Hetherington and Minnie Cunningham whilst, in later works, he becomes more interested in the energy of the mainly

working-class audiences as they laughed and leered at the performance of the evening. He would then take the sketches made in the venues back to one of his many studios to produce elaborate oil compositions, as you see here.

Sickert’s work was particularly significant for its connection between Britain and France. He held an enduring attraction with the Normandy resort of Dieppe and was a regular visitor for over four decades whilst he lived there on a permanent basis from 1898 to 1905.

During its heyday in the 1890s, the bathing resort was a popular holiday destination for British visitors as well as a growing circle of English artists and writers. Sickert successfully became a part of the varied social groups that had evolved in the town, switching easily between the roles of middle-class respectability and mischievous bohemian artist. ▸

A R T HI S T O R Y

Gallery of the Old Bedford, 1894-5

The Camden Town Murder, or, What Shall we do for the Rent?, 1908

Little Dot Hetherington at the Bedford Music Hall, 1988-89

AR T HISTORY The Trapeze, 1920

TATE GALLERY, THE SYNDICS OF THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

La Hollandaise, 1906

Such was the pull of France, Sickert always considered himself as a French artist. Here, he formulated his individual painting style, influenced by his acquaintance with Degas and Bonnard and his proximity to Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro. His works were seen by the French press as distinctively British in their composition and palette whilst British critics remarked disapprovingly on the French influence in his art.

One of Sickert’s most noteworthy quotes was, “The artist is he who can take something ordinary and wring out of it attar of roses.”

This was particularly true of his own work.

Sickert was an eccentric provocateur and often liked to show everyday life in its less than glamorous form, from the seedy interiors of brothels to a married couple, bored in each other’s company. But it was to be his nudes that caused the most controversy. He wanted to portray the naked female form without any signs of flattery which, at the time, was frowned upon, certainly in England. But Sickert was cavalier about the criticism.

It was after a part-time prostitute called Emily Dimmock was murdered in Camden Town in 1907 that Sickert started painting nudes that explicitly alluded to the killing.

The Camden Town Murder, or What Shall We Do to Pay the Rent? shows a man sitting next to a woman’s possibly lifeless body, her head turned limply away. Although they were admired in France, in Britain these portraits were fiercely disapproved of by the conservative British critics, some who compared them to corpses with their mouths painted as ghoulish, open black holes.

Indeed, at a début exhibition in 1911 for The Camden Town Group, a British postimpressionist band of artists formed by Sickert, The Daily Telegraph somberly wondered if his choice of subject was, “more worthy of the ‘Police News’ than a picture gallery of high rank”.

Whilst some of his art is undoubtedly gloomy, without Sickert’s ‘dirty’ realism, one could argue that there would be no Bacon, Freud or Auerbach, all who were influenced

by Sickert’s work. As for his reputation, he is now firmly embedded in art history and recognised as one of the most important artists of the 20th century, having helped shape modern British art as we know it. The combination of his power of observation, his psychologically charged narratives and progressive thinking make him as relevant today as he was in his own lifetime.

The Walter Sickert exhibition is on at Tate Britain from 28 April to 18 September ▫

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ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 45

All in the

detail

THE RHS BOTANICAL ART SHOW is the most

highly acclaimed juried botanical art show in the world.

Niki Browes meets eight of this year’s entrants

BXOTA X X XNIX XCAX XLSX L E F T Melinda Edstein, Callistemon citrinus, Bottlebrush FA R L E F T Susan Tomlinson, Gossypium hirsutum ‘Arkansas Green’

A R T I S T S & I L L U S T R A T O R S 47

F B OTA NICA L S

or a serious botanical artist, being included in the Royal Horticultural Society Art and Photography Show is a bonafide indication that you are operating at the top of your game.

After completing a rigorous application process, if your art is deemed of a high enough standard to qualify, you then have five years to produce a themed portfolio of six pieces. The exhibited pieces, from all over the world, are then judged against RHS standards and may go on to be awarded one of the show’s prestigious medals.

For this year’s event, a diverse range of subjects will be presented by participants ranging from plants that have grown on the sites of the Great East Japan Tsunami to the Rosulate Violas of the Andes.

In addition, native British trees and hedgerow plants will complement illustrations of beautiful garden flowers. “We are thrilled to be exhibiting some of the most exciting botanical art and photography at Saatchi Gallery again this year,” says Charlotte Brooks, Art Curator of the RHS. “The work submitted has been of an extremely high standard and we are excited for these artists and photographers to have the opportunity to showcase their work and delight new audiences.”

Andrew Carr Australia FIRST TIME RHS EXHIBITOR Why botanical art? A friend of mine wanted some moral support to attend local art classes at a community centre in Bunbury, Western Australia.

My friend lasted one class and never returned but I continued. This provided a great opportunity to try different media. From these classes, I realised detail was my thing.

Mediums: Watercolour because it often brings out the best in flowers. I prefer to work with a dry brush when working with this medium because I find I have better control of the application of colour.

Favourite flowers or plants to paint or draw?

Nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit, which probably comes from being a keen vegetable grower.

I particularly like the range and diversity of seed pods found in native Australian plants.

How long do they take? The triptychs that I am currently working on take anywhere between six and 12 months to complete. I have a part-time job so I fit in drawing where I can. I work with magnifiers clipped onto my glasses to try to get in as much detail as possible.

The importance of the RHS show: To be able to exhibit work, artists must first submit their work for review, so the bar is set high. I was very excited just to pass the review stage so being given the chance to exhibit is a major highlight in my artistic career.

48 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Andrew Carr, Eucalyptus conferruminata

XXXXXXXXX

Annie Chen Taiwan FIRST TIME RHS EXHIBITOR Why botanical art? I started to do botanical art in 2015 while keeping my busy business job. This was inspired by a trip to the Amazon Rainforest in early 2015. What I expected from the trip was simply a retreat. However, it was totally beyond expectations and kick started the botanical artist in me.

Mediums: I use acrylic most often and sometimes mix it with wax-coloured pencils. Compared to watercolour, the colour saturation of acrylic paint is less transparent which fits with how I like to portray the power of tropical plants.

Favourite flower or plant to draw: Tropical orchids are my favourite, especially those found in the Amazon rainforest. I am surprised by their evolution as air plants. They leave the ground and climb up the trees to gain more sunlight and a higher chance of pollination. Moreover, the plant colour is so amazing. To me, they are a creation from heaven.

How long do they take? I usually spend around one month completing a painting.

It takes me longer and longer to finish the composition stage because I have started to understand the importance of it.

The importance of the RHS show: I don’t have a tutor or mentor so the five-year journey with the show became my facilitator to set goals for me and encourage me to take challenges.

Jackie Isard UK

SAATCHI GALLERY

FIRST TIME RHS EXHIBITOR

Jackie Isard, Silene flos-cuculi

Why botanical art? It was my interest in plants through garden design that made me want to start drawing and painting again. In 2013 I joined a local botanical painting group.

By 2015 I had entered my first paintings into the SBA (Society of Botanical Art) exhibition and by 2019 I had become an SBA Fellow member Mediums: For my botanical work, watercolour seems to come naturally. I’m also keen to try out coloured pencil, explore pen and ink again, and improve my skills with vellum.

Favourite flower or plant to draw: Fading plants, autumn colours and seed heads. I also really enjoyed painting the British wildflowers I chose for my RHS theme. I’d like to try my hand at many flower species in the future which I haven’t had time to do up until now.

How long do they take? I work slowly, building up my paintings in layers and adding in the finest details. Some of them can take up to two months, others two to three weeks depending on the complexity. All my work is very detailed and I try to make it as true to life as possible.

The importance of the RHS show: It is a great privilege to be accepted to exhibit. I have worked for five years to complete this body of work; researching, sourcing, studying in the field, learning about botany and composing my paintings. Everything was a new learning curve for me as I had very little knowledge of British wildflowers when I began.

A R T I S T S & I L L U S T R A T O R S 49

Pamela Taylor UK FIRST TIME RHS EXHIBITOR Why botanical art? From the time that I was a young child I found natural history fascinating and loved the beauty and colours of flowers. I read botany at university and completed a PhD in plant ecology, which taught me much about observing plants in their natural environment. Botanical art uses these skills to create informed and beautiful images of the plants that are being depicted.

Mediums: I work mostly in ink, which I find is especially good for capturing the textures of bark and the character of trees, including the details of their twigs. From time to time, it’s refreshing to use watercolour.

Favourite flower or plant to draw: Trees, wildflowers and plants are my favourite subjects. When I draw trees, I am aware that my subject has lived for many years and I am capturing it at a particular moment in time.

How long do they take? My ink studies of trees take many hours to complete, and I work on them over an extended period. If I start to lose focus on filling in the details of the branches and foliage I will set the drawing aside for a while and then come back to it with fresh eyes to continue.

The importance of the RHS show: It’s an unparalleled opportunity for the work of botanical artists to be viewed, bringing our work into the public eye.

Melinda Edstein Australia FIRST TIME RHS EXHIBITOR Why botanical art? I had taken art in my junior years of high school, and had enjoyed it, but hadn’t pursued it since. My mother was a very keen gardener and I have inherited her interest in plants.

Botanical art combines my love of science, art, and nature.

Mediums: I started my journey learning to use watercolours, which is the more traditional medium for botanical art. However, I don’t think my personality suits the free-flowing techniques required for the medium. My teacher suggested I try coloured pencils, and I have never looked back.

Favourite flowers or plants to paint or draw? Australia is full of unique plants and flowers, many of which are threatened. For these reasons, our natives are my favourite subjects. The downside is, most of our flowers have very complex structures, making them quite a challenge to draw.

How long do they take? I am often asked this, and I don’t have a definitive answer.

I usually spend weeks on a project, sitting at my desk for hours each day. However, life does get in the way; I am often interrupted.

The importance of the RHS show: It is a great honour to have work exhibited here. To my knowledge, it is the only exhibition of its kind in the world and is the highlight of my Melinda Edstein, Corymbia fi cifolia artistic journey.

50 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Pamela Taylor, Crack willow

Susan Tomlinson USA FIRST TIME RHS EXHIBITOR

Why botanical art? I have a faculty position in the Honours College at Texas Tech University. I began teaching students how to draw plants and birds to show them how to observe and document nature. I turned to the work of botanical artists to look for the best ways to teach the practice. In doing so, I decided that botanical art was something I wanted to pursue seriously.

Mediums: I prefer watercolour on paper because it allows me to be very precise. I like to paint my subjects life-sized, and I especially enjoy the challenge of painting the very fine detail.

Favourite flowers or plants to paint or draw? I love plants that have interesting or tricky structures. I love painting the cotton bolls because there is this Susan Thomlinson, Gossypium hirsutum delightful push/pull between the softness of the lint and the prickliness of their bracts.

How long do they take? One way is to say that the act of painting a single work takes, on average, about 50 to 100 hours. But that leaves out a lot of work that happens before I sit down to paint, including visiting research greenhouses and querying scientists and so on.

The importance of the RHS show: The show gives you a chance to celebrate that effort with a group of like-minded people. This show is the best of the best of these, and it is an honour to be a part of it.

B OTA NI CA LS

Margaret Fitzpatrick UK RHS SILVER MEDAL 2003

Margaret Fitzpatrick, Aesculus hippocastanum

Why botanical art? In 2005 I visited an inspirational exhibition, A New Flowering: 1,000 Years of Botanical Art, at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. This, combined with my love of plants, gardening and the natural world, led me to botanical painting.

Mediums: My botanical work is primarily in watercolour and graphite on vellum and paper.

I am currently exploring the renaissance technique of drawing in metal point.

I have produced several botanical drawings using a combination of silver, gold and copper points and at present I’m working on a series of ancient olive trees in metal point on traditional grounds.

Favourite flower or plant to draw: My garden and the surrounding Oxfordshire countryside provides a lot of inspiration as do my travels in Greece. The pomegranate flower and fruit is one of my favourite subjects to draw.

How long do they take? My paintings take varying amounts of time depending on the complexity of subject matter. It can be anything from a few hours to 50 or 60 for more complex compositions.

The importance of the RHS show: It’s important as it provides an opportunity for artists and photographers to use their skills to highlight the beauty and details of plants and the natural world to the wider public.

Catherine Day UK RHS SILVER - G ILT MEDAL 2008

Catherine Day, Lilium hansonii

Why botanical art? I am drawn to botanical art because of the detail, complexity and variety of form and colour of plants. I like illustrating scientific descriptions of plants and exploring microscopic details. I enjoy working from life and I like to grow my subjects to paint in my sheltered garden.

Mediums: I work mainly in watercolour, which is the traditional medium for botanical illustration. I also work in silverpoint and graphite. Although silverpoint does not reproduce well, it gives a beautiful range of silvery-grey tones that suit botanical subjects.

Favourite flower or plant to draw: I enjoy working from life and I like to grow my subjects to paint in my sheltered garden. Working from something I have grown myself gives me a deep feeling of satisfaction.

How long do they take: Painting my lily exhibit took a long time and it depended on the flowering season as to how much time I had to work on each painting since I work from life.

All the paintings in my RHS exhibit took at least two months to complete and I was only able to complete one or two a year as they all flower between June and August.

The importance of the RHS show: It has given me a focus for a project over a number of years, which has been valuable, certainly whilst the pandemic has been with us.

The RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show starts on 29 April. rhs.org.uk ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 51

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I N-DE PT H

Life drawing IN PASTEL PENCIL

In his third instalment of life drawing with pastels, JAKE SPICER delves into creating with one of his favourite mediums in the genre: pastel pencil

I

n this third instalment of our five-part series I’ll be sharing my advice for making life drawings in pastel pencil, a medium that I’ve recently fallen in love with.

Less waxy than a hard pastel, pastel pencil cores have a chalky texture and are stronger and less likely to crumble than soft pastel. Encased in the cedar tube of the pencil they are cleaner to use than their stick counter parts, with their length affording greater extension and variety of linear marks.

Compared to wax- and oil-based coloured pencils, pastel pencils are tricky to sharpen but blend together well. They can be used in combination with hard or soft pastels to introduce greater precision and are ideal for establishing

underdrawings that can be subsumed into later layers.

Be careful to test your intended combination of pastel media first to ensure that they layer happily, as not all pastel pencils will draw consistently over dense pigment.

In a life drawing, pastel pencils make a colourful alternative to charcoal pencil and can help you to exert greater control over the direction of your marks, clarifying shapes that a stick-pastel might only be able to roughly imply. They can help you to pin down edges, describe nuanced textures and be used to introduce hatching and cross-contours to your figures – it is these methods of markmaking that we’re going to explore in this article. jakespicerart.co.uk ▸ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 5 3

SUPPORTS, FIXATIVES & SHARPENERS Pastel pencils make opaque marks that cover black and midtone papers well. While soft pastels benefit from a heavier tooth of paper to hold the crumbly medium, pastel pencil adheres well to smoother paper. You might find that coarsely textured pastel papers obliterate your finely sharpened tip and interrupt the continuity of a line so it’s important to experiment until you find a support that you like. While the risk of smudging pastel pencil is mitigated by fixing, aerosol fixatives can sometimes dull the colours of your drawing. If you plan to use a professional pastel fixative, trial it on a sacrificial drawing first and give the can a test spray away from the drawing to make sure the nozzle is dispersing evenly. Alternatively you can leave your drawings unfixed and protect them from smudging with a mount or taped hinge of clean paper.

Pastel pencils are often too hard to be easily sharpened with a knife, but their brittle cores can also snap in pencils sharpeners. Use a sharpener that sharpens the pencil at a shallower angle and change your blades. The shorter, stubbier point will better support the fragile tip to give you a more reliable drawing experience.

Advice for working in pastel pencil 1 MANAGE YOUR EDGES

When you’re drawing from the figure it is helpful to train your eye to recognise how hard or soft an edge appears in the body. In this drawing, the outline of the figure presents a hard edge – a sharp and immediate change between the colours of the skin in shadow and negative space behind the model.

By contrast the shadows in the chest are soft edged, with the pastel pencil smoothly blended into a gradient of dark to light.

Short pastel-point, left.

Long wax pencil-point, right.

Hard edge

I N-DE PT H 2 HATCHING

Soft edge

The precise point of the pastel pencil lends itself to linear markmaking in a way that other pastels do not.

Experiment with making marks in a single direction to build up hatched colour, using contour lines to hold the figure drawing together.

While vibrant colours will lose saturation when blended, they retain their chromatic intensity when they are built up in parallel and allowed to mix optically – a technique regularly employed in the pastel figure studies of Edgar Degas.

Hatching

3 CROSS - CONTOUR

As well as considering the colour of the skin’s surface and the light that casts shadows over that integument, it is important to give attention to the physicality of the surface itself. Try making hatched pastel pencil marks that follow the cross contours of the model’s skin, following the direction of the surface as your eye travels over it.▸

Cross-contours ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 5 5

Hair textures

4 TEXTURE

The precise dash of a pastel pencil lends itself to making marks that emulate the repeated tapering flick of hair. Notice the particular curling or flowing character of the individual hairs that make up the mass you are drawing and make marks to emulate that quality in the direction that the hair is growing. Consider how you can use pastel pencil to develop a distinct vocabulary of hatching, cross contour and textural marks to describe the variety of colours, tones and surfaces in your model’s body.

56 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

I N-DE PT H

Exercise CROSS CONTOUR STUDY

Contours are the physical edges and horizon lines of the body, whereas cross contours bridge the spaces between them, describing the topography of skin. To become more sensitive to the surfaces of the body, use pastel pencil to make short studies that explore the cross contours of the figure.

These exercises could be applied to short poses of 2-10 minutes or extended to form the foundation of a more sustained study.

▹ Stage 1: Internal creases The aim of this exercise is to help you become more sensitive to the surfaces within the body – the drawing will inevitably fall out of proportion. Avoiding outlines entirely, start by focusing on the internal creases of the figure – look for the dark occlusion shadows where one surface presses against another and place them on the page as best you can judge.

▹ Stage 2: Thinking around Using the internal creases as indicators of the directions of observed surfaces, make marks that loop around the figure. You are not drawing a line that you see, you are putting a line on the page which responds to the cross contour that you perceive in the subject. Imagine that you are drawing over the body in felt tip – which way would that drawn-on line curve? Notice when surfaces change direction in a bent knee or elbow.

Notice when a surface is concave or convex and intuit what direction your mark should curve in.

Stage 3: Thinking along ▹ If time allows, build on your previous marks by drawing cross-contours in the opposite direction of your previous marks. These marks should track along the body rather than around it to create a rough lattice over the surface of the figure – continue to avoid outlines. ▫

NEXT MONTH Life Drawing in Conté Crayon

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 57

IMPROVE YOUR LANDSCAPE PAINTING Part one of five

In the first of a five-part series on landscape painting, ANN WITHERIDGE

focuses in on drawing and mass with just one tone, whilst using sketches by the old masters as inspiration ANN' S MATERIALS Sketchbook

Pencils I like working with 4b or 6b, but a range is good.

If you want you can also work with toned paper, sanguine and chalk.

Kneaded eraser

5 8 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Sketching I

n this series of articles, we will look at the best way to get warmed up for the landscape season, starting to do exercises to prepare and inspire ourselves for long summer days of painting. I am very drawn to landscape painting and love being in the fresh air with nature. On a walk, we travel through nature and perhaps spot some animals. The beauty of landscape painting is that you become part of nature, the birds sit with you, the trees sway next to you and keep you sheltered; you see nature changing as the day progresses.

There is something so poetic in the process, but the poetry is made easier if supported by some simple exercises. In this series, I will break down the steps of landscape painting from composition and values to colour harmonies and studies before creating a larger landscape painting. The smaller steps will make the final process much more enjoyable and achievable. ▸

en plein air

SERIES

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

Rembrandt, Cottage near the Entrance to a Wood, pen and ink, 29.9x45.5cm

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 59

SERIES DRAWING THE LANDSCAPE

I like to do a few drawings in my sketch book. In doing this you are taking away the dialogue of colour and the complication of oil paints. We are simplifying the subject matter to shapes and value patterns. It still involves a whole myriad of choices, but the range of choices has been reduced.

Théodore Rousseau, Two Women Talking in a Doorway, graphite, 16.5x21.6cm

Make sure your trees aren’t too central or too low

Paintings are based on a foundation of drawing and values; if we think of Rembrandt or Van Dyck’s landscape drawings, we can see all the choices they have made in terms of composition. They were done for pleasure, for learning, for understanding the environment around them and not for commission. Treat your sketchbook in the same way. Use it for your artistic journey to help teach you about what works in a composition I love Rembrandt’s drawings; he doesn’t have a formula, some of them – like the one on the previous page – are done with ink washes. Some are simple line drawings and others involve lots of hatching; there are so many possibilities to drawing.

CHOOSING A COMPOSITION

FOCAL POINT

There are some simple tricks to avoid in a composition. We can only have one focus, so you do not want your subject of interest to occur both at the left and right of the page. Rousseau has worked from the focal point and left most of the drawing unsaid.

Avoid tangents; these are where two contours converge or align; you don’t want the height of the trees to be the same height of the building.

Also be careful not to have a large dialogue near the edge of the page; for instance, a tree does not want to touch the edge of the page. Instead, make it go confidently off the page or keep it comfortably within the page.

Anything can work but you have to be drawn to it. You need to know what your focal point is so that you look at the subject and let your eye lead out from there. It doesn’t have to be a huge topic or a complicated subject matter. A hilltop town in Tuscany, a fishing port in southern France are of course wonderful but trees, pathways and unknown streets are lovely too. When you have chosen your focal point, think also of the placement of the horizon line.

Avoid tangents

Think about the horizon line; make sure it’s not too low

Be confident with your trees

Don’t make your walls too diagonal

With a mountain, a path or street, flatten it out as it comes near the edge of the page. If the direction of the line continues for too long, our eye is taken out of the direction of the composition.

60 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

Anton Mauve, Landscape With Women Working in a Field, charcoal, 15x9.3cm

VALUE STUDIES

Can you reduce your value pattern to light and dark, with a couple of accents?

Rousseau has reduced the value steps. He has used graphite for the dark, the tone of the paper as the mid-tone and then heightened with chalk. Its simplification is so sophisticated.

MARK MAKING

Initially, I find it easier to lay all my marks down vertically. It is then an artistic choice if I decide to use my pencil in a different direction to describe the form. Likewise keep your mark making consistent in weight. Then, it is a choice when you make a heavier mark to guide the viewer.

In these old master drawings, which incredibly span four centuries, we can see their commonality and also the huge variety in mark making.

OFTEN AND SMALL

We can always carry a sketchbook and pencil with us. If you see it as a private endeavor, then you won’t be intimidated. Never let time be your constraint, choose your medium according to the time you have. This drawing by Samuel Shelly is fresh and simple. The construction is so loose and then he has unified it with washes.

Samuel Shelley, Landscape, pen and ink, watercolor, 6.7 10.8cm

Théodore Rousseau, Landscape, graphite, 13.3x21 cm

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

The sky is the light source, so this will be your top value. The second light – the mid-tone light – is all that faces up to the sky; the foreground, the grass and paths. The dark will be the trees, or buildings as they are on a side plane to the light source. We have the tops of the building or sides which are catching the lights, and we have cast shadows from the trees and buildings which create patterns on the foreground.

ACCENTS

We can add accents of light with our eraser or chalk, and accents of dark to draw our attention into the subject matter. Be selective with your accents so our eye knows where to settle.

The more fluent you become with drawing and translating the complicated landscape to a few value patterns, the easier the painting process will become.

I hope these examples of old master drawings and my simple exercises will encourage you to take up your sketchbook and venture into the landscape.

Ann Witheridge teaches landscape painting at London Fine Art Studios. londonfineartstudios.com ▫

NEXT MONTH

Using oil paints and slowly adding colour harmonies

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 61

MASTERCL ASS

Knives out MARK' S MATERIALS

Bird and Davis Medium Fine Acrylic Primed Claessens Linen 112

Professional artist

MARK FENNELL RBSA

shows you how he painted a portrait using predominantly palette knives and oils

62 A R T I S T S & I L L U S T R A T O R S

A

bout eight years ago I was inspired to have a go at portrait painting with palette knives after seeing some very impressive work by Welsh artist Kyffin Williams. I draw and paint myself often – sometimes from life, sometimes from photos – so I decided to experiment on my own likeness. It’s an obvious way to brush up on your skills. I’m a readily accessible life model and therefore have total freedom of expression to explore knife painting techniques without the fear of upsetting anyone but myself. It’s also cheap and you always have access to a patient model.

The self-portrait opposite was done after I had been practising for a while. Once I’d got my confidence up, I started to use this method on other people’s portraits.

Paul, who plays trombone in the Stroud Red band which regularly marches through the town centre playing revolutionary and socialist tunes, sat for me while I was running a portrait painting workshop at Pegasus Art in Stroud. I then arranged to meet him again for another sitting at his home. You can see how I did it overleaf.

For his portrait, I made a stretched canvas with an acrylic primed fine linen. I feel the springiness of a stretched canvas is more forgiving when I work with palette knives but sometimes I also enjoy working on Gesso-primed MDF. Firstly, I tone the canvas with an acrylic ground of Burnt Sienna, Titanium White and a touch of French Ultramarine to give a mid-warm flesh tone on which to work the light and dark tones against. markfennell.co.uk ▸

Palette knives RGM Nos. 5, 41, 42, 44, 80, 81, 82, Winsor and Newton Nos. 29, 25 Brushes Rosemary classic short flat brights, sizes 4, 8, 10, 12 Winsor and Newton Artist Oil Colours Titanium White, Naples Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, Alizarine Crimson, Burnt Sienna, Ivory Black, French Ultramarine Support Jackson’s Shellsol low-odour thinners Jackson’s refined linseed oil

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 6 3

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SKETC H IT OUT I start by sketching out the head with a short flat hog brush in Burnt Sienna with a touch of Ivory Black. Next, I establish the structure of the head through measuring the proportions and placement of the subject. I do this by holding a paint brush at arm’s length to get consistent measurements.

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BLOC K IN NEX T I block in with a brush establishing the light and shade.

I start out with a brush as it’s difficult to apply paint onto dry canvas with palette knives. Now that I have a good coverage of paint on the canvas, I can effectively push paint around the canvas with painting knives.

3

KNIFE WORK I use an RGM No.5 trowel shaped knife and lay the paint down in broad strokes working fat over lean, using thinners and linseed oil to help the paint flow.

I still use a brush in and around the eyes as I need to get more wet paint on the canvas before I can get to work with the knives. I add the irises and the whites of the eyes with the brush.

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ADD MORE PAINT Now I start applying more pure paint straight from the tube with square ended knives as these give me that choppy chiseled effect that I like, much like painting with short flat hog brushes. However, before I apply the paint to canvas, I hover over the painting with the knife to check if it’s the right shape for the mark I want to make. Then I apply the paint with one clean stroke. If it doesn’t go down as I expected, I scrape it back and start again. Next, I add in the shirt, then the beard and hair with a mix of trowel and square ended knives. Then it’s time to put in the highlights on the forehead and cheekbones. The eyebrows and wrinkles around the eyes are broadly added, then I apply paint with a round ended knife over the irises.

The nose needs more definition so I darken the tip and around the nostril before I put in some highlights.

5

TIME FOR DETAIL I continue moving around the painting, pulling it together as a whole, thinking of it as if sculpting with clay. I put in the lines of the forehead with the edge of a long thin blade held at roughly a 45-degree angle and generally refine the forehead using a combination of trowel and square shaped knives. I start to detail the eyes, paying attention to the colour variations around the socket areas and adding the cool blue grey tones. Then I work up the eyes putting in the pupils and the lighter tones into the irises, then, finally, the highlights with the tip of a small knife.

6 6

REFINE AND TIDY UP I can see that the forehead needs more refinement, so I drag some lighter skin tone over the dark lines running from the top of the nose into the forehead and also over some lines across the forehead as well as the wrinkles around the eyes. I also refine the eyebrows with a few lighter strokes of hair. I then tidy up a little around the lips and work up the beard a little more, although looking at it now, I wish I had left it as it was! I also refine the ear before I drag a few strands of hair across it. ▸ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 65

MASTERCL ASS

7

FINISHING TOUC HE S At this stage I stand back and review the painting, looking at it in a mirror to see it afresh. I can see that I need to soften and blend the transitions of flesh tones. I do this by gently dragging colour over and into the underlying colour.

I can see the wrinkles around the eyes are too harsh, so I refine them and soften the transition of the hairline to the temple as well as adding a little touch of beard hair back in under the right side of the lip.

66 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

I darken the left side of the head at the point from where the hair starts and then I further accentuate/emphasise the highlights on that side of the head, the left cheekbone and nose.

I notice the right side of the forehead needed a softer transition to the hair so I loose the edge by dragging a little skin tone from the forehead into the hair.

And, last of all, I add a tiny highlight at the base of each iris, being very careful not to make them too light.▫

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TECHNIQUE

T E CHNI QUE

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SURFACE A bright white 18’x24140lb Artists’ Watercolour Paper (pad or sheet) PAINTS Winsor & Newton Artists watercolour pans: Burnt Umber, Naples Yellow, Naples Yellow Deep, Yellow Ochre, Cerulean (Red shade), Indian Red, Burnt Sienna, Cerulean Blue, Antwerp Blue, Cobalt Blue, Manganese Blue, French Ultramarine, Winsor Violet, Paynes Grey, Potter’s Pink, Neutral Tint, Perylene Maroon, Indigo, Davey’s Grey, Mars Black, Ivory Black Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache: Permanent White Winsor & Newton Studio Collection Coloured Pencils Set of 48 BRUSHES Pro-Arte Brushes Series 007, various sizes including 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 and a 1” Flat SUPPORT Winsor & Newton Colourless Masking Fluid Old brush

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ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 69

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T

he first point of focus on any painting or portrait is always the eyes.

You need to connect with the painting and it needs to connect with you. Sometimes the image is more reflective and conveys a mood but if you are looking to identify with your subject, then the eyes tell a story. They can be happy, sad, mischievous, funny, angry or simply beautiful.

I have been tasked with painting a portrait of a Husky. After several rejected images, I selected this stunning photo where the eyes are a real focus. To make the image a little more contemporary, I removed the background, kept the palette cool and made sure nothing took the attention away from those big blue eyes. matthewjeanes.co.uk

MATTHEW ' S MATERIALS

STARTING OUT I lightly sketched out the dog with a soft 2B pencil. I used a putty rubber to lightly remove some of the pencil lead before painting, as soft lead can discolour a delicate wash. Don’t press too hard or you may damage the surface of the paper. As this is a black and white dog, I then painted some of the highlights – the eyes and fur markings – in with the Colourless Masking Fluid. I then used a size 5 brush to wash over the background in a light tint of French Ultramarine.

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2

GROUNDING Once the first washes were dry, I started to add some of the colour.

Having previously added blues and greys, I looked to warm up the image by adding a creamy wash of Naples Yellow. This works really well on lighter fur, along with some Scarlet Lake and Indigo. When dry, I then added another layer of masking fluid, this time to the blanket the dog is sitting on.

Rugs, blankets and baskets can add an interesting texture to ground your portrait without over complicating the image.

3

TEX TURE S Looking at texture for the dog and the blanket can be fun. Using masking fluid with an old bristle brush, a rubber colour shaper or even an old toothbrush can add cool effects to the fur and surface of accessories. It’s also great to see what you have when the masking fluid is removed at the end. You can always over paint if you are not happy with any detail.

6

UN MASK Once your painting is thoroughly dry, you can remove all of the dry masking fluid. Be careful as layers of rubber can tear the surface if removed too fast. You will be faced with rather a lot of harsh shapes and edges, so now is the time to refine your painting. Add light washes to the areas you need to knock back. When you are happy and the paint is dry, move onto the background.

Lightly mask around the edge of the dog to create the shape of fur. If you leave him on a stark white backdrop, it will look like he is floating. However, if you add some subtle washes here and there, it will ground the animal on the paper, create some dimension and highlight the white fur. Add some clean water and bleed in a strong colour, then remove some of the paint with a ripped tissue.

WET - ON WET The next step is to start work on the dog’s markings and the all-important eyes.

I added in a little Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine and Antwerp Blue. When this dried, I added a little masking fluid to keep the lightness, leaving the darker portion of the eye left to paint. Using a controlled wet-on-wet technique, I then added in a little colour and delicately bled a darker tone into it, in this case an Indigo and Payne’s Grey. If you feel the bleed is too much, have the tip of a ripped tissue to hand and the tip will suck up any residue of colour you don’t want.

4

BOLDER COLOURS The more times you repeat the previous stages, the more refined your image becomes. I deliberately tried to keep the washes loose so continued to use a larger brush. It’s best to let every step dry thoroughly to avoid colours bleeding into each other. This will also give me some lovely, hard watercolour lines that define the medium so well. With the washes in place, I then started to add the bolder colours.

5

7

REFINE When I was happy that the paint work was finished, I refined the rougher edges of the painting – masking fluid can leave some hard edges and even over painting them later can’t hide them.

Adding a sparing touch of coloured pencil can get rid of these and darker colours can lift detail on the features of the animal, especially the eyes. Highlights left can appear crude so they can be blended and a little white or cloud blue can add a shine to a nose or add some hair, fur and whiskers where needed.

HIGHLIGHTS Finally, I added some painted highlights and fur where needed with a Permanent White Gouache to add extra sparkle where the sun is hitting the animal or where a shine on the nose is needed. If you need to add some extra detail in the fur, you can also add a little watercolour to the gouache to create an opaque tint, perfect for those final touches. One good tip is to stop painting just before you feel you’ve finished. Leave it for a day or so and return to it and add any finishing touches. This will stop you from over working your painting at the end. ▫

8

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 7 1

TECHNIQU E

City sketching A correspondent for the London chapter of the Urban Sketchers community, LIS WATKINS shows us how she painted a chic block of flats in London’s Chelsea

‘S

experienced artist: all are welcome. After ee the world one sketch at we have finished drawing, there is usually a time.’ This is the mantra of the a chance to go to a café or pub to share worldwide Urban Sketchers (USk) sketchbooks, talk art materials and get community, originally started in an online to know each other a little better which forum by Seattle-based artist and illustrator is wonderful.

Gabi Campanario. The London USk chapter The American poet Mary Oliver said, “To formed in 2012 with six members – James pay attention, this is our endless and proper Hobbs, Katherine Tyrrell, Zhenia Vasiliev, work.” As an Urban Sketcher, I feel this sums Adebanji Alade, Barry Jackson and Olha up what I am doing when I am out drawing Pryymak – and this year celebrates its on location. Regardless of 10th anniversary. Since its if where I am feels quite beginning, the London ordinary, I notice so much chapter’s popularity has LIS' S about the people and places grown and, at the meet MATERIALS around me. up in February this year, Hahnemühle A4 The sketch in the stepthere were over 60 people watercolour Book by-step photographs was sketching throughout the 100% Cotton drawn at the February day. We share our love for London USk meet up. The the places where we live Travel watercolour tin location was Sloane Square and travel – one drawing with mainly Winsor & in well-heeled Chelsea and at a time.

Newton colours the weather obliged to After starting a drawing plus a few Daniel Smith make it a lovely day for blog a decade ago, I was so additions sitting outside and drawing excited to discover the Water brush in sketchbooks. I moved community and find that Tissue away from the main square there were other people in Rotring ‘Tikky’pen 0.3 and wandered around the different parts of the world nearby streets before who liked sitting on street Pentel brush pen settling on this view of one corners, drawing their Uniball white gel pen of the very grand red brick urban surroundings and Derwent Paint pen mansion blocks. A low recording everyday life in windowsill on a building their sketchbooks. It took being renovated seemed going to several events a handy spot to draw from, before I started to so I perched there to make recognise faces and chat this sketch. to others in the group. It liswatkins.com Instagram doesn’t matter if you are @lineandwash ▸ a complete beginner or an

7 2 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 7 3

1

SKETC H IT OUT I started with some very quick pencil lines, spending no more than five minutes laying out the composition and making sure that the image would fit on the page. The Hahnemühle A4 watercolour 100% Cotton sketchbook I used has thick, smooth watercolour paper and can take quite a lot of layering without getting too buckled.

HINT AT THE SURROUNDING ARE AS I was focusing on one particular building but wanted to indicate something of the surrounding street. I added simple lines with the water brush to indicate the roof tops and used the fineliner pen to add some pattern from the many balconies which served as a way to link in with the main building.

5

74 A R T I S T S & I L L U S T R A T O R S

2

ADD THE LIGHT COLOUR Next, it was straight in with the first layer of colour.

A mixture of Indian Yellow with Opera Rose to paint in the first light areas of colour. There’s a little Winsor Red and Indian Red too. I tend to work in three stages, starting with light colours and tones, before moving on to mediums and finishing with dark areas and smaller details.

ADD ELEMENTS OF WHITE Now it was time to take a look at the overall image and see if I had missed out any important details. Sometimes I will take a photo on my phone as this can help view the sketch in a different way. Turning the sketchbook upside down is another way to check how things are going. I often use a white gel pen to work on top of the watercolour at this stage, too.

6

T E CHNI QUE

3

TIME FOR THE SECOND L AY ER It was a bright but cold day; I can recommend fingerless gloves when taking part in such an activity when it’s chilly outside. The time of year meant that, when I made the sketch, there were lots of strong shadows. I combined Cobalt Blue with Mauve, mixing that in with the original wash to add a second layer to the sketch. I find this adds more dimension to the surface of the building.

DR AW IN THE DETAIL I realised that I needed to add more of the street scene, so I used my fineliner pen to add details to the roof, parked cars, balconies and railings. It is always nice to include all the street ‘furniture’ in an urban sketch. Quick figures add a sense of scale, too.

4

THE FINISHED RE SULT Here’s the final sketch photographed against the scene that I had been drawing. I think in total I have spent about an hour working on it. Some bits work well, others are not as successful, but I’ve enjoyed sitting here, drawing and watching the world go by.

8

WRITE ON THE DATE AND LOC ATION I have found that adding the date and location is a small but important step when I work in my sketchbook. Although looking back I can often remember how I felt when I made the sketch, it is amazing how quickly you can forget when it was made. It is also a good way to see how my drawing ability develops.

7

For the latest information about the next London Urban Sketchers Sketchcrawl, go to: urbansketchers-london.blogspot.com Instagram @urbansketcherslondon. ▫ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 75

S T E P-BY-S T E P

pınk

Pretty in

HAIDEE - JO SUMMERS shows you how to paint this luscious

pink cherry blossom against the vibrant blue sky in oil

I

painted this on a beautiful sunny day, when the sky looked a deep, dark and delicious blue against the vibrant pink blossom. I decided to compose the painting focussing on a smaller section of the tree to really make a powerful statement about those cheerful rounded pink blooms against the deep blue sky. I wanted to make them large and to almost fill the canvas with them.

To start with I used a canvas panel which had HAIDEE' S already been oil MATERIALS primed with a mid-value warm Surface grey tint. I decided 28x33cm (11x13in) muslin that the darker panel, prepared with a parts of blossom warm grey tone would be darker Colours than my primer An extended primary colour, the sunlit palette with the addition parts would be of Kings Blue Deep, lighter in value Magenta, Permanent Rose, and some of the Transparent Red Oxide pinks in-between and Raw Umber would be a Brushes medium value, A range of filberts and flats matching my in sizes from 6mm (¼in) primer value. to 20mm (¾in) plus a few It was useful to small round sables remember this plan as I worked.

1

Blossom on a tree is one of the most enticing subjects in spring but it can be very difficult to know where to start. The abundance of delicate petals, branches and unfurling leaves can be a dizzying prospect to paint. The secret, again, is to take a broad view of the shapes and masses, ignoring the small details completely. I began using a very saturated mid-value pink – just Magenta and Alizarin Crimson – to make a loose drawing to place the main groups of blossom.

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 7 7

STEP -BY-STEP

2

3

4

5

I mixed a couple of darker pinks for the shadow areas and started massing those in. I had to half-close my eyes to get an idea of what that overall dark value mass looked like. I began to vary these pinks, making them cooler or warmer in places to avoid a flat effect.

I used a small round brush and a warm reddish dark to put in twiggy branches connecting the clumps of flowers. Next, I began to paint the deep blue sky around the shapes of the flowering branches. To keep the colour clean when painting sky around other shapes, I first paint the clear dry areas away from any other colour, and when that is all done, I start to paint the edges where the sky colour meets the pinks.

78 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

I next moved to the light value pinks: the parts receiving direct sunlight. Although you generally need plenty of white to make a light value colour, be careful you don’t end up with something chalky and bleached of colour. It’s favourable sometimes to add more colour even if the value becomes a shade darker. In this case I still wanted a saturated pink even in the lightest parts of the blossom so plenty of colour (Permanent Rose and Magenta) was mixed in with the white.

To finish, I added some medium value pinks on some of the blossoms, to serve as a bridge between the light and shadow colours and make them look more rounded in shape. Finally, I picked out a few sunlit branches using a very light value greenish-brown.

This is an edited extract from Plein Air Painting with Oils by Haidee-Jo Summers, £15.99, searchpress.com ▫

You tell us Louise Holmes Thank you so much for your feature on Yorkshire, showing the north is far from being a cultural backwater, with wonderful galleries and thriving and supportive artistic communities here in God’s Own Country. Current highlights for me are the superb Eileen Agar Retrospective in Leeds until May, with Beyond Bloomsbury at York Art Gallery until June. The Ferens in Hull and the Mercer in Harrogate are also always well worth a visit.

I work in paint, printmaking and photography but have just started going to tutored life classes at The Drawing Room in Leeds Library.

I’m loving it, proving it’s never too late to try something new in art.

So Jake Spicer’s features are perfectly timed!

We are in such difficult times, but the last couple of issues have been packed full of glorious colour and real inspiration, confirming how powerful art can be and how creativity can give us muchneeded focus. Particularly moving in the May issue was the opening Solidarity editorial, featuring beautiful work by Ukrainian artists.

M E S S AG E O F T H E M O N T H Claire Ratcliffe Late one summer evening, I came indoors, switched the lights on and saw the flowers in silhouette. A quick impression was called for so I chose acrylics – which is not particularly my favourite medium – for speediness. Eight months later, after much picking up and putting down again, here it is. The experience has proved to me the usefulness of acrylics as a medium, if nothing else!

Lena James For many years I have learnt so much from the interesting and helpful guidance from your articles. In the February issue, Lydia Cecil’s advice when painting ‘Alla Prima’ has helped me prepare for my forthcoming exercise at my next art club lesson. The masterclass with Terence Clarke teaches us how to

paint what might seem a simple subject and turn it into an exciting painting. I then studied the educational ‘Drawing in Detail’

by Laura Smith on how to paint eyes. Not only does this explain how to draw/paint eyes, but it taught me how to see and understand more when viewing a portrait. This and so much more, in just one issue.

ME S S A G E S

Write to us!

Send your letter or email to the addresses below: Post: Your Letters, Artists & Illustrators, The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd., Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ Email: info@artists andillustrators.co.uk

The writer of our “Message of the month” will receive a £50 gift voucher to spend with Atlantis Art, the UK’s largest art materials store. www.atlantisart.co.uk

Nadja Mak Here is my newest commission I did for the sister of a friend. I was immediately drawn to the picture with the girls skipping away in such a carefree manner. We decided to change up the setting and placed them in a meadow-like background and let them run free.

I let the butterflies from the dresses fly off and join them in their future adventures.

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Picture this

ELDARIN YEONG

In the Middle of Pink is the Burning Silence, mixed media, 80x100cm

In every issue, we ask an artist to tell us about a piece of work that holds particular significance for them.

To kick of the new series, we speak to abstract artist ZI LING To mark the 20th anniversary of Princess Margaret’s death I was asked to reinterpret the iconic photograph taken by Ken Griffiths, where the royal holds a cushion embroidered with the words ‘It’s not easy being a Princess’. The request meant such a lot, as it enabled me to connect with the princess from a different perspective and re-write the narrative of the photograph.

Life can be difficult, but it can also be incredibly glorious and sweet, and Princess Margaret is an inspiration as she always tried to follow 82 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS

her heart no matter how hard it was to do so. I wanted to magnify the oppositions, such as hate and love, and limitation and freedom, that swung in and out of her life – and what many of us experience too.

I built the piece up layer by layer, using photos, watercolours, acrylic spray and paints, pastel, ink, and collage. Sometimes mistakes led me in new, unexpected directions but, as it came together, it was all about following my instinct. l-ing.co.uk ▫

DECISIONS FROM AFAR

“Sardinian girl with a typical earring”, 31x40 cm, Charcoal and white chalk on hand toned Arches paper

NEW NITRAM BÂTON 2.0 “Since I started my academic training I have been using Nitram charcoals as suggested by my teachers. I believe Nitram products are the best tools for investigating and controlling the quality of the lines, values and the transitions.

The new Nitram Baton 2.0 is a great tool for starting a new project because it's not only a charcoal holder but allows me to step back from my work and make decisions from afar!

The model in my drawing is Mara – a girl from Sardegna (Italy). She showed me her earrings which are typical in Sardinia. I decided to draw her with them on because I really wanted to capture the essence and the connection with her roots.” ~ Marco Fariello Nitram Bâton 2.0 is designed to hold Nitram Mignonette & the new 4 mm graphite sticks.

Watch as Marco Fariello creates this drawing using the Nitram Bâton 2.0. To see this fantastic video go to: www.youtube.com/NitramCharcoal or scan the QR code

Marco Fariello is a Neapolitan painter and draftman particulary focused on classical and academic art. He studied in many academies in Italy and is currently finishing his last year at the Florence Academy of Art. His passion for realism and beauty leads him to pursue these qualities in his works of art. www.marco-fariello.com | www.instagram.com/marcofariello_artist | www.facebook.com/marcofariello27

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