Landscapes Painting demonstrations | Expert advice | Tips & techniques
Outdoor Painting Create vibrant landscapes in the open air
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Artists & I L L U S T R A T O R S
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Contents
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5 The great outdoors Top materials for plein air painting 6 Forward thinking Grahame Booth on tackling foregrounds
t ia l Your essen t ki pl ein a i r
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10 A new angle Learn to paint an abstract landscape 12 Your questions Adebanji Alade’s guide to plein air 16 Life drawing How to draw figures within a scene 18 Streetwise Paint a busy crowd with just one brush 22 In the studio Meet urban sketcher Lynne Chapman 24 Travel sketching Create a visual diary 26 Put it into perspective Painting Cornwall with Ray Balkwill
10 PLEIN AIR The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd. Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place London SW3 3TQ Telephone: (020) 7349 3700 www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk
EDITORIAL Editor Katie McCabe Art Editor Alicia Fernandes Digital Editor Natalie Milner
WITH THANKS TO Grahame Booth, Hashim Akib, Adebanji Alade and Kevin Scully
ADVERTISING Advertisement Manager Jack Shannon
MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING
Managing Director Paul Dobson Deputy Managing Director Steve Ross Finance Director Vicki Gavin Publisher Steve Pill Circulation Executive Drew Brown Digital Media Manager James Dobson Brand Manager Chatty Dobson Printed in England by William Gibbons Production All Points Media
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Full speed ahead LEFT Gerard Byrne’s view of Hammersmith Bridge won second prize at Pintar Rapido 2016 BELOW A Pintar Rapido participant in action
Roger Beckett, founder of London’s biggest speed-painting competition Pintar Rapido, is on a mission to bring plein air art to the masses
Where did you get the idea for Pintar Rapido? In 2012 I was staying in a small village in Catalonia called Horta De Sant Joan. Horta’s claim to fame is that Picasso painted several early Cubist paintings in the village, of which Fábrica de Horta de Ebro is probably the most famous. As I walked through the village one morning on my way to buy bread, I saw artists with easels painting away on the streets. I was enthralled; I had never seen an artist at work before. They painted all day and their work was hung that evening in the town hall for the mayor and his judging committee to select winners. The whole village turned out to see the day’s work and celebrate their home. The experience inspired me to do two things: to pick up a pencil and brush and start sketching and painting for myself, the second was to come back to London and launch Pintar Rapido. What makes a great plein air painter? As an amateur I would sugggest practice, practice and more practice. What are you looking for in a winning plein air painting? I never judge [the works]; I leave that to the experts. But as a buyer of paintings I look for a picture that captures the spirit of the location, rather than just the look.
How do the artists choose their ‘scene’? I think it really depends on the artists but I know being near a coffee shop and a loo is helpful! How do you think attitudes to plein air painting have changed in the UK over recent years? Sadly I think plein air has become rather unfashionable with the art establishment but the public love to see something they recognise and that reminds them of a day, place or location. I’ve noticed that the biggest buyers at Pintar Rapido are Americans, living in London, who want to have something to take back to the states one day; a little bit of London. What tips would you give to someone attempting a Pintar Rapido competition for the first time? Take the plunge and challenge yourself. It may seem hard to create a picture that you are happy with in just one day but it is worth it. Pintar Rapido will be travelling to Amsterdam 3-4 September 2016. www.pintarrapido.com
MAKING HER MARK Our editor was recently joined by artists Haidee-Jo Summers and Patrick Cullen for the very difficult task of judging Pintar Rapido London 2016. After much debate, the first prize in the professional artists’ category was awarded to Kim Whitby for her panoramic ink-on-paper view of Wellington Square in Chelsea. The work captured subtle details with a challenging medium, revealing the artist’s technical skill and ambition. 4 Artists
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Pack your bags
M A S T ER C L A S S
Capture the spirit of the great outdoors with our plein air picks for the travelling artist. WORDS: Terri Eaton. PHOTOS: Louise Hagger
SHARE YOUR PLEIN AIR WORKS ON TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM AT @AANDIMAGAZINE
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SUE CAMPION SUMMER LANDSCAPE SOFT PASTEL SET The RBA member artist has joined forces with Unison Colour to capture the hues of the season. £29.95, www.twenty-twenty.co.uk / PEN`ART TREE EASEL Transform any post or fence into an easel. £20.15, www.greatart.co.uk / DALER-ROWNEY GEORGIAN OIL PAD Splash your paint on this sturdy, double-primed paper without fear of buckling. £7.75, www.saa.co.uk / MATTHEW PALMER WATERCOLOUR COLLECTION Portray natural greens and subtle shadows perfectly with these fresh pigments. £15.99, www.saa.co.uk / VIEW CATCHER Keep your composition, tones and palette on the right path with this pocket-sized gizmo. £14.99, www.artcoe.com / DERWENT LINE AND WASH SKETCHING SET Create experimental splashes of graphite on the go. £20.75, www.pencils.co.uk / ARTISTS’ CARRY CASE Store all your essentials in a practical yet portable case with not one but two zip compartments. £19.99, www.saa.co.uk / FABER-CASTELL CLIC & GO This collapsible water cup is easy to transport and a doddle to clean. £2.50, www.faber-castell.co.uk
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H OW T O PA I N T
Foregrounds Grahame Booth reveals the dos and don’ts for painting the nearest parts of a landscape 6 Artists
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M A S T ER C L A S S
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lthough it may appear to be somewhat contradictory, an unimportant foreground is often very important. A simple foreground allows the eye to travel unimpeded to the main focal area of a painting. Painters sometimes have difficulties with foregrounds, often when they have tried to make them too interesting. It is important then to become aware of the difference between an interesting foreground and an interestingly painted foreground. You can still make your brushstrokes interesting in terms of their colour and tone without overcomplicating them by creating too much detail. Sometimes simple is best. Here are some dos and don’ts that might help you achieve this.
DO allocate between one quarter and one third of the height of your painting to foreground. This will give a suitable proportion of ‘breathing space’ before your eye arrives at the main focus. Failing to leave this space can result in a seemingly cluttered composition. DON’T fall into the trap of painting something just because it is there. Leaving something out can be just as valid as putting it in. Have a mental tidy up of the foreground before you begin painting. DO use leading lines to direct the eye. These may be quite obvious lines, such as joints between paving stones, or more gentle suggestions, such as vague shadows or lines of grass. I try to imagine the foreground being tiled and then think how the lines of perspective would look. I then try to subtly emulate these imaginary lines. Don’t be afraid to rearrange the
OPPOSITE PAGE Bittles Bar, Belfast, watercolour on Bockingford NOT 200gsm paper, 36x49cm, “The foreground was initially painted very softly. Zigzagging brushstrokes and paving stone lines were then added to lead the eye towards the figures.” ABOVE Malcesine, Lake Garda, watercolour on Bockingford NOT 200gsm paper, 36x49cm, “The foreground fills about 25% of the height of this picture. A strong shadow touched the bottom edge and linked to the shadows elsewhere.”
direction of paving stones to suit your subject or even to introduce some if you are faced with featureless concrete or tarmac. Even if there is nothing actually there, it is generally best to paint something. DON’T place strong, isolated shapes in the foreground. Linking smaller shapes to make larger shapes is almost always a good thing to do and it is even better if you can link the foreground shapes to the focal area shapes. If isolated shapes must go in, avoid the extreme bottom edge and corners. Strong shapes in the corners lead the eye in that direction and out of the frame. Instead try to arrange them so that they point to the focal area. DO take plenty of photos. If you like to paint from photographs, remember that your camera will not record much of the immediate foreground. In this
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ADVICE
digital age, it costs nothing to point the camera down a little and take a second shot. In my paintings, my foreground often begins just in front of my feet.
they will be less likely to distract the eye from the chosen area of focus. Tufts of grass can become very fussy if not controlled. I find that dabbing the wet tufts here and there with a finger makes them much less obvious.
DON’T use too many brushstrokes in the foreground. A few large strokes are much more effective than a lot of smaller ones. DO darken the tonal strength of washes towards the bottom of the picture. Darker edges, particularly at the bottom, help to contain and emphasise the light in your painting. A shadow along the bottom edge is a common but very effective device to add a frame to a foreground. Make sure the shadow appears to continue out of the lower edge. DON’T include too many hard edges in the foreground. Keep the edges of your foreground washes soft and 8 Artists
ABOVE Cotignac, Provence, watercolour on Bockingford NOT 200gsm paper, “Allowing the trees to softly blend together and fade out towards the bottom corners of the picture keeps the eye focused on the buildings.”
DO keep the foreground washes warm. Raising the colour temperature can make an area appear to come forward. Using Raw Sienna or Burnt Sienna is a good choice, though some artists prefer Indian Yellow or even Naples Yellow, (be careful with the Naples Yellow as it contains white and can be opaque in strong washes). The reverse of this method is true too – a cooler wash can have the effect of pushing a background further away. Cobalt Blue would be my choice here; use it strong enough to see the effect, but not so strong as to turn everything bright blue. www.grahamebooth.com
& Illustrators
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ART IN THE ALGARVE Watercolour • Oil painting • Oil & Acrylic • Specialist courses
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H OW T O PA I N T
Subtle Abstracts
Keen to start creating less realistic images? Kevin Scully shows you how to take a first step towards a more painterly finish
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here comes a time in an artist’s life when the fear of repetition and the desire to take one’s work in a slightly different direction becomes of paramount importance. And so I am forever striving to move away from a relatively literal style into that area of painting that sits somewhere just across the border from reality. Having no interest in purely abstract art, I strive to create a painting that is slightly enigmatic and leaves the viewer to fill in some of the more vague passages. The challenge, then, is to supply just enough information in a painting that allows for personal interpretation. There are some images that are immediately suitable for such a composition, and From There to Here, my painting of Chesil Beach in Dorset, is one such image. The distant horizon is linked in dramatic fashion to the foreground by the strip of isolated beach. It became evident after a few preliminary, simple sketches that placing the horizon high up in the composition would create a suitably dramatic image. I worked on 3mm MDF (a good alternative to the rather mechanical surface of canvas painting boards), priming it first with two coats of acrylic gesso and a thin wash of acrylic paint – a fairly neutral mixture of Burnt Umber with a touch of Ultramarine and Payne’s Grey. The local colours were blocked in with fairly dilute paint and I avoided blending them together. Grading the sky from dark blue at the top to a lighter blue at the horizon heightened the
ABSTRACTING REALITY
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Try painting en plein air in watercolour or gouache and using your sketches as a basis for oil paintings at a later stage. Working away from the subject allows you to better create your own interpretation of the scene.
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sense of aerial perspective, and similarly the sea was painted with a darker blue in the foreground. In the under-painting, the areas of land on the horizon and to the right of the image were suggested with simple strokes of complementary colours. At this stage, I veered away from the actual colours and replaced them with others of a higher key. Reality can be distorted by introducing patches of the same colour into unconnected areas of the painting. A small patch of red was detected in the distance, and this colour was introduced in random areas. To a certain degree, where these colours are placed is an intuitive process and occasionally they have to be removed because they either add nothing to the overall image or they just look wrong. Happy accidents occur, however, and these are left in place. As the painting began to take shape, patches of colour were blurred together with a swipe of a finger or extended either vertically or horizontally with the edge of a fingernail. I find it rather difficult to deviate from a literal depiction when I’m painting in front of the subject and it seems a lot easier to achieve the desired result when I’m detached from it. As such, I will often begin a painting in situ and then complete it in the studio. The crucial stage in the process is to know when to stop; it’s all too easy to keep adding detail, but this should be avoided. Kevin’s latest book, Painting Still Life in Gouache, is published by Crowood Press, RRP £16.99. www.kevinscully.co.uk
OPPOSITE PAGE From There to Here, oil on board, 25x41cm
KEVIN’S FIVE TIPS FOR LESS LITERAL PAINTINGS
Look back at your old paintings and pick one out that could be taken a stage further. Paint another version of it, but this time use a different colour scheme or leave out and obscure some of the detail.
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Look at magazines for inspiration. I sometimes come across a totally unrelated image that contains colours I wouldn’t maybe think of putting together. I also try turning images upside-down and using the arrangement of shapes to suggest unusual landscape or interior compositions.
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If a painting has drifted too far into realism, wipe out certain areas with a rag or piece of kitchen paper. This can often reveal an exciting, ghostly underpainting that can be left as it is, or worked into with more colour.
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A bad photo with distortion, lens flare or a lack of focus can often suggest surprising effects or colours. Take this a stage further by printing out when your printer is running out of ink in one or more of the colour cartridges. The distorted colours can provide new avenues to explore.
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“REALITY CAN BE DISTORTED BY INTRODUCING PATCHES OF COLOUR INTO UNCONNECTED AREAS OF A PAINTING”
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YO U R Q U E S T I O N S
Plein air painting Award-winning landscape artist Adebanji Alade answers all your outdoor painting queries
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YO U R Q U E S T I O N S
What brushes should I take with me? I take a lot, but I only end up using two because I don’t have time to keep changing brushes when I’m responding to what I see. It’s great to take a variety, but you can’t go wrong with a round, pointed sable brush for the details – either a size 2 or 4 – and a long, flat mongoose brush for the rest. Should I pre-mix my colours before heading outdoors? For me, mixing takes place on the spot rather than beforehand because I don’t know what I’ll need until I get there. I have a set of 12 colours that I always squeeze out onto the same place on my palette, which means I can paint more instinctively. When it comes to painting trees, I’ll use a lot of Yellow Ochre and Viridian Green, and I always like a cool Cobalt Blue too. I tend to use these three colours the most. The light keeps changing. Should I change what I paint throughout the day? Trying to capture a fleeting moment of light requires you to work quickly. Often I’ll just want to record a place and its environment without worrying whether the light changes or not. It makes it easier to adjust your picture and you’re under less pressure, which means you can enjoy the whole experience much more.
What materials would you recommend? A pochade box is essential. It can support your board or canvas, and it holds all your paints, brushes and mediums in one place without being too heavy so it makes life easier. The only thing you may wish to do is connect it to a tripod to support it while you work.
Should I take photographs while I paint? I personally have never been against the use of technology. Tesco says, “Every little helps,” and if Monet lived in the time we live today, he would likely make the best use of digital photography. Why not if it simplifies the process? However, the great thing about observing things from life is that we don’t see what the camera sees. We focus on only one thing at a time and the rest of it is blurred, which is good for artists. The camera focuses on everything and artists who take photos tend to want to paint every little thing they see. That’s stressful. We should choose what we want the centre of interest to be and then the rest of it can play its part to complement the composition. ABOVE Cabot Square, oil on board, 25x20cm TOP RIGHT Summer Light, Westfield Park, oil on board, 25x20cm ABOVE RIGHT Summer Light, Chelsea, World’s End, oil on board, 25x20cm
I find painting outdoors overwhelming. What can I do to make it more manageable? Try to focus on one aspect of the scene you are painting. Sometimes it’s just a beautiful scene with lovely shadows that make it interesting. Most of the time, what really makes a picture work is the abstract design of the picture. If you look at it with a blurred eye view, or if you squint, the balancing of light and dark shapes shouldn’t be equal. There must be some inequality so you have a nice bright spot and the rest will be dark, or a nice dark spot and the rest will be light. One area will shout, the other will whisper. I’m always looking for the overall design. The success of a
painting is often not about what the components are but how the components work together as a whole. What are the ideal weather conditions for plein air painting? If you’re looking for drama, the best times to paint are early mornings or late evenings. I’m not always looking for that drama so I would say the best time is a nice grey day, so you can practice. Once you have built up your confidence on painting a grey day, you can add the drama – but don’t jump straight into it. You’ve got to have some good drawing and painting skills to pull that off, which comes with practice. >
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YO U R Q U E S T I O N S
Do you have any tips for painting clouds? Don’t feel as though you have to paint exactly what you see. At the end of the day, people aren’t going to look at your painting and say, “That cloud didn’t look like that!” However, if you can do without a cloud then do without it – they can distract the viewer from enjoying the rest of the painting. What’s the best way to paint water in river scenes and coastal landscapes? Try to simplify the motion of the water and bear in mind the manner of your brushstrokes because they matter a lot. Always paint with the flow of the water and take time to look at how the colours and tones come together. When I’m painting water, I spend three or four minutes watching the water and observing its movements. Painting water is only ever easy when it’s calm and perfectly reflective. Otherwise, you have to squint to see the shapes that the water is making. How do you deal with spectators when you’re painting outdoors? I’m an extrovert and so I love hearing what others have to say. I’d be worried that there’s something wrong with my painting if people didn’t come to talk to me! If you’d rather be left alone, you could always paint with your back to a wall so that passers-by can’t glance at your work. Or try painting in the countryside where only birds and animals will disturb you. However, my real advice would be to try and embrace people’s interest in your work. If you can make others feel the way that you feel when you’re painting, then that is the best way to get people interested in what you’re making and perhaps even buying your artwork. I was painting a stairway in Bath and a man stopped to say he never knew a flight of steps could look beautiful. It’s always lovely to get that kind of feedback. How do you turn your smaller plein air paintings into larger studio works? Unlike some artists, I seldom take smaller plein air paintings and blow them up in the studio. I prefer to work on a larger scale outdoors but I do so over two or three sittings, returning to the same location at the same time of day. How do you transport your wet artworks? Abbeys Easels in Wiltshire make these great ‘Wet Board 14 Artists
Carriers’ – wooden boxes with dividers that you can slot MDF boards into without them touching each other. However, if I’m working on canvas, I’ll take two canvases of the same size out with me on the day – one that I intend to paint on and one that I don’t. Once I’ve finished my painting, I’ll place small pieces of cork around the edge then lay the blank canvas on top of it so the surface still has space to breathe and carry them under one arm. I just take my gear in a wheel-along suitcase, which works for me, as I don’t have a car. Adebanji’s work will be on show at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition, 30 November to 11 December 2016 at Mall Galleries, London SW1. www.adebanjialade.co.uk
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Fresh Morning Light, Newtown, Wales, oil on board, 25x20cm; Winter Light, Royal Hospital Road, oil on canvas, 45x35cm; Pall Mall, oil on board, 25x20cm
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La Sablonnerie First established in 1948, La Sablonnerie retains the characteristics of an old farmhouse built some 400 years ago and is situated on the lovely island of Sark in the Channel Islands La Sablonnerie is a hotel of rare quality situated in the southern part of Sark, and is owned and managed by Elizabeth Perrée. Guests return-year-after-year to recapture the beauty of the island and to enjoy the excellent cuisine, and the cosy and friendly atmosphere that the hotel radiates.. Of course being so close to the sea, freshly caught fish and famous Sark lobsters are popular specialities. La Sablonnerie has been featured by the ‘Which?’ hotel guide as ‘The place to stay in the Channel Islands’, and also received
Little Sark - Ideal Honeymoon Destination
the highly coveted award from Condé Nast Johansen - ‘Small Hotel of the Year’. Needless to say, you have to visit us to find out exactly what everyone is talking about. Nestled in gorgeous gardens, a haven for lovers of peace and tranquillity; how could one not enjoy this amazing paradise, even if you just arrive for one of our glorious cream teas or a Lobster Salad in the garden. Sark offers exceptional star-gazing due to its lack of light pollution and La Sablonnerie is the ideal place to enjoy it..
The hotel has been extended and discreetly modernised to provide 22 rooms, each individual in style and décor, including a delightful Honeymoon Suite. We provide immaculate comfort, excellent food and service, and courteous staff.
reservations@sablonneriesark.com
This delightful hotel and tea garden on the beautiful island of Sark promises you a truly magical stay. The hotel is a restored 16th-century farmhouse and has 22 individually-designed rooms and suites full of rustic charm, plus cosy public rooms and beautiful gardens. La Sablonnerie is noted throughout the Channel Islands for its excellent cuisine. Enjoy a delicious gourmet lunch or superb Sark cream tea – or dine romantically candlelight. La Sablonnerie is like Sark itself – small, friendly and utterly enchanting. Come and find out for yourself. 2 OCEANby VIEW For further details and reservations call Elizabeth Perrée on (01481) 832061 or Fax (01481) 832408 www.sablonneriesark.com Don’t leave the Channel Islands without visiting Sark and Little Sark. ‘It will be an experience that will live with you forever’.
H OW T O D R AW
Figures in a scene Adding people to a landscape or cityscape can bring complexity and depth to you r overall composition, says artist Hazel Lale
W
ARMS
hether the central theme or a secondary idea, figures can add complexity and depth to a composition. It is always a good idea to practise your figures before adding them to a scene and plan out carefully where to include them. Keep it simple. For a more suggestive painting, treat figures as silhouettes with no obvious facial features and unresolved feet. Draw what you see, not what you think you can see. Consider the whole composition and what it requires.
Arms should be drawn from the shoulder, with the elbows to the waist and the hands resting on the middle of the thigh. Take care to avoid the arms becoming totally unrelated to the standing figure – they should be treated as an integral part of the body that only becomes animated as the figure starts to move. Hands are extensions of the arm – try to only draw what you see, not what is imagined.
HEAD The head is perhaps the most important part of the human body as it can be used as a unit of measurement for the rest of the figure. In the average standing figure, there are between seven and eight head lengths. This unit of measurement can be used to map out other parts of the body – for example, the widest part of the shoulders of a forward-facing figure is approximately three heads wide.
NECK AND SHOULDERS There is a good reason why we have triangular coat hangers in our wardrobes – the shape mirrors our shoulder line. For more accurate figures, always remember to draw the neck as a triangle. The first point of the triangle should sit approximately on the centre of the chin, the second and third points on the bony parts of each shoulder.
LEGS Small figures can be used to animate a scene or give depth to it, and legs are a great way to indicate movement. Remember that legs move independently of each other and one foot should not necessarily always be directly in front of the other. Also, remember to draw space between the legs to create stability and avoid simplifying them to a carrot shape. Half close your www.hazellale.co.uk
Top tip
eyes. Only then will you know what to draw and what to leave out
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25/07/2016 14:10
SKYROS Adventure
Creativity
‘One of the world’s best holidays’
A BRUSH with the BROADSTM Plein Air Painting Festival 22-26 September 2016
Joy
Demonstrators and Masterclass’ with Mo Teeuw -IEA Haidee-Jo Summers - AROI Vicki Norman Louise Bougourd Lee Nixon Jennifer Sendall
THE SUNDAY TIMES
SKYROS ISLAND, GREECE SUMMER 2016 PROGRAMME OF ART COURSES A Photographer’s Eye Mosaics Landscape Adventure Plein Air Painting Outside Watercolour A Visual Language Drawing & Painting Painting & Sketching Watercolour Painting Art from the Heart
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Broads Skies Gallery Ludham Bridge Norfolk NR29 5NX
MASTERCL ASS
Street scene with
one brush
Acr ylics master Hashim Akib shows how you can create a vibrant crowd scene with just a single brush
• SUPPORT
M
ark making reflects the character and expression of the creative journey an artist has taken in producing his or her work. Some artists prefer a more photorealistic finish, while others like to create a rougher, more painterly approach. The level of expression really depends on your personal tastes. There are many ways that artists can create these spontaneous applications, from sponges and palette knives to credit cards and clingfilm. Personally, I prefer the humble
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YOU WILL NEED
brush. The twists and turns that one can create by varying the pressure and angle of a brush always seems a touch more personal. For this demonstration, I have painted a scene from the Rialto Bridge in Venice using a single, 1.5” flat brush. The Impressionists were the first to use flat brushes; the chiselled edges providing an array of distinctive strokes. I wanted to show you the range of marks achievable from just one brush, be that drags, dabs or refined edges. www.hashimakib.com
Primed cotton canvas, 50x70cm • ACRYLIC
Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Burnt Sienna, Coeruleum Blue, Cobalt Blue, Pale Olive Green, Process Cyan, Deep Violet, Process Magenta, Phthalo Green and Titanium White, all Daler-Rowney System 3 Heavy Body Acrylics • A 1.5” FLAT BRUSH • PALETTE KNIFE
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MASTERCL ASS
Top tip
Hold your brush in different ways – comfort comes with practice
1 GET TO GRIPS Brush handling is hugely important. Many beginners hold the brush for dear life and the resulting grip produces firmer marks. The best way to create interesting marks is variety and the comfort zone of consistency is the enemy here. Varying the pressure, the angle and even the point along the handle at which you hold the brush will all help to create diversity.
2 CREATE A BASE
3 VARY YOUR MARKS
I applied a dilute mix of Coeruleum Blue, Phthalo Green and Titanium White for the base colour, before drawing my subject in Cadmium Orange. I loaded a damp brush with Cobalt Blue, Coeruleum Blue, Deep Violet, Process Magenta and a touch of Titanium White. Allowing them to mix slightly, I created a couple of angled strokes to indicate the torso of the man on the left.
At the beginning of a painting, try to adopt a greater sensitivity towards creating either interesting shifts in colour or brushwork across the image. Coherency can be established at the latter stages with more defined drawing. Straddling between the chaos of mark making and the logic of drawing is tricky but with practice it becomes second nature. >
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6 PICK OUT THE BLUES I picked out turquoise shades on the figures using a mix of Phthalo Green, Coeruleum Blue and Titanium White, adding touches of Burnt Sienna, Deep Violet and the other blues for variety. I used a combination of Deep Violet, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Coeruleum Blue and both greens to paint the top third of the bridge and also picked out a few areas of similar colour in the foreground. 20 Artists
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4 BE DISCIPLINED
5 INCREASE THE TEMPERATURE
I added subtle mixes of Phthalo Green, Burnt Sienna, Deep Violet and a dab of Process Cyan to pick out the darker, cooler areas on the other figures. The awkward nature of trying to paint smaller areas with a single, larger flat brush is a discipline that should be embraced. Doing so will improve your deftness and encourage you to utilise the full potential of the brush.
I tried to echo certain warmer colours throughout the painting. The clothes and building were painted in thick dabs of Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Process Magenta and a touch of Deep Violet. The flesh tints used these same colours with a touch more Titanium White and Yellow Ochre, while the shaded areas included more Deep Violet, Burnt Sienna and Pale Olive Green.
7 USE DIFFERENT STROKES Introducing the strong highlights of the sky created real impact here. As it was a large area, I enjoyed criss-crossing the strokes, starting with Titanium White, Lemon Yellow and a smudge of Process Magenta on the left-hand side, which shifted across the canvas as I added a variety of blues and a touch of Phthalo Green. Painting in a single layer also maintains the sense of energy and freshness.
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MASTERCL ASS
Top tip
Use a palette knife to skim ‘corrupted’ colours off your palette
9 CUT AND CONTROL As the figures form the focal point of the painting, they require the most controlled strokes. A fair bit of care and attention was devoted to carving out potent highlights with Titanium White, Cadmium Yellow and Lemon Yellow. All my drawing experience came into play here as marks were made with the brush either twisted at an angle or pointed on one corner.
8 SIMPLIFY DETAILS By limiting excessive detail, I was able to provide a platform for the mark making to take centre stage. For example, highlighting certain steps on the bridge that caught the light was enough to imply the overall effect. I used the very edge of the brush with Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and other cool tints to create a line that was still varied but lacked the fussiness of a mark made by a smaller round head brush.
10 TURN UP THE CONTRAST Once the highlights were added, I softened some of the flesh tints with subtle, warmer shades and created a few variations on darker tones with a clean brush and cooler hues including Process Cyan, Phthalo Green, Yellow Ochre, Deep Violet, Olive, Coeruleum Blue and Cobalt Blue. I also adjusted the drawing in places and increased the contrast by adding final highlights. These were mostly Titanium White with just a dab of Lemon Yellow, applied to the figures and also small areas of the sky and bridge.
11 FINISHING TOUCHES As artists we tend to view our paintings up close, so finish by stepping back to assess your progress. To some extent, you need to trust that the marks and colours will take up the slack from the lack of more refined brushwork. The hope is that you will engage your viewers more by allowing their imagination to fill in the details and marvel instead at the abstract nature of the various slashes and drags of paint.
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OPENING OUT Lynne’s series of concertina sketchbooks allow her drawings to tell an ‘unfolding story’
IN THE STUDIO
LYNNE CHAPMAN The children’s book illustrator and urban sketcher invites us into her Shef field attic studio. Words and photos: Steve Pill
How long have you been in this studio? About 10 years. I’m a Londoner and I moved to Sheffield in 1990. I thought moving would be a huge culture shock – I didn’t want to come particularly, but the quality of life is great here: the people are nice, the money goes further and there’s countryside. Did you find the transition tricky? Yes, because when I moved up I was an editorial illustrator and the work dwindled. I needed to meet 22 Artists
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people so I did a bit of teaching at the local art college and that’s when I decided to do the children’s books. I spent a year developing a portfolio of work and my first book was published in 1999. Did you make any changes to the studio? It’s been decorated and we put in the plan chests – the drawers are all different sizes. We put in the extra windows, the daylight bulbs and this island in the middle too. It was a case of fine-tuning the space really. Your picture books are all in pastel, whereas your sketchbooks use a variety of different media. How did that strand of your work develop? I’ve always kept a sketchbook. I studied textile design but I got a job as an illustrator when people saw my sketchbooks. When I moved into children’s books, I started getting invited to do workshops, which meant travelling about a lot. I thought I should be drawing on the train because I was surrounded by free life models.
THE PERFECT GUIDE After illustrating more than 30 children’s books, Lynne has published her first practical art title. Sketching People is a guide to drawing figures and faces on the go.
How did you become involved with the Urban Sketchers community? I started posting the train drawings online and Gabi [Urban Sketchers founder Gabriel Campanario] was
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M A S T ER C L A S S
I WANTED THE BOOK TO EMPOWER MORE PEOPLE TO DRAW AND BE COURAGEOUS
GOT IT IN THE BAG! Lynne has refined her urban sketching kit to fit in a small black bag (above). Her favourite tools include Derwent Inktense pencils and a Sailor fountain pen.
looking for people to be correspondents globally. I looked at the way the other correspondents were drawing everything and celebrating the every day, and I suddenly realised I was missing a trick. What’s the appeal of drawing a person on a train? I’m interested in capturing a moment in time, so it’s not just about drawing you, it’s about drawing you today rather than yesterday and here rather than there. How do you get away with drawing a stranger? There are techniques for disguising it. For instance, I’d pick somebody who wasn’t just sitting looking around. I often try and get a seat with a table too, so I can put the sketchbook below it. What do you do if somebody sees you drawing them? Usually if you smile, they smile back and the tension is released. For most people, being drawn is a once in a lifetime thing and they take a photo on their phone. What’s the philosophy behind your new book, Sketching People?
I wanted the book to empower more people to draw and encourage them to be courageous. I want to encourage people to use watercolour as well. If you get a book on watercolour, there is all this prep and it sounds terrifying so I didn’t use it for years, but then I saw these sketchers who were just chucking it at the paper and I thought that was so exciting. Has your urban sketching changed your own studio practice in any way? No, I think its purpose is mainly keeping my skills at a high level. When I’m drawing the picture books, I’m drawing from my imagination so building up visual memories is really useful. One of the dangers is not looking – for example, people tend to draw kids wearing clothes that they wore when they were a kid, not the sort of clothing that is out there now. Urban sketching gives you an awareness of what people wear and how they move. It gives you a whole library of things in your head. Lynne’s book, Sketching People, is published by Search Press, £12.99. www.lynnechapman.co.uk
ROUGH DRAFTS Lynne illustrating her latest children’s book. Her pencil drawings will be sent to the publisher for approval before work begins on the final pastel paintings.
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PA I N T I N G D I A RY
Travel sketching Follow art tutor Craig Penny’s vibrant visual diar y of a Cambodian painting tour through the tow n of Siem Reap Magnificent temples, impressive vistas and colourful local markets are all at arm’s length when painting and sketching in and around Siem Reap, Cambodia. The backdrop is the famous Angkor Temples and the lost city of Angkor Thom from the ancient Khmer Empire. At the start of our journey, the students and I settle for a meal, and it’s obvious everyone is eager to begin the adventure.
MATERIALS A good backpack Thin plywood board A small watercolour palette with a lid PAINT
Winsor & Newton watercolour travel set Permanent ink felt pens Gouache paint BRUSHES 24 Artists
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Two mop brushes 1/2” and 1/4” flat brush Liner brush and Dagger brush PAPER Six sheets of A2 300gsm pen and wash paper Six sheets of Arches A2 300gsm watercolour paper A3 pad of pen and wash paper 300gsm
Craig’s Diary DAY ONE The first leg of our artistic journey begins with an orientation tour of Siem Reap. We stop at the Old Market in the centre of town, an area filled with throngs of people, motorbikes, Tuk Tuks and tourists. With an A2 sheet of paper, I sit at a café and begin drawing quickly with a 2B pencil. I then apply permanent black pen to line my drawing, and try to create a continuous line of movement. Using a blend of washes, I work from light to dark, carefully building up the sketch. I simplify complicated objects in the scene such as motorbikes and Tuk Tuks, and resist the temptation to include everything in the sketch, leaving pencil and black line work visible on the page. In the final sketch (pictured above), I freely use opaque yellow, white and skin tone colour to exaggerate the simple figures and highlights. The liner brush is used to create the wheels of the motorbikes.
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T R AV E L S K E TC H I N G
DAY TWO
DAY THREE
We begin with a trip by Tuk Tuk to the Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm temples. In my backpack, I take only my A3 pad and the travel watercolour set. I work as quickly as I can, spending no more than 30 minutes on each individual sketch.
On our ‘masterclass day’ the students and I work in a class environment at our accommodation. I present two photos of market scenes. The challenge, using watercolour only, is to reinterpret the scenes and to depict only the essential items in the photos.
DAY FOUR
DAY FIVE
After an early start, we are off to the ancient city of Angkor Thom. Here we find an enormous array of temples and parklands; you can also feed the elephants!
On our free day, I head back to the Old Market in the middle of town and start sketching in the nearest café. Again, I draw on an A2 sheet and try to capture the energy and movement going on around me.
DAY SIX
DAY SEVEN
Travelling by Tuk Tuk, we visit the village of Roluos. Here, I try something different: two quick sketches. Using an A2 sheet of watercolour paper, I sketch in pencil and outline over the top of the pencil with a dagger brush using heavy sepia paint from a tube instead of black pen, creating many shapes. With strong watercolour paint, I simply fill in the shapes while the outline is still wet. I use some splatter work and gouache to help create a bit of movement.
For our last masterclass, I supply photographic prints of Kompong Phluk, a ‘village on stilts’, but find the houses challenging to sketch. Many elements need to be considered, such as colour, shape, depth and reflections. On an A2 sheet, I first sketch in pencil and then outline in sepia. I use lots of blended washes and opaque blue paint. For details of Painting Holidays’ upcoming trips with Craig Penny visit www.paintingholidays.com.au or www.craigpennyart.com.au
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P L EI N A I R P ER S P EC T I V ES
Plein air PERSPECTIVES No two painters see a scene in the same way, so developing a personal response to a landscape is vital. Tutor Ray Balkwill shows us how, as he critiques two dif ferent approaches to a single Cornwall river view
F
or nearly 11 years now I’ve been running painting holidays from the Mullion Cove Hotel on Cornwall’s Lizard Peninsula, which has a wonderful variety of subjects for an artist. Working en plein air is not easy, but I believe it is the one main essential in capturing the essence of a place. On day one of a course, I always get my students to sketch locally around the hotel, gathering ideas and information. I feel this not only helps to ‘get their eye in’ but also helps them absorb the new scenery. I suggest they begin by recording the scene in black and white, which helps the students see tonal values and enables them to sort out the composition more easily.
26 Artists
On the second day of this course, my students and I travelled a few miles to paint the shimmering estuarine mudflats and wooded creeks of the Helford River at Gweek. Over the next four pages, I will show you how they tackled the challenge of painting different elements of the landscape, before talking you through my own approach. Painting is a personal thing, and no two painters see the scene the same way. Each will have their own instinctive response to a landscape, the way the scene makes them feel and the media and techniques they employ to capture it. There are no rules or formulas to follow; after all, the initial experience, emotion and weather are never going to be the same. Each new landscape
presents its own problems and no matter how many times I go back to a location, there are always going to be fresh challenges to face – even for the professional! My teaching philosophy is to encourage students to find their own voice and cultivate their own personal style, rather than following mine too closely. I also tell them not to put pressure on themselves trying to produce a masterpiece, but instead concentrate on experimenting and learning new techniques that can be developed at home. There is always something new to learn from both the tutor and the other members of the group. If you go with a relaxed frame of mind and enjoy the company of others I feel sure you will have a productive painting experience.
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M A S T ER C L A S S
THE STUDENTS’ VIEWS Ray Balkwill critique s the work of two artists on his Cornwall course
VIC ROMER This Monmouthshire artist has attended Ray’s courses before. A fleeting glimpse of sunlight on the boats inspired Vic here – the conditions never returned so he attempted to paint the effect from memory. “I wanted the reflections to play an important role so I simplified the cluttered background and left out several other boats,” he said. Ray’s feedback: “I was concerned at first because boats are never as interesting seen from the side as they are from the bow or stern. However, I think the painting worked well because Vic used his viewfinder to crop the bigger scene. He did well to edit the view and also keep the watercolour washes fresh. Using his imagination here helped create a painting full of character.”
Top tip
Use a viewfinder or frame to help you identify a potential image within a busy scene
ANN MINA Despite being an accomplished Irish watercolourist who loves painting on location, Ann found the scene at Gweek challenging – not least as she struggled to link two distinct halves of the composition. “I added a couple of masts and darkened the foreground on the left-hand side to try and improve it,” she explains. “Simplifying the mass of boats behind the main subject was difficult too.” Ray’s feedback: “I agreed that Ann’s painting lacked a little cohesion and would have benefitted from more contrast in the boats and boatyard. She did a great job of suggesting the creek side, and I get the distinct feeling that this is where her main interest lay. “The painting can be easily resolved with a few washes though. A light wash of blue over the background hills would also help with the recession – cooler colours suggest distance. The time allowed for the changes should be minimal, however, otherwise the painting could easily get overworked.” >
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PLEIN AIR PERSPECTIVES
THE TUTOR’S VIEW Now discover how Ray painted his ow n version of the scene When working en plein air keeping equipment simple and portable is essential. Being organised is equally important too, so I make sure everything is easily to hand. I use a Herring Versatile Easel, which is extremely light and has the advantage of being able to be folded flat in a suitcase. I also like to take a shoulder bag for carrying my materials, which I hang on the easel to help stabilise it in blustery weather. A ruler and a viewfinder are also essential pieces of kit. I used a combination of watercolour and soft pastel on pre-stretched Arches 300gsm NOT watercolour paper. I sketched out the basic shapes with a 4B pencil and then blocked in a few darks on the boats using a black chisel-tip permanent marker pen. To reserve the highlights of the paper, I used masking fluid applied with an old brush. The painting began by applying washes of watercolour with a one-inch hake brush to cover the whole paper. My palette for this included Naples Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and Sap Green. When these washes were dry, I laid down a further wash to build up the tonal foundation of the painting before applying the pastel. I used Unison Colour soft pastels for this. For cohesion, I try to use no more than a dozen pastels in any one painting. When I use a new colour, I will set it aside rather than putting it back in the main box so that I can keep track of what colours I’ve used. I also find it helpful to tape a piece of paper to the side of my board to test the colours on. I always take the labels off and break them in half before use – this not only gives sharp edges for detail, but also allows me to use the side of the pastel for broader marks. Ray’s book, Travelling Light, is published by Halstar, RRP £29.99. His DVD, Capturing Coastal Moods, is produced by APV Films, RRP £28.55. For details of Ray’s next painting holidays and courses, visit www.raybalkwill.co.uk 28 Artists
RIGHT Gweek, mixed media on paper, 30x38cm
Top tip
Don’t be afraid to use a ruler to help you draw straight lines for masts and rigging
The background hills were softened in places by working back into the pastel with watercolour and a size 6 round brush.
Holding a pastel on its side, I dragged it lightly over the tooth of the paper to create these muddy textures.
Spattering watercolour with my brush added further texture.
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M A S T ER C L A S S
The masts and rigging were painted with the aid of a ruler to keep the lines straight.
I applied masking fluid with an old brush to reserve these highlights and create sparkle.
The transparency of the watercolour under-painting helped suggest the reflections here.
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Art Safari Studio, Woodbridge Suffolk Scenes 11-13 August 2016 Venice, Italy Venetian reflections 7-13 Sept 2016 Zimbabwe Long time, my friend 8-19 Sept 2016 Marwell Wildlife Park Wildlife from life – 1 day 13 Sept 2016 Zambia Carmines & Goliaths 25 Sept-2 Oct 2016 Slimbridge Wetland Centre Wildlife from life – 2 days 26 & 27 Sept 2016 Art Safari Studio, Woodbridge From Sketch to Painting - 3 days 14-16 Oct 2016 Morocco Blue boats, golden ramparts 12-19 Nov 2016 Japan Floating landscapes 13-27 Nov 2016 Norway Northern Lights 15-20 Jan 2017 Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe A dazzle of zebras 22 Feb-9 March 2017 Cape Town, South Africa Views from the Cape 12-18 March 2017 Zambia My African home 5-12 April 2017 Malawi Rivers, lakes & mountains 14-27 April 2017 New York, USA New York, New York April 2017 Spain South from Granada April / May 2016 Slovenia Butterflies & bears June 2017 Islay Queen of the Hebrides 3-10 June 2017 Norway Fjords in the midnight sun 3-8 July 2017 Jersey A zoo in my sketchbook July 2017 Papua New Guinea Birds & people of paradise September 2017 Zambia Large, grey & unmistakable 2-9 October 2017 Italy A hilltop in Tuscany October 2017 Hungary Crane migration October 2017 Morocco Blue boats, golden ramparts 11-18 Nov 2017 Cambodia Temples, dance & rivers November 2017
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