I L L U S T R A T O R S
March 2015 £4.20
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welcome
the most talked about exhibition of 2015 Ok, so the private view only took place on 6 January so it’s a little early to say for sure, but our Artists of the Year exhibition was definitely the talk of the town in London last month. The culmination of our annual search for fresh creative talents, it saw 50 paintings and original prints made by readers of Artists & Illustrators taking their rightful place on the walls of the prestigious Mall Galleries. It was great to meet so many of the 50 shortlisted artists who had travelled with friends and family from all corners of the UK and beyond. Rebecca Wall, the manager of the Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery, was also in attendance to present our overall winner Camilla Dowse (pictured above right with Rebecca) with her certificate. As part of her prize, Camilla will be working towards a solo exhibition with the gallery. View more exclusive photos from the event online at www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/aoty14. And if you want your artwork to be included in next year’s display, be sure to look out for the launch of Artists of the Year 2015 in a forthcoming issue. Steve Pill, Editor
Get in touch
Did you visit our exhibition at Mall Galleries? Was your artwork one of the 50? Send us your thoughts and photos… info@artistsandillustrators.co.uk @AandImagazine ArtistsAndIllustrators AandImagazine AandImagazine
Artists & Illustrators, The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd., Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ. Tel: (020) 7349 3700 www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk Editorial Editor Steve Pill Art Editor Alicia Fernandes Assistant Editor Terri Eaton Contributors Laura Boswell, Anne-Marie Butlin, Eoin Carey, Siân Dudley, Ben Grafton, Neil Hall, Mark Harrison, Paul Newland, Clair Rossiter, Peter Rush, Jake Spicer, Adèle Wagstaff and Thomas Williams oNliNE ENquiriEs support@artistsandillustrators.co.uk adVErtisiNG Advertisement Manager Tom O’Byrne (020) 7349 3738 tom.obyrne@chelseamagazines.com Sales Executive Erika Stone (020) 7349 3739 erika.stone@chelseamagazines.com Advertising Production allpointsmedia www.allpointsmedia.co.uk maNaGEmENt & PublishiNG Managing Director Paul Dobson Deputy Managing Director Steve Ross Publisher Simon Temlett Commercial Director Vicki Gavin Head of Marketing Will Delmont Digital Media Manager James Dobson subscriPtioNs aNd back issuEs Artists & Illustrators, Subscriptions Department, 800 Guillat Avenue, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8GU artists@servicehelpline.co.uk (01795) 419838 artists.subscribeonline.co.uk
Artists & Illustrators 3
contents march 2015 7 your letters
46 talking techniques
Write to us and win a £50 voucher
Ruth Nicol’s poetic take on the landscape
9 the Diary
52 masterclass
The best events and exhibitions in March
A blooming marvellous still life demonstration
21 columnist
57 your questions
Laura Boswell on the fine art of self promotion
Adèle Wagstaff on painting the nude figure
22 the wisDom of unity
60 Demonstration
The artist daughter of Stanley Spencer speaks
Try a new perspective on painting cityscapes
37 competition
62 Drawing exercises
£1,000 worth of Maimeri paint is up for grabs
Jake Spicer sets you a figurative challenge
38 the gallery
64 river views
The best new work by Portfolio Plus members
How to develop sketches into studio paintings
41 notebook
82 my favourite things
Art tips, competitions and workshops to try
With Threadneedle Prize winner Tina Jenkins
26 subtle observations
30 abstract anD back
34 stuDio iDeas
69 give yourself the eDge
70 Do you copy?
72 unfolDing scenes
Emily Patrick’s latest collection of figurative art
Try a tray frame for a truly contemporary finish 4 Artists
& Illustrators
Explore Richard Diebenkorn’s changing styles
A great six-point plan for drawing in galleries
Xin £1000 of watercolour on page 37 14 sky’s the limit
Meet Portrait Artist of the Year Christian Hook
With children’s illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson
Abstract landscape ideas with Ian Rowlands
the diary
WATERCOLOUR RISING Watercolour lovers are in for a treat this month with three major exhibitions opening. The Royal Watercolour Society’s (RWS) Contemporary Watercolour Competition kicks things off at Bankside Gallery, London SE1 (6-18 March) with a collection of innovative and creative works by non-members. Hot on their heels comes the 203rd Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI) Open Exhibition (25 March to 11 April) at Mall Galleries, London SW1, which features works by the likes of David Poxon RI (Brighton Pier, pictured) alongside the best submissions by non-members. The RWS Spring Exhibition, Watercolour Etc., closes proceeding at Bankside Gallery (27 March to 25 April). Member artists have been invited to submit three watercolours and one work in different media so expect a few interesting experiments along the way. www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk www.royalinstituteofpaintersinwatercolours.org.uk
Artists & Illustrators 9
exhibitions mArch’s bEst Art shOws Goya: The Witches and Old Women Album 26 February to 25 May Figurative studies by the Spanish master. Courtauld Gallery. www.courtauld.ac.uk
Painting Paradise: The Art of the Garden 20 March to 11 October Exploring the changing character of outdoor spaces. Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. www.royalcollection.org.uk
From the Forest to the Sea Until 15 March Last chance to catch the Emily Carr retrospective. Dulwich Picture Gallery. www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Rubens and His Legacy Until 10 April Also includes La Peregrina, a collection curated in response to the main show by Jenny Saville RA. Royal Academy of Arts. www.royalacademy.org.uk
Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends 12 February to 25 May Sumptuous oil paintings of the artist’s circle. National Portrait Gallery. www.npg.org.uk
Sculpture Victorious 25 February to 25 May The Victorian golden age of carvings and busts. Tate Britain. www.tate.org.uk
ENGLAND – LONDON
GrEAt brItIsh DrAwINGs 26 March to 31 August Featuring more than 100 works handpicked from the Ashmolean’s world-renowned collection, this rich display expands the remit of drawings to include mixed media works. Samuel Cooper’s 17th-century black chalk portrait of Thomas Alcock (below) is among the many highlights. Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford. www.ashmolean.org
Joshua Reynolds: Experiments in Paint 12 March to 7 June Insight into the portrait master’s methods. Wallace Collection. www.wallacecollection.org Adventures of the Black Square: Abstract 26 February to 25 May Figurative studies by the Spanish master. Whitechapel Gallery. www.whitechapelgallery.org ENGLAND - north
From Bradford to Benares 7 March to 12 July Sir William Rothenstein’s achievements celebrated. Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford. www.bradfordmuseums.org ARTIST ROOMS: Anselm Kiefer 7 February to 7 June Post-war German art using natural materials. Tullie House, Carlisle. www.tulliehouse.co.uk Face Value 27 March to 13 June Portraits from the Arts Council Collection. Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Cumbria. www.abbothall.org.uk
Milk Snatcher: The Thatcher Drawings 14 March to 31 May Timely look at veteran illustrator Gerald Scarfe’s depictions of the Iron Lady.
10 Artists
& Illustrators
One Day, Something Happens: Paintings of People 6 March to 24 May Euan Uglow, Lucian Freud and Paula Rego feature. Leeds Art Gallery. www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery John Dobson and John Wilson Carmichael: An Artistic Partnership Until 28 June North East landscapes from the 19th century. Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle. www.twmuseums.org.uk The Great Outdoors – Paintings by Stanley Royle Until 30 May Views of the local Yorkshire landscape. Graves Gallery, Sheffield. www.museums-sheffield.org.uk LS Lowry and Theodore Major Until 29 March Compare and contrast two Lancashire painters. The Atkinson, Southport. www.theatkinson.co.uk Lynda Benglis 6 February to 1 July Sculpture and painting from the “heir to Pollock”. Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire. www.hepworthwakefield.org Henry Moore: Back to a Land 7 March to 6 September Consider the sculptor’s relationship to the world. Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield. www.ysp.co.uk Every Picture Tells A Story Until 21 March Invent identities for anonymous portraits. Warrington Museum and Art Gallery. www.warringtonmuseum.co.uk ENGLAND - south
Gwen John to Lucian Freud: Home and the World 28 February to 7 June Dexter Dalwood picks from the Swindon Collection. The Holburne Museum, Bath. www.holburne.org David Hockney: A Rake’s Progress 31 January to 14 June The Yorkshire legend illustrates a Hogarth classic. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. www.bristolmuseums.org.uk
© AshmoleAn museum, university of oxford
Rocks and Water 21 March to 31 May Landscape art from the Lake Districts and beyond. Buxton Museum, Derbyshire. www.derbyshire.gov.uk
Bowes Museum, Durham. www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk
Lindsay Berry, End of the Garden
gallery
the
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Nancy Antoni, Deer
38 Artists
& Illustrators
Simon Wright, Coming Home
Rusudana Glonti, Escape (From the Seafood Risotto)
Lyndsey Smith, The King and Queen of Fleet Street
Robert Wild, Evening Showers, Piccadilly Circus
Artists & Illustrators 39
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