Artists & Illustrators Summer 2021

Artists &

LANDSCAPE PAINTING ADD DEPTH & COLOUR

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

TIPS • TECHNIQUES • IDE A S • INSPIR ATION

Still painting at 101

Diana Armfield RA on staying creative

Summer 2021 £4.99

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£1,000 of Schmincke art products

Colour mixing

Quick tips to add impact

steps to vibrant still life

Brushes Pick the perfect tools

How to make...

Striking Artworks • Paint demos • Print projects• Pencil studies • and more...

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Artists & Illustrators, The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd., Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ Tel: (020) 7349 3700 www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk EDITORIAL Group Editor Steve Pill Art Editor Lauren Debono-Elliot Assistant Editor Rebecca Bradbury Contributors Hashim Akib, Grahame Booth, Laura Boswell, Anne-Marie Butlin, Denis John-Naylor, Andrew Lambirth, Sandrine Maugy and Jake Spicer ONLINE ENQUIRIES support@artistsandillustrators.co.uk

MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING Chairman Paul Dobson Managing Director James Dobson Publisher Simon Temlett Chief Financial Officer Vicki Gavin EA to Chairman Sarah Porter Subs Marketing Manager Bret Weekes Subs Marketing Executive Angelia Benjamin Group Digital Manager Ben Iskander BACK ISSUES www.chelseamagazines.com/shop ISSN NO. 1473-4729

COVER ARTWORK KIRSTEN BRITT

STAY INSPIRED

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Welcome Dedication is a wonderful thing. Every artist may have a different reason for why they want to create, yet that irrepressible urge to make art is always an inspiring thing to see. For this issue, leading arts writer Andrew Lambirth has explored the work of Diana Armfield, the Royal Academician who continues to paint stunning landscapes and still life in oils at the age of 101.

At the other end of the scale, Kirsten Britt is really just beginning her artistic career, despite having drawn and painted in her own time for many years now. Via Zoom, she spoke of being drawn to portraiture since she was little and admiring artists who have signature styles, seemingly unaware that she has already developed a striking one of her own, seen on this month’s cover. Kirsten’s curiosity and enthusiasm was infectious, and I’m pleased to say she’ll be writing more about her techniques for us in the near future too.

And that dedication extends to you, our readers. Our postbag was a particular joy this month and we love reading the many different ways in which you take inspiration from our features and articles. Your thirst for discovering new artists and trying new techniques makes every issue a pleasure to put together, so a huge thank you for your dedication too.

Steve Pill, Editor

Write to us!

Whether you are 19 or 90, we want to hear your tips for keeping creative. Share them with us at: info@artistsandillustrators.co.uk @AandImagazine

@AandImagazine

/ArtistsAndIllustrators

@AandImagazine

Artists & Illustrators 3

Contents

38

Try our floral masterclass in 13 steps

When you paint from photos rather than live models, the paper choice can be really key

26 REGULARS 5 Letters Win a £50 GreatArt voucher

6

Sketchbook

Prizes, tips, dates and more

12 Fresh Paint New artworks, fresh off the easel

24 Prize Draw Win fab Schmincke ink bundles

25 The Working Artist With our columnist Laura Boswell

82 Meet the Artist With illustrator Jade They

INSPIRATION 18 The Big Inter view

30 30 In The Studio

56 Park Painting

Enter the Suffolk workshop of talented printmaker Clare Curtis

Simple ideas for working en plein air and close to home

TECHNIQUES 38 Masterclass Colour blocking and mixing greens are the keys to this in-depth demo

44 Colour Theory Draw Brighton's Jake Spicer gives a lesson on saturation

48 Technique

The Royal Academy's Diana Armfield on staying creative at 101

Discover five principles for making tonal studies prior to painting

26 Art Histor y

52 Aerial Perspective

Discover 20th-century painter Henry Scott Tuke's figurative work

Our 11-page landscape special begins with top tips on depth

4 Artists

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– KIR S TE N BRIT T, PAGE 6 8

60 Street Scenes Clever colour choices provide a focus in this eight-step demo

64 In-Depth Our Ultimate Brush Guide will help you find the perfect tools to paint

68 How I Paint Cover star Kirsten Britt reveals how she creates her beautiful layered portraits

74 Project Learn how to make a simple linocut print at home with our columnist Laura Boswell

onal W hy t c a n s s t u die yo ur e v o impr work r colo u ge 48 – pa

Letters LET TER OF THE MONTH

SHOW YOUR WORKING I always read Laura Boswell’s The Working Artist columns. Laura is a very accomplished printmaker and artist. I enjoyed the topic about mistakes being an important part of the creative process [Issue 431]. I wish we could see Laura’s print which she describes as “taking a wrong turn” with a description of her thought process.

We can easily become precious about our work, valuing the outcome over the process. If we always work in this way, it may stifle creativity and further development. I would like an article about artwork deemed not good enough with an analysis from the artists – how they moved on and what they learned. This would be very encouraging.

Gill Nicholas, via email I think you’ve just given us a wonderful idea, Gill. Keep an eye out in a forthcoming issue very soon…

WALK THE LIONS I was delighted to discover one of our favourite walks featured in Artists & Illustrators [Issue 430]: the views enjoyed and recorded

by LS Lowry of the old town of Berwick-on-Tweed. The harbour, river and coastline are always changing depending upon the weather and tides.

Part of the walk, along the Elizabethan ramparts, passes “The Lions”, an austere house [above] built in 1807 facing the sea, that Lowry once contemplated buying.

It is intriguing to find the exact image of the same house in an oil painting by Lowry entitled An Island.

A fascinating example of a sketch of a house in a border town in Northumberland appearing as the subject in an industrial landscape.

Carole Robson, via email

PICKING A POCKET In response to Steve Pill’s comments on “cherry picking” [Editor’s Letter, Issue 431], I’d just like to say that I’ve been doing just that for a number of years now. After reading the magazine, I take out articles and artwork that particularly resonate with me. I now have several files of material in poly-pockets. When in need of inspiration, or perhaps a kick up the nether regions to get me going after a blank patch, I can dip into this collection for a much-needed boost. It never fails.

Maggie Bolton, Kilmaurs, Ayrshire HOME COMFORTS My family and I returned to the UK a year ago, after living and working abroad for more than 10 years.

We did not anticipate that we would be moving during a global pandemic. Thankfully, I had invested more time into painting and drawing as a means to reflect and channel grief in anticipation or our imminent move. Drawing special places, foods and people became a balm of comfort in the midst of the changes. Upon returning to the UK,

I soon came across your magazine.

It has sustained my interest and fuelled my passion further.

Since February this year, I started sharing my passion for art by offering Zoom art classes to teenagers. It has been a wonderful journey of inspiring them to find their unique artistic voice. Your article on David Hockney [Issue 430] sparked an idea of sharing some of his paintings with the children during a class on painting landscapes.

Recently, my 15-year-old son, who is studying art GCSE, spotted the article on Curtis Holder in the same issue. As the style appealed to him, he included Curtis’ work and style in his art portfolio.

So, a big thank you to the whole team for putting out such inspirational content.

Veronica Williams, via email STUDIO JOY I was so inspired by your piece about the artist Ingrid Sanchez [In the Studio, Issue 431], her work is full of joy. After reading the article I went to my Derwent Inktense blocks and let loose. I then went digital in [iPad illustration app] Procreate to complete my piece. It was a complete contrast to my usual art style, but I really enjoyed making it.

Thank you for introducing me to this fabulous, joyful art technique and artist.

Louise Broome, via email

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 ‘letter of the month’ will receive a £50 gift voucher from GreatArt, which offers the UK’s largest range of art materials with more than 50,000 art supplies and regular discounts and promotions. www.greatart.co.uk

Share your stories and get a daily dose of Artists & Illustrators tips, advice and inspiration by following us on our social media channels... @AandImagazine ArtistsAndIllustrators AandImagazine AandImagazine Artists & Illustrators 5

SKETCHBOOK

Summer TIPS • ADVI CE • ID E A S

Art at Sea

British Ar t Prize sponsor VIKING CRUISES launches it s latest ship, packed with creativit y 6 Artists

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F

resh from sponsoring the inaugural British Art Prize 2021, Viking Cruises has launched its latest ocean ship, Viking Venus. The launch took place in the English Channel, with celebrations led by the ship’s ceremonial godmother, the journalist and broadcaster Anne Diamond.

Viking Venus joins a fleet of more than 70 state-of-the-art ships in the Viking portfolio and while each regularly visits some of the world’s most cultured locations, they all boast a fantastic gallery of work on board as well.

The art collection on the new Viking Venus includes a rare etching by Edvard Munch, the Norwegian painter and printmaker famed for works such as The Scream and Madonna.

Alongside this will be pieces by some of Scandinavia’s greatest living artists too, including Ida Lorentzen’s recent masterpiece New England As I Remember It [left]. Lorentzen is known for her oil paintings of melancholic interior spaces, where the motifs are often taken from arrangements constructed in her own studio.

Also on board is The Next Day [right], a landscape from Norway’s Andreas Siqueland who paints outdoors near to his farm studio, allowing temperature, wind, rain and even insects to make their mark on his large-scale canvases.

All the ship’s artworks can be explored via the Viking Art Guide app that includes commentary from the curators.

A Viking river cruise worth £7,000 was part of the first prize in the inaugural British Art Prize 2021. Readers can still enjoy the competition’s virtual exhibition, which runs online until 20 June.

To explore the gallery and view all of the 50 shortlisted artworks up close, simply head to awards.artistsandillustrators.co.uk

TICKET GIVEAWAY As well as sponsoring the British Art Prize 2021, Viking Cruises is also supporting Tracey Emin/ Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul, the latest exhibition at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, which runs until 1 August.

Artists & Illustrators has teamed up with Viking Cruises and the Royal Academy of Arts to offer two lucky readers the chance to win a goodie bag from the show. Each goodie bag includes a pair of tickets to the exhibition, as well as a tote bag, postcard pack and softback catalogue. Enter online before 9 July at www.artistsand illustrators.co.uk/vikingcomp

Artists & Illustrators 7

PART TIME DAY & EVENING COURSES

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A range of courses for beginners as well as more experienced artists ALSO: Full time Diploma courses in portraiture and sculpture Enrolling now

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SKETCHBOOK

TO SEE TAKES TIME, “ LIKE TO HAVE A FRIEND

”

TAKES TIME.

— Georgia O'Keeffe

ISTOCK

Layer it up Rather than thickly applying a single layer of paint to cover your initial drawing, why not make that line work as part of your finished artwork instead? Try diluting your paint and applying it in a series of thinner washes, letting drips add further interest to the colour. The pencil work will show through and you can further emphasise sections with pastel pencils.

Why not try…

Placrylic

MASTER TIP Eric Ravilious’ Mackerel Sky is a deceptively simple composition. The artist enlivens his depiction of the resting boat by using lines and curves to guide the viewer’s eye around the entire image.

Ropes and rigging connect different elements together, while textured strokes add form to the sand and hulls.

Seaside Modern runs until 31 October at Hastings Contemporary. www.hastingscontemporary.org

With art shops closed at the start of lockdown, Artist Hana mixed a simple homemade paint from blueberry powder and organic toothpaste. A year on and further experiments have led to the launch of Placrylic, a range of sustainable, organic and 100% plant-based alternatives to acrylic paint, which includes a black pigment made from coconut shells. www.artisthana.com/hana-eco-paints

Artists & Illustrators 9

SKETCHBOOK

NEW HUES PHTHALO BLUE (GREEN SHADE) Discover a new colour ever y month Copper phthalocyanine is a heavy blue compound first used in artists’ pigments between the wars. Pronounced “thay-low”, Phthalo Blue’s cooler Green Shade is often the default where no bias is stated.

Daniel Smith recommends this pigment for cool, clean staining shadows, while landscape painters can tint it with white as a non-granulating alternative to Cerulean Blue skies.

16 JULY Exhibit alongside Grayson Perry and a host of other great artists in The National Brain Appeal’s A Letter in Mind anonymous online fundraiser. www.nationalbrain appeal.org/get-involved

Did you know Ar tist s & Illustrator s pro duce s a new slet ter ? It is f ull of new s , comp etitions and storie s , as well as practical painting and drawing advice f rom our ex tensive archive s . Sign up to day to re ceive the new slet ter dire ct to your inb ox ever y month .

The Diary 31 JULY Submit by today to feature in the UK Coloured Pencil Society’s 20th Anniversary Gala, which runs from 14-24 October at London’s Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf. www.ukcps.org.uk

W W W. A R T I S T SA N D I LLU S T R ATO R S .CO.U K / N E WS LE T T E R

20 AUGUST Midday is the cut-off to enter wildlife and natural world-inspired art to the Society of Wildlife Artists’ 58th Annual Exhibition, held at London’s Mall Galleries from 14-24 October. mallgalleries.oess1.uk

BOOK OF THE MONTH

TOP TIP

ISTOCK

The landscape can be an overwhelming subject, so framing up potential sections that interest you is a good way to approach painting en plein air.

Hold your thumbs and forefingers together in a simple rectangular frame as you search out the right subject – and more importantly, decide which elements to leave out.

10 Artists

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The New Oil Painting by Kimberly Brooks Written by a Los Angelesbased abstract artist, this unusual pocket guide is divided into two sections.

The main chunk is devoted to an oil painter’s essential materials, informed by her solvent-free “journey to discovery”. The final third considers best practices, though the sound advice is compromised by a lack of anything more than thumbnail sketch illustrations.

Chronicle Books. www.chroniclebooks.com

ILLUSTRATION: BETT NORRIS

Inbox inspiration

TRADITION & INNOVATION MADE IN GERMANY www.davinci-defet.com

Fresh Paint

Inspiring new artworks, straight off the easel

Kurt Jackson The past year has inspired many of us to slow down and reconnect with nature, yet one artist who was ahead of the curve in that respect is Kurt Jackson. Over the course of a 40-year career to date, the Cornwall-based painter and Oxford zoology graduate has used his vast canvases to tackle equally big issues. “The environment underpins everything I do and make in terms of how I work, live and what interests me,” he explains. “It steers my research and understanding of what makes the world tick.

“Every aspect of the natural world, the great outdoors and how we collide, coexist or rub along with our surroundings is of interest to me and my art making; land-use, workplace and nature are all intertwined.

Whether I paint a butterfly, a farmer or a beach it is about the environment; before, during and after making the art.”

The great nature writer Robert Macfarlane once said of Kurt that “his brilliance as an artist lies in the success with which he represents his subject”. Nowhere is that more apparent than in his depictions of the maritime environment, collected together in a new book, Kurt Jackson’s Sea. The artist turns 60 in September and compiling the book has given him an opportunity to chart the changes in his style and approach over the years that have ebbed and flowed like the tides themselves. He has, he says, become more gestural and experimental over time, yet he was also surprised to see quite how often he had returned to familiar locations, building up huge series of works focused on a single cove or clifftop. “With time invested in one subject comes a knowledge, an understanding, but the nature of the sea means there is always a certain unpredictability – there is plenty of room for surprise and discovery,” he says.

“This means the subject never becomes stale and, hopefully, the work never presumptuous.”

While reluctant to steer other artists’ practice, his advice when it comes to painting the sea is first-hand experience.

For Kurt, nothing beats the “visceral, awkward, dynamic” feeling of standing on the shore and sizing up the elements, with all the wind, sea spray and sunburn that comes with it.

“This can be problematic but, if you allow it to, the sea, ocean or estuary can collaborate to make wonderful things happen. Playing it safe doesn’t make good art.”

Kurt Jackson’s Sea is published by Lund Humphries. www.kurtjackson.com 12 Artists

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Fresh Paint

KURT’S TOP TIP “When painting the sea, allow some fluidity. Let paint flow across the picture – after all, it’s a tidal subject”

LEFT Kurt Jackson, Above the Catacol Birches with the Willow Warblers, oil on canvas, 122x132cm

Artists & Illustrators 13

Fresh Paint

SOLA’S TOP TIP “I wanted to dye my canvases a really dark blue to make the skin tones pop nicely against it”

14 Artists

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Fresh Paint

LEFT Sola Olulode, Laying in The Grass III, pastel, charcoal, ink, indigo, pigment and acrylic on canvas, 122x152cm

© SOLA OLULODE. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND LISSON GALLERY

Sola Olulode As the numerical title suggests, Sola Olulode’s Laying in The Grass III is part of a small series of romantic works that show new couples relaxing in each other’s company.

“I wanted to show the kind of dates that you go on in the early stages [of a relationship],” she explains. “Simple things like going for walks and picnics in the park, time spent bonding where it’s just about spending time getting to know each other.”

“I think the pandemic has made me value those moments of intimacy even more, especially physical intimacy with loved ones,” she adds. “We’re all really missing connecting in that way and I guess I’ve become more obsessive in my creation of those types of images while I crave it.”

While Sola has explored the Black queer experience in her work via five solo exhibitions and more than a dozen group shows since graduating from a BA in fine art from the University of Brighton in 2018, she insists these intimate scenes aren’t painted with specific people in mind.

“I like there to be a kind of vagueness to them, so they’re easy to relate to,” she says of the figures in her paintings.

“They don’t need to be representations of real people, more a type of person. I think it adds the dream-like quality to the narrative.”

Laying in The Grass III featured in An Infinity of Traces, a recent exhibition at London’s Lisson Gallery that was curated by the author, broadcaster and former ICA director Ekow Eshun. Interestingly, a video on the gallery’s website showed Sola preparing her canvases not with a traditional painted ground but rather dipping the fabric in indigo dye.

The British-Nigerian artist was also using wax resist to create patterns, part of an interest in batik that developed while researching traditional art and techniques.

“Through that I learned more about Adire, an indigo-dyed textile made in southwest Nigeria, that uses resistance dyeing techniques to make patterned cloth,” she says.

“It became a great way of linking two areas of interest to me: deep shades of blue and traditional crafts of painting and textile.”

Clever yet tender, Sola’s paintings are an impressive reminder of art’s power to encapsulate a wealth of fascinating research and traditions within a deceptively simple and affecting composition. www.solaolulode.co.uk

Artists & Illustrators 15

Fresh Paint

Every month, one of our Fresh Paint artists is chosen from Portfolio Plus, our online, art-for-sale portal. For your chance to feature in a forthcoming issue, sign up for your own personalised Portfolio Plus page today. You can also: • Showcase, share and sell unlimited artworks commission free • Get your work seen across Artists & Illustrators’ social media channels • Submit art to our online exhibitions • Enjoy exclusive discounts and more Sign up in minutes at www.artistsand illustrators.co.uk/register

Iain Harkess

ABOVE Iain Harkess, Rosa Mundi, watercolour on paper, 36x32cm 16 Artists

Think of a high-risk activity and chances are it won’t be watercolour painting. Yet for Portfolio Plus member Iain Harkess, the medium has its perils. “It’s a risky end,” he explains, describing his approach to painting florals.

“I tend to do the background as the last thing. It’s an edge-of-your-seat kind of job, where you’re hoping it doesn’t all go wrong.”

For the Scottish artist’s recent painting, Rosa Mundi, this final, wet-on-wet flourish (applied quickly, mixed with medium to extend the drying time) has certainly been pulled off with aplomb. Teasingly out of focus, it brings the soft forms of the petals, delicate striations and luscious hues of the rose into an even sharper focus.

“I want to capture those first things that attract me to it,” explains the artist, who is also a keen gardener. “I always look for the shadows and the colours and the way they

& Illustrators

catch your eye, that’s what I’m trying to communicate.”

To depict these features with the desired dose of impact requires a hefty amount of planning. And it is this aspect that makes the more spontaneous nature of the looser, last-minute background wash an even bigger gamble.

“As a watercolourist, I think you’ve got to be clear about both where you want to get to, but also the stages you want to move along,” Iain explains. “I had to very carefully plot out the different values, where the shadows were going to be and what colours were going to be in those shadows.”

Such precision can lead to another danger: overdoing the detail. “I constantly have to tell myself to simplify,” the largely self-taught artist reveals. But capable of painting flowers so evocative the petals appear to emerge from the page, he’s got the balance down to a fine art. www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/iain-harkess

Royal Society of Marine Artists

Submission

is now

TM

Quality Artist Products made in Canada Shared with the world tri-art.ca

OPEN Closes: 9 July at 12 noon

Enter paintings, drawings, sculptures and original prints inspired by the sea and tidal waters to the Society’s Annual Exhibition at Mall Galleries www.mallgalleries.org.uk

Fernsby Hall Tapestries

Tapestry Kits produced by Diana Fernsby from the original paintings of Catriona Hall

Quirky pictures in a range of tapestries suited to cushions.

Each kit comprises a printed canvas with 12 holes to the inch and all the Appletons tapestry wool necessary to complete the image.

01279 777795 | www.fernsbyhall.com | kits@fernsbyhall.com

Artists & Illustrators 17

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Diana

Armfield The Royal Academician tells ANDREW LAMBIRTH about the joys of the Welsh landscape, her “special time” to paint, and why she’s still learning new lessons at the age of 101

B

orn in 1920, Diana Armfield was a late starter as a painter. Although she attended three art schools (Bournemouth, The Slade, and the Central School of Art and Design), she studied to be a designer, not a painter. She duly set up a successful design practice, in 1947, with Roy Passano, designing and printing textiles, both by block and screen, and designing wallpapers. In the 1950s, she also found work as a teacher, first at the Central in the textile department, and later at Byam Shaw School of Art teaching drawing – landscape, mostly. But it was not until 1965, when she was asked to teach painting, that she herself began to 18 Artists

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paint – at the age of 45. Before that, remarkable as this seems, she had never even experimented with oils.

Diana is clear about the differences between the two disciplines: “To design textiles or wallpaper is to make a background, whereas I hope my work [as a painter] will attract attention and then hold it. So, the object is different, which means the solutions are different. But you still have to pose the same questions.

They’re very close in the way of needing artistry and dexterity.”

Once started in oils, Diana took to the medium with great flair and enthusiasm. She had the advantage of a very good teacher close at hand, in that she was married to the

distinguished painter Bernard Dunstan, who died in 2017 aged 97.

He encouraged her and was always there with advice and practical tips.

But the fact that Diana trained as a designer has been one source of the freshness of her art. She was not bound up with accepted ideas about how to do things, or with any fashionable approach to painting.

Instead, she simply painted what she saw with the greatest possible directness and intensity. And as her work grew more assured, she developed an enviable fluency and a recognisable style of brushwork. In 1979, a long association commenced with art dealers Browse & Darby, the gallery in which she still shows her

THE B I G INTE RVIE W

THIS IMAGE Nasturtiums on the Easel, 2010, oil on canvas, 37x30cm

Artists & Illustrators 19

THE B I G INTE RVIE W

To design wallpaper is to make a background, whereas I hope my work as a painter will attract attention and hold it 20 Artists

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THE B I G INTE RVIE W

work. She also began to regularly exhibit in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, becoming an elected Royal Academician in 1991.

Diana has gone from strength to strength as a painter and still paints with extraordinary concentration and energy as she celebrates her 101st birthday on 11 June 2021. To mark her centenary last year, she decided to publish a since-delayed monograph illustrated with many recent paintings, drawings and prints. Her output, which would be impressive in a much younger painter, is exceptional in an artist of her seniority. As is the consistency of its quality.

Although one of her chief subjects has been flowers, she also paints the landscape, and there are many views of the countryside around the Dunstans’ cottage in North Wales.

When not depicting the meadows, mountains and sheep, Diana will often be gathering a bouquet of wildflowers to paint, which she will arrange in a favourite vase or jug.

She prefers to paint in the golden light of late afternoon and early evening, calling the period from four o’clock

to half-past six her “special time”.

Inevitably, she paints mostly indoors these days, but she gets out into the landscape whenever possible.

Here she describes her preference for painting in front of nature: “When I’m painting on the spot I truly am in awe of the landscape. I think to myself that it’s taken millions and millions of years to get to this moment, and it’s absolutely impertinent to change bits of it to fulfil a desire to make a picture. I must find what it is that’s hit me and is managing to be there after all these years. So it’s my job to find and to use the rhythms that are there, the directions and the contrasts and the shapes… Not impose, but receive... I try to get as much down as possible in the field. But I also do lots of drawings which are going to carry me through the winter in the studio.”

She and Bernard loved to travel.

The artistic couple visited Venice every year, which both of them painted with sustained enjoyment and often with real delight — whether the buildings, the reflections in the canals, or the colourful hordes of tourists who troop through the city.

Besides Venice, they also took another painting trip away each year, perhaps to France or Italy, or further afield to America, where one of their sons had settled. Bernard used to prepare boards for them both to paint on: rabbit-skin size over an old bedsheet attached to hardboard.

Diana doesn’t find a bleak white surface sympathetic to work on, so she always had to tone the surface before starting, maybe with a honey colour or a grey-blue. But she insists

ABOVE Sunshine on a Frosty Morning

by Llwynhir, 2011, oil on canvas, 26x30.5cm

FAR LEFT Down in the South, Sunflowers & Vine, 2020, oil on canvas, 22.5x28.5cm

READER OFFER Diana Armfield: A Lyrical Eye charts the Royal Academician’s personal and artistic journey via 200 beautiful reproductions of her work, an essay

by Andrew Lambirth, and an extensive interview from which the quotes in this feature were drawn.

Diana Armfield: A Lyrical Eye is published by Paul Holberton. Artists & Illustrators readers can enjoy 20% off the book's cover price by entering the code ARTIST when ordering at www.paulholberton.com

Artists & Illustrators 21

THE B I G INTE RVIE W

I can see a greater range of tone in my latest work… It’s encouraging that one can go on learning at my age

ABOVE Bernard and Dogs in San Vio, Venice, 2018, oil on canvas, 20x24cm

FAR RIGHT Wild Flowers in the Old English Jug, 2017, oil on canvas, 37x41cm 22 Artists

the best thing of all is to paint over an old failed painting because it gives something to work against. Currently, she’s using up Bernard’s unsuccessful or unfinished pictures in this way.

She especially admires the work of Edgar Degas, Édouard Vuillard, James McNeill Whistler and William Nicholson, and has recently been looking at the rhythms in the work of the British landscape painter Albert Goodwin, which she has found deeply intriguing. She constantly thinks about painting and how to approach a subject and make a better rendition or interpretation of it.

She maintains that her ideal would be to paint like the Camden Town

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Group artist Walter Sickert, and first put in the mass of the landscape and the mass of the sky, and then start to break up these masses with smaller touches. But she admits that her curiosity and impatience don’t ever allow her to do that. Instead, she finds herself getting very interested in a particular area, and that lovely overall approach is lost. But only temporarily.

Diana balances her compositions sooner or later, and brings the same quality of attention to the whole image before it is finished.

Aged 100, Diana admits that she has slowed up a bit these days, principally because she can’t put in quite so many hours at the easel.

Of course, different types of painting require different lengths of time to achieve. “If it’s a sunset,” she says, “it might take an hour, and it’s either a success or not. Then there are the flower pictures which can go on week after week, the big ambitious ones.”

Asked if she thought her palette had changed over the years, her answer took us back to her early training.

“Considering textiles depend on tones, it’s extraordinary how difficult I found it to stretch the tones, and I started painting with too much reticence.

I think I have at last got over that.

I can see a greater range of tone in my latest work… It’s encouraging that one can go on learning at my age.”

THE B I G INTE RVIE W

Artists & Illustrators 23

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relief printing methods. The range also includes four different mediums, so printmakers can retard the drying time as well as increase the transparency and create gloss or pearlescent effects.

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COLUMNIS T

Artist Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL is spring cleaning her studio – it’s the perfect way to make a creative life that bit better, she says

BELOW Laura Boswell, West Coast Summer, woodblock print, 29x45cm

I

’ve been having a clear up of my studio space. This particular big tidy is partially because I’m planning to open my studio to the public this year, but mostly I do it for my benefit and enjoyment. Even if you aren’t about to welcome strangers into your work space, having a clear out has some

real benefits for creativity. I’m not a neat freak, but I really recommend a regular rummage and tidy session.

Set aside a good chunk of time and demand solitude if you can. I make a point of loudly overestimating the time it will take me to sort things out.

That way I can enjoy my beautiful, tidy

studio in peace while the rest of the family imagine I am still polishing rollers and dusting the press. I always start with a good look around before I do anything to see whether the studio layout is still working. I can’t move the press, but it’s surprising how swapping around a few other items can make my workflow much easier. We all tend to get comfortable with the way things are and forget to look at how a few changes could be a big improvement.

Everyone’s idea of a good tidy up is different. I love a purge when it comes to the house, in the studio I’m a hoarder – you do what suits you. For me, the end result is only half the benefit. Going through everything is such a good way of sparking creative ideas. Sorting paints and inks suggests new colour combinations, forgotten papers make me think of projects that might suit them, and going through old sketchbooks often inspires new work. I also find tidying comforting when work isn’t going well.

There’s something very soothing about sorting through things; it’s a constructive break and returning to work always seems easier with a pot of neatly sharpened pencils.

If you can’t spare the time or energy for a complete clear up, focusing on one constructive task is still really beneficial. Ask yourself what annoys you most about your space and do what you can to improve it. That might mean sorting your paper into a more logical order, fixing a sticking drawer, or finally evicting someone else’s kit from your space.

You don’t have to move mountains; just do enough to make your creative life that bit better. I promise you’ll still get that “job well done” glow. www.lauraboswell.co.uk

Going through everything in your studio is such a good way of sparking creative ideas Artists & Illustrators 25

26 Artists

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A R T H I S T O RY

ART HIS TO RY

Henry Scott Tuke The Newlyn School painter was a complex character with modest aims, yet he deserves to be regarded as one of Britain’s greatest figurative artists says STEVE PILL

ROYAL CORNWALL POLYTECHNIC SOCIETY TUKE COLLECTION

T

he great American painter Edward Hopper famously once said that all he ever wanted to do was “paint sunlight on the side of a house”.

Born 24 years previously on 12 June 1858, the Yorkshire-born artist Henry Scott Tuke had similarly modest aims.

His one over-arching ambition in life, however, was to capture the effects of sunlight on skin.

Tuke achieved this arguably more successfully than any other artist of his generation. A comprehensive new exhibition at Surrey’s Watts Gallery, titled simply Henry Scott Tuke, covers all aspects of his portfolio, yet it is his paintings of boys and young men, lounging topless on boats and rocks in the harbours of his native Cornwall, that proved a powerful calling card for both the artist’s talents and the area as a whole. “His work is very poetic and the moods he engenders captures the youth of Cornwall,” says the gallery’s new artist-in-residence,

Nneka Uzoigwe [see page 29].

“When I look at his paintings, I get the feeling of an endless summer.”

The likes of 1893’s August Blue and 1902’s Ruby, Gold and Malachite weren’t simply imagined idyllic scenes, however. “As both an avid artist and sailor, Tuke sought out new and experimental ways to paint en plein air afloat on his purpose-built studio-boat,” explains Watts Gallery curator Dr Cicely Robinson. “Living in Falmouth, he amassed a fleet of small boats which he used as platforms for painting, to facilitate his quest to find colourful atmospheric effects.”

While many of his fellow painters of the so-called Newlyn School – including Walter Langley, Laura Knight and the colony’s “father” Stanhope Forbes – were often more focused on the characters that worked in the harbours, Tuke began to gravitate towards showing his subjects at rest and play. He recruited models from local working-class

Tuke’s one over-arching ambition in life was to capture the effects of sunlight on skin

families and made regular trips out into the harbour on his 60-foot French brigantine Julie of Nantes, keenly understanding the benefits of capturing the figure en plein air.

“The truth and beauty of flesh in sunlight by the sea is offered to you in a way impossible to secure in pictures built up from hasty sketches, at leisure, in one’s studio,” he told The Studio magazine in 1895.

“However much you may work indoors afterwards, whatever you add is with the outdoor impression upon you.”

Much like Hopper’s masterpieces, the drama in Tuke’s larger canvases lies in the tension between the figures. The Englishman was a master at plotting what history of art professor Michael Hatt, writing in a new book to accompany the Watts Gallery exhibition, calls a “network of looks”. As our eyes dart between gestures and lines of sight, we build a more complex web of interactions that imply a moment caught, encouraging us to imagine a life before and after the contents of this specific frame.

The most talked about aspect of Tuke’s work is, of course, his almost exclusive focus on the male nude – a rare choice in the late Victorian era.

In fact, after his death on 13 March 1929, his style had fallen out of favour with collectors for a time,

OPPOSITE PAGE Henry Scott Tuke, Nude Study, 1928, oil on panel, 29.3x19.9cm

Artists & Illustrators 27

A R T H I S T O RY

Highlights were added in punchy blobs of pure pigment, like a Cornish Rembrandt

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was an admirer of early photography, yet he veered away from the smooth, meticulous renderings of his classical late Victorian peers in favour of visibly textured marks, applied with vigour.

Viewed up close, all that youthful skin is surprisingly rough while highlights were added in punchy blobs of pure pigment, like a Cornish Rembrandt.

It was as if Tuke was daring the viewer to acknowledge the very artifice of the act of painting itself. In doing so, he reminded his audience that, while these naturalistic scenes had played out before him, it was he, the artist, who was firmly in control of things.

During a two-year stay in Paris from 1881 onwards, Tuke befriended both his American contemporary John Singer Sargent and Jules BastienLepage, a slightly older French painter famed for his realistic depictions of rural peasant life. Tuke is indebted to both artists’ shift towards a more naturalist approach, yet his Cornish maritime scenes possess a magical

GUILDHALL ART GALLERY, CITY OF LONDON

ABOVE Henry Scott Tuke, Ruby, Gold and Malachite, 1902, oil on canvas, 117x159cm

only to be embraced by the LGBTQ+ community some 50 years later (Sir Elton John is just one noted collector of the Newlyn painter’s work). His boys of summer are now rightly seen as ground-breaking depictions of same-sex desire; included in Tate’s 2017 exhibition Queer British Art, even if the artist kept his own sexuality private.

The youthful nature of his models makes some contemporary viewers uncomfortable, yet he almost never depicted genitalia or showed much contact between his figures. Much of the discomfort arises from Tuke’s personal association with the

Uranians, a group whose interests included pederastic poetry – poems that depicted sexual relations between adult men and adolescent boys – and whose number also included his friend, the playwright Oscar Wilde. Asked whether difficult curatorial conversations were had about how to address this aspect of his work, Dr Robinson diplomatically says the show will simply explore “the ways in which Tuke’s art provoked a wide range of responses and interpretations”. In the book to accompany the show, one of the more wholesome explanations is that the Tuke family only moved to Falmouth in a bid to cure his psychiatrist father’s tuberculosis and so the artist was later motivated to explore the health benefits of sunlight and sea air.

Regardless, one area more deserving of speculation is the work itself and the surface of a Tuke canvas offers a masterclass in technique. The Slade graduate

A R T H I S T O RY

TAKE ON TUKE NNEKA UZOIGWE ON TACKLING HIS LEGACY How did you find out about the Watts Gallery residency?

London Fine Art Studios, where I studied and now teach, has a relationship with Watts Gallery.

From time to time, they collaborate on workshops and live painting demonstrations.

An opportunity arose to submit a proposal, so I jumped for it.

What are your plans for the work you intend to make?

My work will involve combining life models with imagined seascapes. I will endeavour to use imaginative and dynamic poses to impersonate marine life. I hope to encourage the viewer to see the male form not just as a human body but as a creature of nature.

ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS, LONDON/NNEKA UZOIGWE

Will you attempt to engage with Tuke’s work?

Yes. In Tuke’s early paintings he placed his male nudes in mythological contexts.

However, he abandoned this innovative approach due to poor reception so I will attempt to pick up from where he left off. I will also be studying Tuke’s technique – for example, his paint handling and colour harmonies – and use this to inform the development of my own work [see Marzipan (Self-Portrait), below].

Nneka’s residency runs until 31 August. www.nnekauzoigwe.com

quality that not even the velvet elegance of Sargent’s society portraits can quite match.

Much of that is down to those bright, complex shadows. As anyone who has spent any length of time in Cornwall, Venice or any other warm, waterside locales can attest, reflected light is a gift for an observant artist.

None of this should diminish Tuke’s ability to render these findings in confident, alla prima oils. There is a

greater range of lilac and turquoise hues in the shadow of a single Tuke leg than one might find in an entire Impressionist sunrise.

For that alone, this complex character deserves to be regarded as one of the finest British figurative painters of his generation.

Henry Scott Tuke runs until 12 September at Watts Gallery, Surrey. The book, Henry Scott Tuke, is published by Yale University Press. www.wattsgallery.org.uk

ABOVE Henry Scott Tuke, A Bathing Group, 1914, oil on canvas, 90x60cm

Artists & Illustrators 29

IN THE STUDIO

1

Clare

Curtis

From her Suffolk workshop, the illustratorturned-printmaker tells REBECCA BRADBURY about the conflicting demands of modern-day creativity and the artistic appeal of allotments

PHOTOGRAPH: RICHARD BLOOM

A

ccording to local legend, a ghostly dog going by the name of Black Shuck is said to stalk the Fens, fields and graveyards of East Anglia.

With his dark, shaggy fur and red, fiery eyes, the dog makes not a sound as he walks yet his howl causes the blood to run cold of anyone unfortunate enough to be within earshot on a dark, stormy night.

One particularly sinister account from 1577 reports that the giant hellhound forced his way into the Holy Trinity Church in Blythburgh, Suffolk, fatally clamping his jaws around the necks of two unsuspecting members of the congregation and leaving scorch marks on the doors

30 Artists

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– evidence of his existence that remains to this day.

Rumours of this havoc-wreaking creature continue to surface, inspiring creatives over the centuries to immortalise the tale. One such artist is Felixstowe native Clare Curtis.

“It’s a personal one,” she says of her print, Black Shuck. “It has a lot to do with where I live. The legend is quite prevalent in East Anglia. I read a lot of different accounts of people who had supposedly seen it.”

The result is a perfect example of the printmaker’s remarkable aptitude for storytelling. Despite the simpler, graphic forms demanded by the medium, her works are a constant revelation of detail, bringing to life

1 Clare’s May

Day screenprint was printed at Penfold Press

IN THE STUDIO

A print always works best with a limited palette...

Often, I’m only u sing four or f ive colours maximum Artists & Illustrators 31

IN THE STUDIO

2 Lifting back

a linocut print reveals the ink 3 Ascending

Forms is an ode to Barbara Hepworth 4 Jardin le

Suzanne was commissioned for V&A Select

the gripping narrative within. Dashing across the marshy wetland, past feather-tipped reeds and umbrellalike blooms, are two 1950s-style figures, flashlight in hand. Both subjects point to two of the artist’s key influences: plants and British mid-century art and design.

The print is also telling of Clare’s practice, being half made using her main medium, linocut. The rest of the print is a rare example of the collagraph technique.

“I don’t use [collagraph] very often.

It’s basically using cut-up cardboard to print from,” she explains. “So, the colour bit is done by inking up the cardboard and putting it through the press, whereas the black is all linocut.”

Using an amalgamation of materials is reminiscent of Clare’s early days as an illustrator. Fresh out of university, she would create collages for magazines and newspapers. As well as suiting her bold style, the medium also appealed due to its accessibility and immediacy.

At the time, she was living in a London flat share, working in the room where she also slept, so when her grandfather’s old house in the Suffolk seaside town of Felixstowe became available, she decided to

PHOTOGRAPH: RICHARD BLOOM

2

32 Artists

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3

IN THE STUDIO

4

The problem I have is f inding the right amount of time to set aside to do the creative bit return to her hometown. With more space, she was able to focus on her own printmaking, rather than solely fulfilling illustration briefs.

Twenty or so years later, Clare still resides in the family home, having converted the garage into her workshop, where she keeps her two printing presses. Although more windows and a glass door have been added (as well as lots of house plants), it’s primarily a practical space reserved for the messy jobs.

Her studio, on the other hand, is the old sitting room where she does her planning, drawing and admin tasks.

Alongside a desk, computer, packaging area and plan chest bought off eBay in which to store her work (“I don’t like looking at my own stuff… I see enough of it!”), there is a big comfy armchair, a hotchpotch of

books and a mantelpiece lined with vintage crockery and ceramics from her favourite eras.

A day in the life of the printmaker doesn’t revolve around a strict routine. While Clare likes to fit in a morning walk if there’s time, the only non-negotiable is putting on some background noise while she works (music in the morning, Radio 4 in the afternoon). This seemingly easy-going schedule accounts for a variety of competing demands.

“The problem I have, and I’m sure a lot of other artists have this too, is actually finding the right amount of time to set aside to do the creative bit,” she says. “There’s always such a lot of other stuff to do, and that’s a scourge of the time with live in.

There’s always social media, there’s always emails to answer.

“It’s wonderful because you can do everything. You can produce your own greeting cards, you can put your designs on this and that,” she adds.

“But all that sort of thing takes away from your actual creation. So, if I can do a bit of creating every day, a bit in the workshop, I’m pleased.”

Also tempting Clare away from her workshop is her love of gardening.

She gets much of her inspiration from the plants in her garden, as well as at the allotment she shares with her partner. She regularly sketches at the allotments, but the appeal is more than just a simple attraction to nature.

“There is something fascinating about an allotment,” she explains.

“People are creating their own little oasis. It’s not just because of the plants, although they’re very lovely to draw, but it’s all the manmade things as well: the sheds, the makeshift flower beds and things like that, they’re all a bit skew-whiff.”

“I love that jumble of stuff,” she adds. “I’ve done prints of a boatyard as well, which is close to where I live, and again I love that jumble.

You know, piles of ropes and chains, bits of metal, all that side of it, as well as the natural forms.”

Artists & Illustrators 33

IN THE STUDIO

I have a ver y old fashioned way of working... I ju st draw and re-draw until I get it right

PHOTOGRAPH: RICHARD BLOOM

5

Originally, Clare intended to master one type of printmaking, sticking to linocut as she had the equipment.

However, she’s recently branched out into screenprinting, working in collaboration with Dan Bugg at Yorkshire-based Penfold Press on a variety of projects, including a series of four allotment prints. “I do all the artwork and Dan does all the printing side of it, as he’s got the printing beds and ink set up there,” she explains.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Clare would spend a few days at Penfold Press working alongside Dan to finalise an artwork, before leaving him to complete the print run.

However, this was not possible while creating a recent screenprint commissioned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hepworth Wakefield gallery. After a challenging 34 Artists

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process of sending prints back and forth, the pair produced Ascending Forms, a joyful ode to the museum, garden and iconic sculptor.

Another big-name commission the artist has recently completed, this time in collaboration with East London’s Jealous Studio, is Jardin de Suzanne for V&A Select, a new collection of artists’ prints commissioned by the V&A in limited runs of just 75. Based on an Art Deco carpet from the London museum’s collection, the vibrant screenprint wows with Clare’s signature stylised forms and intricate composition.

“I work just in line with pencil on layout paper,” she reveals of the process behind planning compositions. “It’s a very oldfashioned way of working, and I just draw and re-draw until I get it right.”

6 The elements come from various sources, as Clare is keen to avoid making reproductions of a particular place. Take May Day, for example. The main figure was based on her partner, but it’s not their allotment. Rather, it’s a mix of different components either imagined or adapted from one of her sketchbooks. Once the composition is finalised, Clare will focus on making her harmonious colour choices: “I think it always works best with a limited palette. Often, I’m only using four or five colours maximum.

5 A roller

helps produce an even layer of inks 6 Screenprint

Fruits of Our Labour is an edition of 75 7 An East

Anglian legend inspired Clare’s Black Shuck

IN THE STUDIO

7

“I use a Pantone swatch book which is very useful when you’re a printmaker because not only does it have all the colours in there, but also it shows you how to mix up the colours with the inks. So, I tend to use that, and stick to one dark colour, one light colour and two in-between – that kind of works out alright.”

The artist produces rich textures.

In linocut printmaking they come from cross-hatching or engraving onto the surface of the lino, while a different approach is called upon for

screenprinting. Each colour seen on a final screenprint relates to a different transparent film that Clare has drawn over with crayon like a brass rubbing, using things like corrugated card and old linen-like book covers to provide the textured surface underneath.

With all the different parts of Clare’s prints perfected, it’s hard to deny the timeless appeal of her unique visual language – just as recognisable as, but far more renowned than, that dreaded demon dog. www.clarecurtis.co.uk

Artists & Illustrators 35

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36 Artists

& Illustrators

W

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Artists & Illustrators 37

38 Artists

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MASTERCL ASS

FRESH

Anne-Marie's materials •Paints Lemon Yellow Hue, Cadmium Yellow, Permanent Rose, Rose Madder Genuine, Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine, Cobalt Turquoise, Terre Verte, Prussian Green, Sap Green, Olive Green, Naples Yellow Light, Naples Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber, Davy’s Gray, Indigo, Payne’s Gray and Titanium White, all Winsor & Newton Artists’ Oil Colour; Lemon Yellow, Michael Harding •Support Bird & Davis primed fine linen canvas, 70x70cm •Brushes ProArte Series 32 Polar Nylon flat brusges, sizes 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2”, 3/4” and 1”; a decorator’s paint brush, 1.5” •Winsor & Newton Galeria White Gesso primer •Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant

flowers

Faced with a bunch of newly-cut blooms, ANNE-MARIE BUTLIN wanted to capture some of that freshness and optimism in the way she painted them – here’s how she did it

M

y recent work has been inspired by gardens and garden flowers, and reflects the movement towards more naturalistic, seasonal planting. I signed up to receive a monthly bucket of flowers from an organic, sustainable local cutting garden, Wolves Lane Flower Company, and my very first delivery was unexpectedly lovely – a glorious tangle of spring blooms.

There was a nice simplicity to this composition. I just felt really compelled to capture the beautiful flowers in front of me as quickly as possible.

Those first flowers of spring had a certain symbolism: new growth, fresh beginnings, and hope for the future. I wanted my painting to convey a sense of this optimism and energy. They also had a rather old-fashioned look, which tied in quite well with my painting style. I liked the idea of very traditional subject matter painted with a modern sensibility.

Anne-Marie’s next exhibition runs 5-22 October at Thackeray Gallery, London. www.anne-mariebutlin.com

Artists & Illustrators 39

MASTERCLASS

1

Comp o s e c ar ef ully

I began by taking photos of the arrangement in my house. I used the square-format option on my phone’s camera as I played around with the composition. I then worked in my studio, drawing from both the photo and directly from life, taking the best bits of each.

I painted my primed linen with a fairly thick layer of acrylic gesso to give it some tooth. Once dry, I used the large decorator’s brush to apply a thinned down layer of Burnt Sienna as a ground.

2

S cr ub in t h e b a sic s

I used a thicker mix of Burnt Sienna to loosely draw out the composition. My plan was to work really quickly so that all subsequent layers of paint would merge with the wet ground and give the whole piece a feeling of warmth and unity. I also wanted to leave little patches of this underlying colour showing through the subsequent layers to give the painting a glow, though I took care to ensure that these patches were balanced across the canvas and didn’t overpower.

Top tip

When mixing, remember to use complementary colours – those that appear on opposite sides of the colour wheel.

Tiny touches of red, for example, can take the edge off a green that looks too bright.

3

Pin dow n t h e draw in g

Olive Green is a rich, neutral colour so I used it to pin down the various elements.

Drawing freehand gives the painting a sense of energy and I can make small adjustments if necessary. I worked from my photo, but also looked carefully at the arrangement in my studio, adding and moving flowers to make the best possible composition.

40 Artists

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4

B lo ck in key colo ur s

It had become difficult to see the marks clearly, so it was helpful to put down some blocks of colour that would provide a structure to work around.

The white of the narcissi was a good initial focal point. With that in place, I was then able to pitch other colours against it.

I also established the darkest pink of the wallflowers from which I could then work up to the lightest pink. By contrast, the greens were kept really dark at this stage.

MASTERCLASS

5

D evelop th e comp o sit ion

I felt the dark panel to the left of the flowers and the rounded tabletop were key parts of the composition, so I added those in.

I also vaguely suggested the shadow, exaggerating the tone, as this simple shape provided a foil to the complex tangle of foliage.

The shadow consisted of a subtle mix of greys and echoed the small amount of blue in the flowers. Burnt Sienna proved itself to be a good choice for the ground here, as it mixed effectively with all the applied colour to give the whole piece a feeling of warmth.

6

Ke ep it lo o s e

At this point my left hand was juggling brushes loaded with the key colours. I kept the paint thin in this initial drawing stage and used fairly large brushes to keep the marks loose and gestural.

I wanted to capture a general impression of the tone of the flowers here and often I don’t move much beyond this early stage of the drawing. Sometimes an initial response can’t be improved upon so tightening up the drawing is not particularly helpful.

8 7

Ref in e f r om t h e b a ck

I was keen to contrast the pattern of the foliage with a distinctly lighter background, so I carefully mixed a light grey with Titanium White, Davy’s Grey and Yellow Ochre for warmth.

I used the 1” brush to roughly apply the paint in different directions and continually remixed the colour, slightly differently each time, to give a sense of depth and movement to this area.

I also used this as a chance to refine the drawing of the gorgeously intricate shapes of the leaves and flowers on the edge, and most satisfyingly, all the little gaps in between.

Mix up gr e en s

I focused on accurate colour mixing here. It’s taken me a long while to find ready-made greens that work best for me: rich Prussian Green; brilliant, translucent Sap Green; opaque, blue-tinged Terre-Verte; and deep, cool Olive Green. I mix many colours with them. Indigo is useful for dark areas; Naples Yellow Light and the very pale Michael Harding Lemon Yellow for lighter leaves.

Artists & Illustrators 41

MASTERCLASS

9

B uild o ut war ds

Blocking in the rest of the background gave a better sense of the whole painting. I began to lighten the grey in the left-hand panel and I refined the greyish-teal tabletop, which was becoming a key colour in the piece. All the tones were still intentionally quite dark, giving a good foundation on which to gradually build up to the lighter areas. The Burnt Sienna ground seemed to be creating a sense of cohesion too.

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Fin d a f o cus

Parts of the painting needed to be in tighter focus, while a few flowers would be more effective if left much looser. I carefully worked on the most prominent of the Pheasant’s Eye narcissi which felt like a key focal point. This flower was painted using a range of soft greys, Titanium White mixed with Davy’s Grey plus hints of Lemon Yellow.

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12

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B lot t h e p aint in g

The paint got a bit thick in places, so I used newspaper to blot much of the painting. This can create some lovely effects and squash the colours together while bringing out some of the ground beneath. It also picks up the grain of the linen or the brushmarks of the gesso primer. I find this method works particularly well with my greens, which are translucent and glow nicely when thinner.

Ad d highlight s

I gradually added all the lighter tones, building up to strong highlights that refined the drawing of the flowers. I added blues and greens to take out the sweetness of the pinks and to describe the shadows. Rose Madder Genuine added tinges of brownish pink and Naples Yellow Light worked very well to describe the daffodil and tulip highlights.

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Kn ow wh en to s top

I took time to paint the flower stems in the glass jug. I simplified the shapes, leaving carefully blotted areas and some ground showing through, and then applied lighter greens and strong white highlights on top. I then forced myself to stop, resisting the urge to tighten up the drawing in order to maintain a feeling of spontaneity.

Hahnemühle Natural Line

Free Workshop - Register today!

Paint a Succulent in Watercolour Live Workshop & Q&A with Jola Sopek, Wednesday 30th June, 7-9pm Paint a Succulent Workshop In this 2-hour online workshop, Jola will take you through the steps to create a realistic, three-dimensional watercolour illustration of a succulent plant using Hahnemühle’s new Natural Line Agave watercolour paper. We will start with a pencil sketch considering shapes and perspective, move onto preparing a colour palette, and then work in multiple layers to build shadows, highlights and textures as used in botanical illustrations. Afterwards, there will be a live Q&A with Jola and a technical expert from Hahnemühle to discuss any questions you may have.

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Hahnemühle FineArt GmbH Hahnestraße 5, 37586 Dassel, Germany www.hahnemuehle.com

Jola Sopek is a freelance illustrator and calligrapher based in Brighton, UK. She works in watercolour and ink, and mostly focuses on food and botanical illustration of fruit and vegetables. She takes on custom illustration commissions for clients (branding, food packaging, logo design) and teaches watercolour and pointed pen calligraphy. Check out her Instagram for art updates and inspiration at www.instagram.com/JolaPictures.

Agave

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Agave Watercolour is a natural white paper with a cold pressed, homogeneous surface texture. It is suitable for all kinds of watercolour techniques.

Agave Watercolour ist ein naturweißes Papier mit einer matten, sehr homogenen Oberflächenstruktur. Es ist für jede Aquarelltechnik geeignet.

Agave Watercolour est un papier blanc naturel au grain fin et à la texture homogène. Il est adapté à toutes les techniques d’aquarelle.

Agave Watercolour es un papel de agave para acuarela, blanco natural de grano fino, con una textura homogénea. Apto para todas las técnicas de acuarela.

Rev. 01

Watercolour painting: @taanyaglama

About the Hahnemühle Natural Line Hahnemühle’s Natural Line integrates resource-saving papers: Agave Watercolour, Hemp Sketch, Bamboo Mixed Media and Bamboo Sketch. All Natural Line papers are vegan, resistant to ageing and acid-free. A percentage of profits from the Natural Line are given to the Green Rooster initiative, which supports global environmental projects.

To Register your interest for the workshop and to receive a free sample of the Agave Watercolour paper, please sign up on the event page at www.hahnemuehle.co.uk Hahnemühle UK Ltd, Suite 5 St Marys Court, Carleton Forehoe, Norwich, NR9 4AL, Tel: 01603 759266 uksales@hahnemuehle.com www.hahnemuehle.co.uk

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CO LO U R THEO RY

3. Saturation

JAKE SPICER continues his four-part series by explaining colour saturation and how it can be a useful factor for mixing subtle grey areas

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his month, we delve further into the three elements of colour – hue, saturation, and tone – with a closer look at the second of those. Saturation describes the intensity of a colour’s hue, from intense (or saturated) to dull (or desaturated). While a saturated colour displays the fullest properties of its hue – imagine the green of freshly-watered grass or the yellow of a ripe lemon – a fully desaturated colour appears “neutral”, a grey, black or

white that has no hue whatsoever and displays purely tonal characteristics.

We easily confuse the saturation of a colour with its tonal value, describing a colour as “light” when we should say “saturated”. Although lightness often goes hand-in-hand with saturation, the most saturated blues and purples are often tonally dark, while pastel colours are light but desaturated.

A clear sky on a summer’s morning can help illustrate the difference between hue and saturation; at the

horizon line the sky will be tonally lighter and less saturated, gradually changing to tonally darker and more saturated overhead.

Contrasts of saturation are incredibly important in visual art, with intense, saturated colour naturally drawing the eye in a composition, particularly when set in the context of less saturated colours. In this article we will show how you can use a better understanding of saturation to inform your colour mixing and composition.

Saturation

Hue

"Browns" 44 Artists

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"Greys"

"Reds"

C O L O U R T H E O RY

Exploring saturation The colour wheel opposite shows the most saturated versions of a hue arranged around the circumference.

By placing a neutral grey at the centre of the wheel, we can arrange radiating spectra of increasingly saturated versions of each hue, creating wedges that represent a single hue family.

While hue families, like red, yellow or magenta, encompass all of the colours in a single wedge, other named colour families are grouped by common properties of saturation.

The colours we might call “brown” are the less saturated reds and oranges, while “grey” covers all desaturated hues – whether truly

neutral or simply “chromatic” greys that still show a little of the hue family to which they also belong.

Using a colour wheel that shows both hue around its circumference and saturation along its radius can help you to think about colour relationships and to anticipate the outcomes of mixing colours.

Exercise

Mixing across the colour wheel You can use a full colour wheel to predict how two colours might mix by placing your starting colours on the wheel and drawing a line between them – the colours that the line cuts through on the wheel will give you a rough indication of the hues that can be mixed from the starting colours, as well as suggesting how saturated those hues might be.

While the order of hues around a colour wheel remains consistent on all wheels, the hues that are included and the space they take up on the circumference will differ depending on how the wheel is intended to be used. All colour wheels are simple representations of an imaginary space in which all colours can potentially exist. Use them as a rough guide to inform how you think about colour rather than a stricter arbiter of chromatic fact.

To truly understand how colours mix and combine you need to experiment with the colours you have at your disposal. Use the following exercise to get to know your own colours a little better.

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Mix comp lementarie s

Start by picking two approximate “mixing complementaries” – two tube pigments from your collection that sit opposite one another on the colour wheel. I’ve chosen Viridian, a dark, saturated green that nudges towards blue, and Scarlet Lake, a saturated red [see below].

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Make a colour s tring

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Add w hite to the grid

Now combine incremental amounts of each of the two complementary pigments in five separate, generous pools on your palette. Draw a 7x4 box grid onto a piece of gesso-primed paper and paint a swatch of each of the five mixed colours into the top row of the grid between your original tube colours. You’ll notice that the most saturated colours are those tube colours, while the mixed colours become less saturated in the middle.

Notice that the top left and top right colours are still the most saturated – the mixes become less saturated as more of the complementary colour is mixed in. You’ll also notice that the colour gets lighter and less saturated as it mixes towards white.

Use this experiment to develop new limited palettes that give you access to a wide range of chromatic greys – you might be surprised by the subtle colours that appear in the mix.

Arrange swatches of white along the bottom of the grid and mix vertical colour strings between white and each pool of mixed colour to create a full grid similar to the one on the right. This shows the potential gamut of colours that can be mixed from your three-colour palette.

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C O L O U R T H E O RY

Case Study

Saturation contrasts We often use contrasting hues to create visual interest in images or we rely on strong tonal contrasts that juxtapose extreme lights and darks.

However, it is just as important to consider how you use contrasts of saturation in your work.

As an experiment in colour design, try to make an image that primarily uses a contrast of saturation to draw the eye. Use your complementary palette developed in the earlier mixing exercise to paint an image in chromatic greys, using one saturated colour to direct the eye around the composition. In this example, I used Viridian, Titanium White and Scarlet Lake. www.jakespicerart.co.uk

The kimono sleeves were painted using dark saturated reds that draw the eye

The skin was painted using light red-greys (“pinks”) with the tonal values kept within a narrow, pale range

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The fabric and hair were painted using the neutral grey portion of the palette

Next Month:

The series concludes with a look at tone

LEFT When the image is desaturated (reduced to a greyscale), the eye is drawn to changes in tone rather than saturation – the prominence of the lips, sleeves and hands are reduced compared to the full-colour version.

TECHNIQUE

TECHNIQUE

Tonal Studies

Highlights and shadows give life to a painting but placing them is tricky.

SANDRINE MAUGY sets out five principles for a successful tone study and explores the best media to use 1. Consistent light Natural light changes fast, which might result in a loss of consistency when you are painting over an extended period of time. This is where the tone study comes in. It allows us to observe and put down the tones quickly, without worrying about aesthetics or neatness of stroke.

Whether working in natural or artificial 48 Artists

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light, a tone study gives you a consistent reference in terms of both timescale and accuracy of tonal placement throughout the subsequent painting.

The primary light source is the beacon that guides the artist through the meanderings of light and dark.

When working outdoors in daylight, that primary light source is the sun.

Depending on the weather, it can be pronounced or hidden. But even when clouds obscure the sky, there is always a dominant light direction.

When working indoors, the primary light source can come from anywhere and multiple sources can be used to create a less natural environment.

It doesn’t matter how you set it up, as long as it stays consistent.

TECHNIQUE

2. Modifying factors While the primary light source dictates the main tonal zones, other factors modify these and influence the tone study. The first of these is reflected light. No subject is truly isolated in space. Light bounces off objects and structures, which create areas of reflected light on the main subject. As some of the light is absorbed and only some of it bounces back, reflected light is never as light as the main highlight.

Cast shadows are another modifying factor. If something is on top or in front of a subject, it casts a shadow that darkens the tonal zones created by the primary light source.

The local colour of any subject also affects the tonal scale. The shadows on a pale primrose are lighter than the shadows on a velvety dark rose, for example. The texture of the subject is another influence. The highlight on a glossy white porcelain jug is lighter than a highlight on a red brick wall. These modifying factors are just some examples and no doubt you will meet others as you explore different subjects.

Establish a scale Standard scale

Subject in full light?

Brighter highlights, high contrast

Subject in dim light or shade?

Darker highlights, low contrast

Light local colour?

Brighter highlights, low contrast

Dark local colour?

Darker highlights, standard contrast

This apple is isolated in space, so the tone is only affected by the primary light source (indicated by arrows)

This apple sits on a surface, however, so modifying factors such as reflected light and cast shadows are introduced

Highlights

Mid-tones

Shadows

3. Establish a scale One important principle for a good tone study is to alternate areas of light and dark. Before starting your study, creating a simple tonal scale [left] is an efficient way to get a handle on the primary light source and the effects of the modifying factors. If the composition contains many different subjects, it is possible to create a quick tonal scale for each of the main ones. These tonal scales do not need to be sophisticated.

A tone study is not a finished piece of work but a tool to help build one.

Identifying three tonal zones for each part of the subject is enough: highlights, mid-tones and shadows.

All tones in between will develop naturally when painting the final work.

4. Work fast Glossy dark subject?

Brighter highlights, very high contrast

Velvety/textured dark subject?

Darker highlights, high contrast

Do not spend too much time on the tone study. The whole point of the exercise is to take a snapshot of the light before it changes. Think of it simply as a quick map of light and dark areas. The medium used has to be fast as well as appropriate for the situation and the subject.

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TECHNIQUE

5. Choose appropriate media Once your drawing is ready for the tonal work, make sure you select your medium carefully. Different media are more appropriate than others, depending on the subject and the working conditions. There are three in particular that I like to use for my tonal studies and not all of them work equally well in all situations.

Below I have laid out the pros and cons of those media in relation 50 Artists

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to various subjects. In each case, these drawn examples helped with creating great tonal maps to follow when the time came to work on the final paintings.

- Good range of tones - Allows for greater detail and accuracy - Erases easily - Gives complete stroke control - Can be used on any paper

A. Pencil From the precise HH to the chunky 6B clutch, pencil is a convenient medium for tonal studies.

Pros - Portable and ideal in the field

Cons - Time consuming on more than a small sketch - Doesn’t grade naturally from one tone to another - Can smudge

ABOVE Sunflower in pencil This subject was an ideal candidate for a B pencil. The shadows around the tiny flowers were drawn with a sharp edge while the shadows on the outer petals were sketched in more crudely.

TECHNIQUE

B. Watersoluble graphite Watersoluble sketching pencils, such as Derwent’s Dark Wash, can be used dry or wet. They cover large areas fast and give a rough finish that some will love – and others will find too messy.

Pros - Large areas can be covered quickly - Can be used on heavier cartridge paper - Tone can be graded with water - Offers some stroke control - Can be used dry or wet

LEFT Apple in watersoluble graphite The Derwent Dark Wash pencil allowed me to cover the large area of the fruit and leaves as well as the smaller areas such as the stalks and branches.

RIGHT Anemones in watercolour This painting was large but contained a lot of intricate details. Using watercolour with different sizes of brush meant that it was easy to adapt to all areas and work quickly.

C. Watercolour While the need for water makes it less convenient on the go, watercolour is nevertheless a delicate medium that grades beautifully and can cover large areas as well as deal with tiny details.

Pros - Can cover large surfaces easily - Brush size can be adapted to different parts - Tone gradation is easily achieved naturally - Quick and efficient - Doesn’t smudge Cons - Needs heavy paper - Might dissolve parts of the drawing - Requires access to water - Doesn’t erase - Offers less control www.sandrinemaugy.com

Cons - Not for delicate subjects with intricate detail - Doesn’t erase easily when used wet - Tone gradation can be difficult to control - Might dissolve the details in the drawing - Can look too messy for some artists

e p a c s d n a LSPECIAL Over the next 11 pages, three expert guides look at different ways to embrace the outdoors and start plein air painting

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE Watercolourist GRAHAME BOOTH explains this tricky concept and how it can be used to give a sense of depth to your paintings

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ainters frequently talk about “depth” in their paintings which is slightly ironic as paintings in general are completely flat with absolutely no actual depth whatsoever. Of course, what we all mean by depth is really the illusion of depth. Our paintings are optical illusions that try to fool the brain into believing that our two-dimensional flat sheet of paper has a third dimension.

Aerial perspective – also known as atmospheric perspective – refers to a combination of various methods we

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can use to enforce that suggestion.

Aerial perspective is real. Distance has a neutralising effect on all of the main attributes of the subject: detail is reduced, edges become softer, colour saturation is lowered, colour temperature changes, and extremes of tone are suppressed. These effects are created by the uneven scattering of light by dust in the atmosphere.

Very often we need to distort or exaggerate them to really make it work to our advantage.

Take the two photos below as an example. In the first, the effects of

aerial perspective are very clear in the distant mountains where we are looking at tens of miles of depth; in the second, the distance to the far hills is shorter so the effect is more subtle. In order to create an illusion of depth we must consider the use of aerial perspective in every subject, irrespective of actual depth or the visibility of the effects. Photographers can influence this easily, but as painters we must be much more inventive. Below are five factors to consider that can help you amplify the effects of aerial perspective.

LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

1

Detail

Most of you will have heard that old nugget of wisdom: “paint what you see, not what you know to be there”.

While that is generally good advice, with distant detail we can often see much more than we need to, particularly with the aid of modern cameras that produce ever-sharper photographs. Perhaps we should be thinking more along the lines of “paint what you need to see, not what you actually can see”.

It is all too easy to simply copy what we see instead of thinking about the

Downpatrick Station, watercolour on paper, 51x38cm In this painting, I exaggerated the aerial perspective in the distance by softening some edges, removing almost all detail and merging everything to a mid-toned purple grey.

It is very important that aerial perspective should not be an excuse for boring passages of paint. Note the colour and edge variety in the distance – this allowed me to concentrate focus on the train. Even though the adjacent clutter was painted in warm hues, it still “sat back” because of the lack of detail and softening of edges and tone.

effect on the painting. Being less aware of the detail of distant objects is exactly what our brain would expect, so straight away we help to create the illusion of depth if we suppress the detail in the distance, even if we can still make it out.

2

Edge

As well as simply leaving out detail in the distance, we can further enhance the feeling of depth in the landscape by minimising hard edges in the distance. The effect on edges is very obvious on a hot summer’s

Artists & Illustrators 53

LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

Tree Lined Road, watercolour on paper, 38x28cm The most distant part of this subject [see photo top right] was maybe only 150 metres away and there were no strong indications of aerial perspective. The far trees were almost identical in appearance to the closer trees, but my less detailed, less colourful, less tonal and softer treatment of these more distant trees pushed them back.

Notice how I have linked most of those background trees together. Another effect of distance is that we tend to see groups of objects rather than individual, separated objects.

When we have reasonably detailed similar objects closer to us our brains are very good at understanding the very much simplified distant version.

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day when the heat haze gently softens distant objects so that they blend together, whereas on a cold cloudy day distant edges may appear almost as sharp as edges in the foreground.

If we mimic that atmospheric softness, we will further enhance the illusion of depth even when we can’t see it.

3

Colour temperature

We must be careful with colour.

Aerial perspective doesn’t just turn everything in the distance blue. After all a distant field of ripe barley still has an ochre colour, but instead it is as if there is a pale blue filter in front of it. For distant green fields and trees, you can easily add more blue to a mix that already contained blue

LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

with your applied colour will not have the same effect. Of course, that blue tint in the distance only applies during the day, and it is often only really obvious at the height of a sunny day – during a bright early morning or evening, the atmospheric conditions create a warm golden tone instead.

A good way to suggest this without resorting to gaudy sunset colours is to wash over the entire paper with a warm wash before starting your painting. A mix somewhere between Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna will do the job well.

4

anyway, whereas for something like the barley fields, we can instead create that pale filter by applying a wash of a slightly cool pigment such as Cobalt Blue over the warm colours.

The wash should be relatively weak: just enough to see the effect, not so strong as to be obviously blue.

The Cobalt Blue layer should be applied as a glaze. Physically mixing it

Colour saturation

The other effect of aerial perspective on colour is a reduction in saturation. Colours seen in the distance simply do not have the same strength and intensity as those viewed up close. It is not simply that they become lighter (although that can happen) but that the colour itself becomes less powerful, as the chroma essentially shifts towards a greyer hue.

My recent series on secondary colours [Issues 427-429] explained how to create a huge range of these bright and dull variants, but the simple addition of the complementary colour to your mix will effectively reduce the saturation.

Complementary colours are those opposite each other in the colour wheel, so, for example, the complement to a blue mix would involve introducing orange. Only a small amount of the complement will be needed to sufficiently desaturate the colour; too much will turn it grey.

5

Tone

If we think of our pale blue filter as being very slightly opaque, the effect is to slightly dull all of our tones. Remember that the slight opacity is a result of everything being somewhat scrambled by the dusty atmosphere and the result is a darkening of light tones and lightening of dark tones. In other words, the contrast is reduced and everything tends towards a light mid-tone.

If you think of the tones visible in the foreground as being plotted on a scale from 1 (lightest) to 10 (darkest), then all the tones visible in the background might be found between say 3 and 6 on that scale or 4 and 7.

Sticking to this as a guide will help suggest aerial perspective and depth.

Avoid the temptation to leave any blank paper showing in the background or to add some punchy darks – save the extremes of tone for the much closer areas. www.grahamebooth.com

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PARK Painting L ANDSCAPE SPECIAL

DENIS JOHN-NAYLOR is known as “The Man that Paints the Park”. Here he shows why a local green space is all you need to get to grips with painting outdoors this summer

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arks can be as inspirational as anywhere for the landscape painter. My local park has everything I need: sky, trees, water, fields of grass and other foliage. The sky can change frequently, sunlight continually moves altering highlights and shadows, and seasonal changes significantly alter the scenery. Un-mown summer fields are a gift to the artist. I could paint a different park picture every day.

Painting outdoors – or en plein air – challenges our ability, creativity and perception of the world around us.

We need to look for what we can actually see not what we think is

LEFT Field of Colour, oil on panel, 20x25cm Avoid painting what you know is there – all those individual blades of grass. Look instead for signs of colour and group into bolder shapes, reducing contrast and colour intensity as the scene recedes.

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LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

BELOW Sunlight and Shadow, oil on panel, 20x25cm Sunlight on grass can make it appear warmer and brighter. Cast shadows such as this one should be rendered approximately and rapidly.

there; interpreting what we see into a painted image in our own unique way. React to the light and try to forget about local colour (the colour which we know an object to be). Bright light can warm and brighten local colour, whereas shade will cool and darken it. Look carefully to judge where these changes have taken place.

Painting outdoors is a spontaneous and personal experience; every session presents different challenges. I never fail to find a subject because I will just paint anything. This gives me an experience I may never have had. Your goal should be to paint like you – not like me or anyone else. In meeting this challenge, you will then create original works of art through your own vision.

All plein air painting is a compromise. From the time you select your subject to the moment you begin painting, the light will have changed the appearance of the scene.

Try to think of it simply as making marks; marks in an arrangement that suggests the subject. I use all sides and edges of my brush to maximise my mark making abilities.

BELOW Bole Study, oil on panel, 20x25cm Park painting requires comparing contrasts in texture, colour and tone, then interpreting what you see into mark making. Loose, exaggerated strokes suggested light falling here.

GET TING STARTED Most of the pictures in this article were painted plein air with alkyd oils in my local park and took about two hours each. To remain focused for the duration of your session you will need to be comfortable and organised.

Parks being public places, you will need to deal with inquisitive people.

Be polite and you might even find a new buyer for your work.

I paint seated using a pochade painting box. A pochade box is an easel and palette all in one; all other equipment can be by your feet in the box’s detachable base. Everything you need should fit into a backpack, leaving one hand to carry your seat and one hand free.

Limiting your colours not only gives less to carry, but also unifies your painting and simplifies mixing. One of each primary colour – red, yellow and blue – will create most basic mixes.

I also use Olive Green as a base green, Burnt Sienna for mixing greys

and dull oranges, plus a cool yellow (I prefer the Cadmium Yellow Lemon from Jackson's), to aid recession.

I like using alkyd oils for park painting as it speeds the drying time and helps avoid muddying the mixes when painting wet into wet. Smaller panels are a good way to start – maybe 20x25cm. If you make small paintings, don’t use small brushes though. Larger brushes will encourage a more painterly approach and stop you fiddling with details. I like to use size 4 or 6 long flat brushes.

Artists & Illustrators 57

LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

ASSESSING THE SCENE Plein air painting is all about the light so observing and assessing a scene is important. Skies are normally lighter overall than the land. Light illuminates horizontal surfaces more than vertical surfaces. Note the tonal changes in the sky overhead compared to the sky at the horizon.

Clouds change the mood by continually crossing in front of the light, calling for compromise. Do not ask yourself what colour is the sky, ask how many colours are there?

Where are the lightest lights? Half closing your eyes reduces detail and simplifies the pattern of lights and darks. Reducing contrasts and subduing colours as the picture plane recedes, gives depth to your painting [see Aerial Perspective on page 52].

For effective contrasts, I prefer a painting position where the light is coming from the side, rather than facing or directly behind me. Shield your eyes and head with a hat.

Knowledge of linear perspective is not necessarily required, simply look, measure, compare and check alignments instead.

MIXING COLOUR Your palette is where you can compare new mixes with past mixes.

Sometimes the quickest route to a new mix is to modify an existing one.

Avoid just using white to lighten a mix, look on your palette for another lighter colour that might work instead.

Remember warm colours mixed together will not tend to grey, neither will cool colours; only a warm and a cool colour mixed together will make true greys. Lay out two spots of white paint: one to mix with warm colours, one for cool colours. Keeping different brushes for warm and cool mixes will keep colours cleaner too.

Mixing can also take place on the picture, as you pull and push paint to blend passages or soften edges.

RIGHT Autumn Light, oil on panel, 25x30cm This park picture was painted in the warm clear morning light of early autumn.

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LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

LEFT Evening Light by the Lake, oil on panel, 13x25cm When painting contre-jour (or “against the light”), you sometimes get those interesting sparkles on the water. However, you will also lose detail on the foliage.

BELOW Walking the Dog, oil on panel, 25x30cm Here you can see three stages of a painting. Pathways aided the composition, creating a lead into the scene. I noted individuals as they passed by to record their size and position in space.

Pull unwanted paint from your brushes with a rag rather than washing it with thinner – this saves time and keeps your paint stiffer.

PAINTING IN PROGRESS Make yourself a viewfinder by cutting an aperture into a piece of card.

I paint on 8x10” panels (25x30cm) so I made a 4x5” viewfinder – exactly half the size.

After selecting the subject, use your viewfinder to draw a border in your sketchbook [see top right]. Inside this border, sketch your subject and apply shading to register the light effect.

Tonal variation throughout your painting provides major structural elements so get this stage right.

When happy with your sketch, scale it up to your panel, drawing with fluid Yellow Ochre and a small soft brush.

Now scrub in the shaded areas with a varied dark fluid wash (oil paint mixed with thinners). I used Olive Green and

Ultramarine Blue, loosely, applied with the flat of a size 6 bristle brush.

Start assessing lights and darks around your point of interest and lay down patches of colour to judge comparisons. Continue this process across all passages of your painting.

I usually paint the sky colours just short of the tree block-in, then finish the trees by extending broken edges into the wet sky. Show texture where a change in tone takes place. Blend colour patches and soften shapes at the picture’s edges. High contrasts or a figure can draw further attention to the focal point.

Spend more time looking than painting. It can also be a useful practice to take photographs before and after each session to compare the changes in light.

Denis’ latest book, Drawing Trees and Flowers, is co-written with Margaret Eggleton and published by Search Press. www.harrowlodgepaintings.blogspot.com

Artists & Illustrators 59

L ANDSCAPE SPECIAL

SIMPLE STREETS

Our special ends with a demo by HASHIM AKIB showing you how simple colour choices can provide a clearer focal point and why your brushes have a big bearing on the outcome 60 Artists

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LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

Hashim's materials •Paints Azo Yellow Lemon, Azo Yellow Medium, Pyrrole Red, Primary Magenta, Ultramarine Violet, Permanent Blue Violet, Brilliant Blue, Cobalt Blue (Ultramarine), Phthalo Blue, Greenish Blue, Prussian Blue (Phthalo), Phthalo Green, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Titanium White, all Amsterdam Standard acrylics •Brushes Daler-Rowney Skyflow large flat brushes, sizes 1/2”, 1”, 1.5” and 2” •Support Stretched cotton canvas, 60x75cm •Kitchen roll •White plastic tray •Water pot

1

A ppl y a ba s e colour

Painting a street scene in acrylics can be tricky, as you contend with rapid drying times and trying to capture too much detail. If your pictures look flat or confused, try to remember that acrylic suffers if you excessively blend or layer it, and that overly diluting the paint can also flatten the colour. Confidently placed brushstrokes are the goal, made with neater, thicker combinations of pigment.

Try using larger flat head brushes instead of smaller round ones. It might take time to get used to working with them, but you will be rewarded with an ability to quickly block in areas initially, while still allowing elements to be defined at the latter stages.

I used them to apply a very thin base colour of Brilliant Blue, Burnt Sienna and Titanium White to my canvas and left to dry.

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2

Sketch thing s out

I made a very simple sketch with a 0.5” brush to establish the main forms. My aim was to familiarise myself with the elements and make mental notes about tones, colours or moods I wanted to convey. I used fairly neat paint for this but I also lightly dampened the brushes to avoid paint drying on them and to provide some lubrication when applying paint to the canvas.

Using the 2” flat brush, I mixed a range of greys from blues, violets, Phthalo Green and Burnt Sienna, adding Titanium White to soften the tones. With these subsequent mixtures of dark greenish greys and mid- or soft blues, I described a few figures.

3

Relax your arm

These early stages are painted with what I like to call the “floppy arm” technique: big brushes are loaded with plenty of

paint and direct marks are applied in various directions while avoiding the arm firming up.

Not allowing yourself multiple layers of paint to correct things is a good way of encouraging yourself to focus on accurately judging the quantities of paint and the pressure applied in each stroke. I added more Titanium White, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Azo Yellow Medium to my greyish mixes for the pavement, making sure I left space to drop lighter and darker colours in later.

4

S et the s cene

Things can look drab once areas are filled with these earthy and bluish-grey pigments, but keep in mind the vibrant colours and highlights that are coming.

When describing the buildings behind, I applied large blocks next to each other. The columns were more distinct, so I made more effort to pull them forward.

Artists & Illustrators 61

LANDSCAPE SPECIAL

T t

o p ip

g ever y line Avoid makin d perfect straight an ges add ed – uneven personalit y

5

Pick out colour s

In keeping with the palette used so far, I introduced brighter mixes with small amounts of grey.

In a change to the photo, I used a purple-red mix for a few figures’ jackets, leaving the pulsating red for the central figure only.

I used the 0.5” and 1” brushes to shape the figures. There was almost no blending or feathering of the colours as my preference was to place a block next to or on top of another block. Variation in tones and tints instead created the modelling effect.

6

B e conf ident

I mixed plenty of Titanium White with small quantities of Brilliant Blue, Burnt Sienna and various yellows and applied this to the foreground light area with the 2” brush. The width of the brush can be tricky to navigate in small areas, but the marks are much more interesting. Try to be

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5

6

7

8

confident with these applications as more layering with acrylics will dull the strength of colour.

It’s worth noting that even these lighter tints will dry darker, so compensate for the colour accordingly. These areas of light also provided interesting abstract shapes in the foreground.

7

D on' t overdo detail

Although the reference photo contained other subtle tints in the pavement, I chose to leave these out to avoid too much clutter.

The larger shapes helped to concentrate the eye on the smaller marks, as does the contrast of earthier colours against the brighter ones.

I used my smaller brushes for the intricate parts of the figures and the details in the background.

I was also careful not to paint right up to the edges of each element, which allowed some of the green outline and base colour

to remain visible. This also prevented the final painting from looking too neat or too clinical.

8

B alance thing s up

Once all elements were in place, I added more definition to draw out particular features and underplay others. On the buildings I used a mix of Titanium White, Azo Yellow Lemon and Azo Yellow Medium and small amounts of Burnt Sienna, blues and violets.

I then used a 1.5” flat to block in certain parts and drag the brush further to break up harder edges.

Additional lights (Titanium White with touches of Azo Yellow Lemon and various blues) were added to certain figures on the forehead, shoulders and creases in clothes to create more interest.

I also spent some time popping the light in the pavement with tints and applying crisp directional lines to break up the verticals. www.hashimakib.co.uk

Brand New Products from your favourite brushmaker!

Here at Pro Arte, we never stop. Last year saw the introduction of two new lines, Sablene and Sablesque, both created as an alternative to expensive Sable.

This year sees the introduction of another new synthetic product…

Bristlene Available through all good retailers Bristlene is a fully synthetic version of a traditional Hog or Bristle brush, designed for Oil and Heavy Acrylic painting. Joining the ‘Prolene’ and ‘Sablene’ stable, this is a brush that fulfils its brief superbly.

The brushes contain a variety of filaments of different grades and natural hues to give a pleasing bristle look-a-like whilst performing in a truly magnificent way. The bend and spring that the fibres exude and the sharpness of point and edge allow precise control.

All in all, they are a joy to use and a sight to behold! It’s another breakthrough for animal lovers and it takes bristle brushes to a whole new level.

Development continues and we are always looking at new opportunities, so be sure to follow us on social media.

Here you can discover more about what we already do, while being kept fully informed about brand new products.

Pro Arte Ltd, Park Mill, Brougham Street, Skipton, BD23 2JN admin@proarte.co.uk • www.proarte.co.uk Follow us on Instagram @proartebrushes

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Artists & Illustrators 63

IN-DEPTH

ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS’

Ultimate Brush Guide Getting to know your tools gives control over the marks that you can make and how well you can express yourself. Here’s our complete guide to brushes

MEDIUM The first question to ask is a simple one: with which paint medium do you intend to use the brushes?

Art materials manufacturers will often tailor brushes to suit oils, acrylics, watercolours and more, so it pays to know up front.

Watercolour brushes tend to have shorter handles to suit artists sitting at a table or inclined board, whereas acrylic and oil brushes have longer handles designed for standing at an easel and allowing the whole arm to be used. Broadly speaking, oil and acrylic brushes are stiffer too, as you don’t want them to soften in warm water, whereas watercolour and ink brushes need to have a good “snap” so that they spring back into shape.

HAIR The big choice when it comes to brushes is whether to opt for synthetic or animal hair. Of course, synthetic brushes are usually vegan-friendly, but that’s not the only difference.

A synthetic brush is often cheaper, more hard-wearing and holds a point better than animal hair. Acrylic artists in particular tend to go for synthetic brushes, as they can withstand the regular cleaning required of that medium. The downside is synthetic fibres – often made from nylon or polyester – don’t tend to hold and distribute the paint as well as animal hair.

Animal hair paintbrushes vary in quality and, much like buying meat, it pays to obtain them from a good source and enquire about provenance.

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Bristle brushes made from ox or hog hair are a common choice for acrylic and oil painters, as the hair is much coarser so it will scrape the paint more, resulting in textured, often broken strokes. The stiffer bristles tend to pick up huge amounts of pigment too.

Sable brushes are widely considered the best for watercolourists. The Kolinsky sable is the best of the best, taken from an animal native to Siberia, so the hair is supple and resilient to survive the area’s harsh conditions. Kolinsky sables are among the most absorbent and smooth brushes available, though this is reflected in the price.

Squirrel hair is a cheaper alternative to sable: soft, absorbent, though less likely to hold its shape.

Goat hair holds moisture so is suited to blending and larger applications of colour. Badger hair is coarse yet soft, perfect for more textured work. If you see brushes advertised as camel hair, don’t get the hump. They aren’t taken from the hoofed mammals, but rather from a range of sources – often of varying quality yet priced accordingly.

IN-DEPTH

HEAD There’s a huge variety between the many different shapes of brush head.

Here are the most common ones explained in full…

• Round For round, read all-rounder. This is your workhorse brush type, able to lay down a variety of marks thanks to a decent body and pointed tip.

Choose larger rounds for broadly drawing with paint in the early stages of a picture and smaller ones as you tend to finer details.

ISTOCK

• Flat Thick, consistent strokes are possible with the rather square head of flat brushes. In watercolour, a larger flat brush is useful for laying down quick washes and painting expanses of water, skies and plain backdrops.

• Filbert Think of filberts as the mid-point between a round and a flat. They have the same wider head as a flat,

but with a curved tip that results in smoother, more even strokes.

As such, they are a good starter, favoured by many acrylic or oil painters.

• Bright Sometimes known as a “short flat”, they are just that – a flat brush with shorter bristles. The stubby head is useful for dabbing small, controlled strokes, much like the Impressionists.

• Rigger These long thin brushes first became popular among marine artists who used them to paint the intricate rigging on ships – hence the name.

They tend to be synthetic and produce elegant, wispy lines.

• Sword liner If you struggle to control the thin head of a rigger, try the sword liner instead. This angled wedge still comes to a sharp point, allowing for fine details as well as sweeping, calligraphic marks.

• Fan With its spread of bristles like a peacock’s tail, the fan brush is the most appealing to look at. The broad scattered strokes are useful for hair and grass, for example, though take care to avoid repetitive marks with a fan as they can look unnatural.

Did you know?

The meta l part of a paintbru sh is kno wn as the “ fe rrule”

• Wash and mop You may see mention of these two bigger brush types, which are designed to carry large quantities of water or dilute paint – ideal for laying down washes. While a wash brush has a flat head, a mop has a round brush with a fine point.

• Hake Used primarily with ink or watercolour, these wide, flat-headed brushes also have flat handles. They are great for wetting the paper or applying large washes, and they are based upon traditional brushes used in Japanese and Chinese ink painting traditions.

Artists & Illustrators 65

IN-DEPTH

SIZE It is important to realise there is no universal brush size, so a size 2 or 10 may vary slightly from brand to brand.

Most artists will tend to keep at least two or three sizes of their favoured main brush to hand while they paint.

Only looking at masterpieces reproduced in books or magazines can convince us that detail is everything, yet next time you are in a gallery try looking up close at the surface of a favourite painting.

You may be surprised at the size of the individual strokes, and in turn the size of the brushes that the artist must have used.

Our instinct is to reach for smaller brushes in a bid to create better, more controlled paintings, yet often that results in works that focus on detail and miss the bigger picture.

Larger brushes encourage us to make artistic decisions. As a good rule of thumb when choosing your largest brush, find one you feel comfortable wielding and then go one size bigger than that. This will encourage a more painterly, economical approach.

HANDLING

Remember that a brush is not a pencil, so don’t grip it like one

Hold the brush a few inches from the end for more sensitive strokes

An overhand grip allows greater pressure to be applied

Hold loosely like a conductor’s baton to encourage using the whole arm

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Much like skinning a proverbial cat, there’s more than one way to hold a brush. While it is important that you are comfortable handling your chosen brush, being conscious of how you wield it can help vary the marks that you are able to make and the pressure that you can apply.

It may feel natural to tightly grip the end of a brush, like you would a biro when writing, yet moving your hand further from the bristles a little and extending your forefinger will allow for more intuitive strokes.

An overhand grip is useful for applying greater amounts of pressure.

Hold your hand over the brush and use your forefinger to press down on the handle firmly. This is particularly useful when holding flat or filbert brushes side on, producing much thinner controlled marks.

One final method to try is a looser hold further down the handle, much like an orchestra conductor might hold a baton or a drummer holds a drumstick. This method makes it easier to rotate the wrist and bring your whole arm into play, resulting in expressive gestural strokes.

Take some time to practise all the marks that you can make with your brushes on a spare sheet of paper or board first to familiarise yourself with the new possibilities.

IN-DEPTH

ABOVE The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver is a good way to revive brushes

CLEANING

PHOTOS: STEVE PILL/ISTOCK

Good brushes can be expensive, so it makes sense to take care of that investment – and it is far easier to prevent damage to your brushes than it is to restore them afterwards.

Watercolour, ink or gouache can easily be cleaned with fresh water, while a sheet of kitchen roll or a cloth is useful to absorb excess water so the brush tip can be reshaped with a quick twirl.

Oil brushes can be dipped in turps or another thinner and wiped on a rag before using again, though it pays to give them a thorough clean every few weeks with a dedicated soap, such as The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver. Acrylic brushes need properly cleaning after every session, however, as the paint dries quickly and can compromise the shape of the head. Use clean water and washingup liquid or soap for a thorough rinse.

Take extra care to remove paint build up from inside the ferrule as this can also push the bristles out of shape.

STORAGE Leave brushes to dry properly before storing them away. Avoid standing brushes on their head, as this can cause them to become misshapen; keep them horizontal or bristles

ABOVE Never store brushes bristle side down like this as it can damage the head

facing upward in a jar.

If your brush tip has curled or splayed after excessive use and dried out of shape, Rosemary & Co recommends trying to revive them with the “boiling water” trick.

Simply pour boiling water into a suitable container, immerse the brush head for 30-60 seconds, then reshape and allow to dry naturally. www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to

Top tip

After cleaning, twirl the head of a round brush between your fingers to help reshape it

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H O W I PA I N T

Kirsten Britt

The part-time painter only began sharing her portraits in earnest last year, yet she has a colourful, layered approach to watercolour and pastel that is finding new fans quickly

K

irsten Britt was born in 1975 and studied at Wimbledon School of Art. She lives in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, and works part-time in the special educational needs department at St Richard’s Catholic College.

Currently setting up a website to sell prints of her work, Kirsten makes portrait commissions and regularly sells work to raise money for charity, including Twitter Arts Exhibit (TAE21) for the Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund, and the Sophie’s Postcard initiative for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. www.instagram.com/ kirsten_britt_mixedmediaartist

Finding subjects I’ve been drawn to portraiture since I was very little. I always come back to the human face, I love it in all its forms and expressions and colours.

I think a portrait is a really unique way of capturing a moment in time as well.

I have been painting all my life and, for me, art is central to my life and my identity. For as long as I can remember I’ve always had a paper

and pencil to hand and am either drawing or doodling. I can’t imagine a day without drawing – it’s something I do without thinking.

My style is something that has evolved really. The artists who appeal to me have got a real signature style and you know what to expect from them – I wanted my work to have a similar signature, really.

Aside from the famous faces like Frida Kahlo or Billie Eilish, I use the Sktchy app to find my subjects.

It’s a really beautiful, collaborative community of artists who share photos with each other, as well as inspiration and ideas. The monthly fee (which I choose to pay) is optional, but gives access to additional content such as videos of artists demonstrating their process.

The source photos are all submitted by artists, so you know you are going to get nice lighting, interesting faces and unusual angles – things that are a bit different. Sourcing from Sktchy means that I have permission to use the photo too. I’m drawn to characterful faces and I know I can find them on there.

I look through the images and find an interesting face. It might be a soulful expression, an interesting texture, some play on the lighting that has thrown a different colour

cast on the skin... It really changes depending on the mood I’m in. Eyes are my favourite feature – I’m really drawn to those. I also stumbled across the artist Margriet Aasman on Sktchy. It was her use of pastels over watercolour that inspired me to try that technique and apply it to my own style of portraiture. She has a softer approach and her style is very different.

Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo were the first artists that I stumbled across when I was a teenager. What spoke to me with those two was an abandonment of the rules as I saw it and a real embracing of their soul on the paper and an ability to express themselves fearlessly. Their colour choices, especially Van Gogh’s yellows and blues, are just stunning.

I also adore Maggi Hambling and Curtis Holder, the Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year winner [see Issue 430]. The freedom in his line work, it’s got that softness but also a strength and vitality. He’s incredible – and so humble, too.

Sketching out Before starting on a final piece, I create little advance sketches to try and get a feeling of tone. Tone’s really important to me. When you’re drawing from photos, it can be a real

LEFT Frida II, ink pen, watercolour and pastel on paper, 23x30cm

Artists & Illustrators 69

H O W I PA I N T

Although I have an idea of what initial colours I would like to use, sometimes the painting will just speak to me

challenge to get the image to pop off the page. It can sometimes look a bit flat. This is one of the reasons I use toned paper. If you work on white paper, you can only really push the tone in one direction, whereas if you are using a toned paper, you can push that drawing in two directions – you can push it darker and you can add your highlights to lift it off the page as well.

The paper I use is Strathmore Mixed Media, a beautiful 300gsm cardstock. It’s a real workhorse – it doesn’t buckle with watercolour and it has an absolutely smooth finish for my pastels. I definitely spend a lot of time looking at the source photo so that it can tell me what colour paper it wants to be on.

Someone with a warmer-toned skin, I might try and complement with a cooler tone of paper. Other times I might deliberately paint a paler Caucasian skin on a tan paper to force myself to push harder with the colour placements. When you paint from photos rather than live models, the paper choice can be really key and make the highlights come alive and pop.

I make colour swatches in advance so I know how my watercolour paints are going to appear on those different colour papers and then I’ll also make graphite sketches, just to get an idea of where the shadows will play out or if I want to emphasise a particular feature. Then I will launch into the final picture.

I sketch out the composition fully in pencil first. I don’t put shading in at that point, I’m just sketching out the shapes and I can be quite precise 70 Artists

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H O W I PA I N T

LEFT Anniek, ink pen, watercolour and pastel on paper, 23x30cm

TOP RIGHT Neferttiti, ink pen, watercolour and pastel on paper, 23x30cm

over the measurements. I’ll spend a long time on this stage, at least an hour, an hour and a half. Then I go over the top of the pencil with my Edding 1800, which is a beautiful waterproof fineliner.

Sometimes I’ll use a carbon or acrylic ink with a dip pen if I’m looking for a looser result. I try to be really free with my ink lines, whereas I’m very precise with the pencil sketch underneath. I know I’ve got that accuracy there so I can be a bit freer

with my pen work and try and bring in the contours.

With the ink lines in place, I will completely erase my pencil drawing – I can erase really hard on this paper and I know the pen line is not going to be affected.

Vibrant colours I use Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle watercolours. They are so vibrant, so intense – I won’t use anything else.

I’ve tried many different brands and

always come back to this one, it’s just gorgeous.

I prefer to begin with the middle tones and it’s a tentative start for me. I’m led by the painting as well.

Although I have an idea of what colours I would like to use, sometimes as I’m exploring those initial washes, the painting will just speak to me and suggest a direction. I tend to start scared and finish up confident.

I like to start with a purple shadow, generally. Regardless of the paper

Artists & Illustrators 71

H O W I PA I N T

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H O W I PA I N T

you are using, a purple shadow is fairly neutral, and you can run in whatever direction you want with the colours still. It allows you that freedom. I don’t like a skin-tone shadow or a grey shadow – I still like my rainbows.

I put the painting on the radiator, so the watercolour dries really quickly.

The Strathmore paper is great for this, it’s not going to buckle and the paint won’t dry a shade I wasn’t expecting. Sometimes I’ll have two drawings on the go at once so I can put one to one side and keep going on the second. I’m an impatient person.

Sometimes I’ll make a start on a colour, it might be a warm tone on the skin, for example, and I’ll notice the shadows in the hair are cooler and so I’ll look for a cooler tone that will complement that. Obviously, people don’t have blue hair in real life, but a blue or a green might look really beautiful against an orange.

These colours will have come through to me in the photograph – there might be a play of light on the ends of the hair where I can see a purple that I will use through all of the hair. These colours are not something I don’t see in the photograph, but I might only see a glimmer of them.

I try to be really free with my ink lines, whereas I’m very precise with the pencil sketch underneath Nothing to lose I finish my drawings with Stabilo’s Carbothello pastel pencils, which have a bold texture and vibrant intensity. Again, they are highly pigmented and have superb lightfastness, which is very important to me. I often use crosshatching, which is something I learned at college during life drawing classes actually. The beauty of crosshatching with pastels is you get complete opacity that sits really beautifully on top of the watercolour that’s coming through. It brings in a different texture and I love having different textures in my work. If I make a mistake, I go with it, 100 per cent.

If I’ve put a colour on that is perhaps denser than I expected, I think: “run with it, embrace it, push it even further,” why not? These drawings are just for me so if it’s going to teach you something then great. More often than not with mistakes, I’ve thought “Well, this painting is a write-off…” and that frees me up to try something different. If I felt a little bit nervous and unsure before, now the stakes have changed and I’ve got nothing to lose. Some of the best paintings have come out that way, when I thought it was all going wrong and it wasn’t.

Pastels are very forgiving as well – you can erase them or cover up your

watercolour marks. Part of the beauty of keeping the pastel pencils for the final stage is that I can choose to embolden my watercolour or soften it, I can disguise it a little bit or draw it out and exaggerate – it’s one of the things I love about this technique.

With Rhayane, I used strong reds and greens, and left parts of the picture without paint. That’s a one-off for me – I’m more of a completist, I guess. I greatly admire artists that leave sections unfinished and leave it to your imagination, it adds a bit of intrigue into the paintings. I’m a bit too obsessive to pull that off, I like to keep going until it’s done. It’s not in my character to put the brush down.

ABOVE Chris, ink pen, watercolour and pastel on paper, 15x20cm

OPPOSITE PAGE Rhayane, ink pen, watercolour and pastel on paper, 23x30cm

Artists & Illustrators 73

PROJECT

Linocut PRINT PROJECT

Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL guides you through this simple home printmaking project, teaching you how to plan and create a three-colour reduction linocut

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PROJECT

AIM

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

This project is an introduction to making a reduction linocut. It includes instructions for a simple jig you can make yourself to keep the linocut’s colour layers neatly aligned while you print.

By making a reduction linocut with multiple layers of colour, you are forced to think clearly in advance about how you want each one to look.

If you have a painting background, it will teach you to think differently and more methodically about colour, while learning to plan out a design more thoroughly.

SUBJECT Linocut printing is a relief print process: it is the surface of the lino that prints and any cuts you make into the lino will not print.

A reduction linocut is made using a single piece of lino. The lino is gradually cut away and printed. In this project, the print has three colours so you will be cutting and printing your piece of lino three times in all.

You will need to print all the prints you want to make from the start as you will be cutting away the block as you go. You cannot print more prints later from a reduction print.

Non-slip mat This one is cheap rug underlay with a homemade edging

Cheap paper For test prints; inkjet printer paper is fine

inks are slower to dry than waterbased inks but are easier to use and there is less chance of your drawing marks transferring to the finished print. If in doubt, check with one of the suppliers listed for advice.

Note that with oil-based inks you will need white spirit or a specialist cleaner like Zest-It for cleaning up.

LAURA’S RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS

WHAT YOU WILL NEED For this project I recommend using traditional artist’s grey lino, the type with hessian backing. The suppliers listed on the right can supply lino and the other tools and materials mentioned in the image below.

For a good result, you will need to use printing inks. There are three types of printing inks: water-based, oil-based, and oil-based that can be washed in water. The latter are often called “safe wash” inks. The oil-based

Printing paper Smooth papers are best; Japanese washi paper under 150gsm is good for hand printing

GreatArt www.greatart.co.uk Handprinted www.handprinted.co.uk Intaglio Printmaker www.intaglioprintmaker.com Lawrence Art Supplies www.lawrence.co.uk

Tracing paper

Carbon paper

Blank newsprint paper A thin cheap paper for taking rubbings White crayon Plastic baren

Cutting tools

Printing inks Wooden spoon

Fine grade sandpaper (optional)

Soft roller For successful inking; this Essdee roller is an excellent economy option

Printing plate A plastic tray, sheet of Perspex or large tile for rolling out ink

A piece of lino

Pencil

Masking tape

Graphite stick For test rubbings (optional)

Homemade jig

Artists & Illustrators 75

PROJECT

PROCESS

1

MAKE A DRAWING

Decide on the size of your design and make a drawing on paper. It may help you to colour in the different parts of your design to represent the colour layers. The colours used in this project are pale blue, green and black.

When you are ready, make a tracing of your design onto the tracing paper.

I tidied up the initial drawing and added a frame and some extra details to the tracing. You can also add details and make changes to the lino as you go. Before you transfer this drawing to the lino, you can “key” the surface of the lino by giving it a brief rub over with fine sandpaper.

This isn’t essential but will help with printing.

MAKING A JIG A jig is a simple device that will hold your lino and paper in place for printing. It can be made from MDF, cardboard, card or foamboard. It consists of a flat backing sheet with two L-shaped margins firmly stuck down, one on top of the other.

The wider L shape holds the linocut in place while the second smaller L shape on top holds the paper. The width you leave between the two L shapes dictates the width of the unprinted area of paper around your print.

Your jig needs to be large enough to fit your lino and level with the height of the lino. You may like to attach some non-slip rug underlay to the back of the jig to hold it still while you print.

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2

TRANSFER THE DESIGN

3

MAKE A CUT

To transfer your design, turn your tracing paper over and place it face down on the lino. Reversing the tracing in this way ensures that your finished print will be the same as your initial drawing, not a mirror image.

Slide the carbon paper between your tracing and the lino ensuring that everything is positioned correctly (it helps to tape everything down).

Use a sharp pencil to transfer your tracing to the lino.

Leave the carbon to set for a few hours or overnight. This will stop the carbon lifting off when you wash the block and ensure your drawing remains in place as you work.

Before you begin printing you must cut away any areas of the print that you wish to remain the white of the paper. It helps to use a white pencil or crayon to colour in the parts you want to cut out. Lino cutting tools usually come with a U- or V-shaped profile. You may also find a sloping knife or flat chisel in sets of tools from Japan. A pair of U and a pair of V tools, one narrow and one wide of each, is a good starter kit for basic cutting. You may prefer a set with one handle and interchangeable blades as a budget option. Use your lino scraps for practice. For a clean print, you need to cut deeper to clear large spaces, not so deep for small areas of

PROJECT

detail. Work over the whole design, removing any lino you want to stay the white of the paper.

4

CHECK YOUR CUTTING

Your carbon marks will act as a guide for your cutting, but you may like to draw on the lino to add extra detail or alter your design. A pencil is fine for this, but, unlike the carbon, it will wash off when you clean the lino between layers, so only mark up details you are cutting immediately.

Taking a rubbing is very helpful to check your cutting – use thin paper and graphite stick or pencil for this.

You can also always make a quick tester print on cheap paper at any time too. When you have finished cutting away everything you want to remain the white of the paper, you are ready to print your first layer of ink.

5

PREPARE YOUR INKS

When printing your reduction linocut, it is best to wait for the ink to dry between layers so that it gives you a nice crisp print. It is always best to overprint onto dry layers with waterbased ink as the ink can become tacky and tear the paper if you print while the under layer is only partially dry. Oil-based inks can take a long time to dry, but they are a little more flexible when it comes to layering.

You can print wet-on-wet if your layers are thin and you are eager to get on, but the print may look a little soft.

Top tip

You may like to speed up drying times for oil-based ink by adding in a drying agent.

Cranfield’s Printmakers’ Wax Drier works very well. Used at about 4%, it speeds up drying considerably.

You can’t print extra prints later with reduction printing so make plenty

6

ROLL OUT THE INK

7

PRINT LAYER ONE

Work from your lightest colour to darkest colour of ink. The whole piece of lino is inked each time. Put about a tablespoon of your palest ink at the top of your inking plate and spread into a line the width of your roller.

Use the roller to pull down and roll out the ink, starting with a little and pulling down more ink as needed.

Be careful not to overload the roller with too much ink: aim for a suedelike texture on the roller and the plate, not thick streaks of ink. Ink up the lino evenly and then slide it into place in the jig.

Cut your printing paper so that it is large enough to cover your lino plus extra for a margin around all four sides. Begin by making several test prints on cheap paper. Your carbon marks may transfer from the lino to the paper, but this will stop after the first few impressions.

Artists & Illustrators 77

PROJECT

To make a print, position the paper on your jig and use the plastic baren to apply pressure all over the paper, working in small circles, taking care not to move the paper on the lino. Use a wooden spoon for spot pressure where needed (edges and heavily cut areas usually need some extra work).

Use the test prints to see how much ink and pressure is needed before using better paper. After several tests, print as many prints in your first colour layer as you want, then put them safely to dry. Hanging them from string with pegs works well.

8

PRINT LAYER TWO

Clean off your lino and use your white crayon to mark out which parts of the print you want to remain the colour you have just printed. You now need to cut away all of the other parts of the design. The white areas of your prints will stay white while the newly cut areas will stay the colour you have just printed. Once the lino is cut to your satisfaction, roll out your second, mid-tone colour. Using one of your tester prints, print a second layer on top of the first and check you are happy with the result. Then print up all of your prints in the second, darker colour and leave to dry.

9

MAKE THE FINAL CUT

Mark up the final areas to be cut away with your white crayon and remove them. The remaining uncut areas will be printed with your darkest colour. Keep checking your progress with rubbing or test prints; the darkest layer has the most impact so it is especially important to get this layer right. Once tested and happy, roll out your darkest colour and print all your prints to complete the project.

Leave the prints to dry in a safe place.

Cut up tester prints for bookmarks or cards rather than throwing away.

10

SIGN YOUR PRINTS

Once your prints are completely dry, number and sign them. By making a reduction linocut in this way, you have naturally created a limited edition of prints. Prints are conventionally signed in pencil. Write each print’s individual number as a fraction with the total number of prints as the bottom number. www.lauraboswell.co.uk

78 Artists

& Illustrators

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Art enables me to explore my heritage… I combine Asian woodcutting with English roll inking My first memories of making art are with my grandad.

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Jade THEY MEET THE ARTIST

The printmaker on illustrating dodos and her life-changing linocut tools. Interview: REBECCA BRADBURY

Art enables me to explore my Chinese and English heritage. I combine the Asian style of woodcutting to get the heavy black lines of traditional Chinese painting with the English process of roll inking with oil-based inks and creating colourful, abstract backgrounds.

Traditional Japanese wood carving tools have changed my life. I get mine from Intaglio Printmakers, a specialist store in London Bridge. They’re really well made; you can resharpen them very easily and they cut lino like it’s butter.

Literature inspires me. I read a lot of poetry and the folklore my parents told me when I was growing up has transitioned into my work. If I’m stuck or need to get into the zone, then I’ll go for a walk and read a book.

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I’m currently reading On Drawing. It’s poetic and heartfelt, but accessible. He doesn’t overdo the jargon.

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She’s got beautiful draughtsmanship – the best I’ve ever seen. I also really like the 20th-century printmaker Edward Bawden. He had such an interesting way of inking his block and creating different textures.

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The dodo was the most enjoyable to draw.

You’re never done learning. I still feel like a budding printmaker myself, as just learning one thing seems to lead to 15 other things I’m yet to learn. But if you have the patience, printmaking is really rewarding.

Gone is published by Leaping Hare Press. Jade’s work also features in a group exhibition from 24-29 August at Bermondsey Project Space, London. www.jadethey.com

82 Artists

& Illustrators

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