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DECEMBER 2026 • £7.49
I M P R OV I N G YO U R A R T W I T H E V E R Y I S S U E
Painting at home
THE BRITISH ART PRIZE THE WINNERS REVEALED INSIDE!
With people and pets
Watercolour wonders In landscapes and florals
EXPRESSIVE LIFE DRAWING IN CHARCOAL, PASTELS AND PAINT
Salt on the Breeze, St Mawes, oil on canvas, 120x100cm
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We present... This m o n t h ’s spotlight is on a landscape artist who works in oil
JULIAN ROWE
This contemporary oil painter is known for his atmospheric landscapes and seascapes
I
was one of those kids who drew a lot. I was shy so it was a way of expressing myself. I was unfocused at school though and didn’t get into art school, so ended up studying graphics. That was what I did for a career for years, together with illustration as a freelancer. It wasn’t until a position came up for membership at a St Ives co-operative gallery that I started thinking again seriously about fine art. I applied and got the position and today I’m still a member of Art Space Gallery on the wharf in St Ives and haven’t looked back. It was the best professional move I ever made and it forced me to work hard and really concentrate on what I was producing - after all, you have to sell a lot of paintings and you must be keenly aware of what attracts buyers. I’m often working on my regular subjects - boats in the harbour, streets, alleys, doorways and details which resonate with people who know St Ives or Cornwall in general. As well as these, I sometimes just paint something different to keep fresh and to stay challenged. My process is to take lots of snaps of things which catch my eye and to work with them at home in the studio. To me this is a critical side to my work – to be focused within my own surroundings. Much of my time is spent thinking about the piece and how I want it to come across. It’s much more than getting what’s in front of you onto canvas, that’s only half the story. I have a fair bit of wall space in the gallery but I always have a book of my work available as well. It’s a way of giving visitors a far broader insight into the work and I enjoy the process of putting a book together. julian-rowe.com ▫ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 17
Wayne Howa
Wish You Were Here, acrylic on canvas, 78×52cm A B OV E Scarlett with David Hockney R I G H T Cleo, acrylic on canvas, 21x29cm 2 4 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS
H O W I W O R K H O W I PA I NT
rd-Saunders Known as ‘The Painless Artist’, WAYNE HOWARD - SAUNDERS sees art as a form of therapy, finds Niki Browes If You Stay On Lookout I’ll Get The Chips... acrylic on canvas, 29.7x29.7cm
PHOTO: RALPH HODGSON
H
aving studied art and design, followed by product design, Wayne HowardSaunders gained a Masters in digital design. Despite struggling daily with disabilities, he adapts and evolves his art practice, and it plays a vital role in helping him manage his pain. He creates personal work which delves into the subconscious mind and, through this, shares his perception of the world with viewers. He sees art as a therapy which helps him deal with the conditions he lives with. “I use art as a distraction from the frailties of the human body,” he says. “A new creative life fulfilment after living with spinal injuries and significant pain. That’s why I am…” He has
created an online exhibition of his surrealist work on his website, called A Journey of Emotion. I had a strong sense that art was part of my identity. I have been drawn to art for as long as I can remember sketching with coloured pencils and a pad, developing a visual language alongside my imagination. My nan, Eileen Bundy, believed I inherited creativity through our link to the painter Edgar Bundy (1862–1922), whose work is held in The Tate. This reinforced the sense that art was part of my identity. My final year of studying was disrupted by illness and surgery. Thankfully an interviewer at ▸ ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 2 5
2026 B R O U G HT TO YO U BY
FIRST PRIZE
Alex Chilvers
A
lice is my wife, and Red is our first cat together. The painting shows Alice sitting in the living room of the first flat we lived in as a couple. We got Red from a rescue centre, and he was in very poor health. After just a few months, however, he was flourishing with life and earned the name “Red Man Chieve” (as in mischievous) for pulling towels and oven mitts down in the middle of the night. He was a huge help to both of us after some difficult times. I wanted to paint Alice in our flat, surrounded by the things that made our home feel like a home. If you look closely, you’ll find two bears looking through the window of the cat tunnel, the tail of Alice’s Dad’s “Gone Fishing” cushion, and her mother’s KitchenAid on the shelf in the background. I first did a pencil drawing of Alice sitting in the chair having a cup of tea. I then took the drawing to my studio in the next room and used it, along with my memory of the scene, to paint with oils on a gesso panel. I completed the painting over two days. I like painting from my drawings rather than from real life or photographs. It makes me focus on the things I feel are important and allows me to recreate the memory of the moment that’s in my head. Don’t be afraid of entering 3 8 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS
competitions. If you’ve made something that you want people to see, then why not give it a go? Don’t feel disheartened if you’re not selected. Alice & Red was rejected twice by two previous open calls. For my art to be recognised with such a prestigious award makes me feel that my work is connecting with people and that I’m heading in the right direction. I want people to be able to relate to my work and find little aspects in my paintings that they recognise from their own lives: a space where they feel safe, a sense of light that takes them to a found memory, an object they know so well, or colours that catch their eye. I want to create playful images that people can find humour in and that give them a sense of joy. I’m so thrilled to have been awarded a solo exhibition at Panter & Hall’s Cecil Court Gallery. It will be my first, and it’s what I’ve been working towards my entire life. I’d like to make a lot of new work for it - an exhibition of paintings drawn from my observations of the world and from imagination and memories. I want to capture more people in their safe spaces: people in their homes, people doing leisure activities, swimming in pools, playing tennis on courts and playing football on pitches. I’m interested in capturing how others use these spaces to escape from the chaos of everyday life. alexchilvers.co.uk ▸
Alice and Red, oil on a gesso panel
ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 39
Renoir and Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, 1876, oil on canvas, 131.5x176.5cm
52 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS
Renoir played a major role in the emergence of Impressionism in France and an exhibition at the National Gallery is bringing together many of his finest paintings from that period. Sarah Edghill learns about the artist behind the canvas
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON, PICTURE FUND, 37.375 PHOTOGRAPH © 2026 MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON
MUSÉE D’ORSAY, PARIS, BEQUEST OF GUSTAVE CAILLEBOTTE, 1896, RF 2739 © PHOTO GRAND PALAIS RMN (MUSÉE D’ORSAY) / MATHIEU RABEAU
love
E X HI B I T I O N
Dance at Bougival 1883, oil on canvas, 181.9x98.1cm
ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS 5 3
Candy Mix, 2025, oil on canvas 30x30cm
Picture this
In every issue we ask an artist to tell us about a piece of their work that means a lot to them. This month IAN BERTOLUCCI tells us about his love of candy I chose this painting because it represents my work well. Candy is a subject I’m well known for and it’s the subject with which I’ve formed a deep connection. My life isn’t made up of extraordinary events. At least, not usually. The most important things in my day are often the little things. And then I asked myself what I could paint, among the things around me. So, one day I went to the supermarket and bought everything that caught my eye, gummy bears included. When I got home, I lined them all up in the sunlight and was deeply fascinated by their texture, their transparency, and the fact 98 ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORS
that there were practically infinite possible combinations. For me, the interesting thing about painting is the ability to transpose reality into a new dimension. I’ve never been interested in creating an exact replica of a photograph, for example. But rather in being able to convey the dimension and feel of the material or texture I’m representing. I painted my first gummy bear picture about five years ago. So much has happened during this time. Friends, lovers, collaborators have come and gone - but the gummy bears have always been with me! @ianbstudio ▫