The Artist

The UK’s best practical art magazine for aspiring amateur and professional artists - since 1931. Well-known artists reveal their working practices and techniques, covering all subjects and media, in every issue. Learn how established and up-and-coming artists create their work and use the tips they provide to help you improve your own drawing and painting. Keep up to date with the latest art materials, tried and tested by our trusted panel of expert artists, and keep in touch with the latest art competitions to enter and must-see exhibitions. Learn how other artists make money from their work, join one of our practical workshops/holidays, and don’t miss out on the latest art news and views.

The Artist

WELCOME from the editor

Paint with Hazel Soan at Dumfries House, Scotland • A special one-off opportunity to participate in a tutored watercolour painting programme hosted by Hazel Soan at one of Britain's finest and most exclusive Royal country estates

YOUR VIEWS LETTERS, EMAILS AND COMMENTS

STAR LETTER

THE ART WORLD • NEWS, INFORMATION AND ONLINE EVENTS IN THE ART WORLD

Royal Society of Marine Artists

Giving animals a voice • Caroline Saunders talks to Annabel Thornton whose wildlife pictures are alive with stunning colour and texture

Getting to know your materials • In the third of four articles on loosening up in watercolour, Tom Shepherd turns our attention to materials, mind-set and painting language

TRY THESE IDEAS

BUILDING EXERCISE

Ten steps to painting flowers in pastel • Paint your own floral still life Sophie Ploeg as she shares tips and techniques for using pastel on paper

A change in the air • Grahame Booth invites us to explore the colours of autumn with a step-by-step demonstration of an allotment scene in watercolour

GRAHAME BOOTH The colours of autumn

Window on Colonsay • Capture the textures of the landscape with Helen Hanson and discover new ways of using ink and coloured pencils

SHADOW SHADES

INK & Coloured Pencil HELEN HANSON

The forgotten medium • Explore gouache with Kevin Scully and discover its many beauties and benefits

KEVIN SCULLY Exploring GOUACHE

THE STUDIO • Cupboard or palace, Mike Barr muses on how a studio should provide a sanctuary where magic can take place

Art Courses & Holidays Showcase

Paint with Peter Brown PPNEAC, RBA, PS, ROI in KATHMANDU, NEPAL Bodhnath Stupa • A special one-off opportunity to join ‘Pete the Street’ en plein air painting in Kathmandu and the foothills of the Himalayas, at one of the best times of the year to visit Nepal, and experience the Sonam Lhosar Festival

Turning on the light • In the penultimate article in her series on capturing special effects in your paintings, Jenny Aitken demonstrates how to put the warmth into woodland light

Feeling the form • In the second article of her three-part series on drawing the human form, Adele Wagstaff focuses on directional mark-making, continuous line and contour

TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP OUR MARK-MAKING WHEN EXPLORING LINE • Warming up, using a continuous line

Nature printing • In this abridged extract from her latest book, Poetic Woods, Ann Blockley explores how to connect artwork with place using experimental watercolour and collage

Manipulating PHOTOGRAPHS • In this abridged extract from her new book, Poetic Woods: Experimental Watercolour and Collage, Ann Blockley describes how to use photographs to your advantage

Don't forget the mid tones! • In the second article in his two-part series on counterchange, Barry Herniman stresses the important role tones play in between the lights and darks

EXERCISE TO BUILD UP TONAL COLOURS • Before we start, try out this simple...