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 • Want to comment on something you’ve read, or seen?

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

Exhibitions

SENDING-IN DAYS

Art Societies

National Portrait Gallery • Herbert Smith Freehills PORTRAIT AWARD 2024

Capturing life in paint • Caroline Saunders talks to Nick Grove, winner of The Artist Award at the Royal Society of Marine Artists exhibition, about adopting the sight-size technique in his urban impressionist oil paintings

Beside the seaside • Rise to the challenge of beach scenes this summer with Paul Weaver as he offers advice on painting the fun and sunlight of the seaside at speed in watercolour

Painting on Maui • Peter Graham reveals his process for capturing the heat and colour of the tropical island of Maui, first on-the-spot in watercolour and later in oils back in his studio

The call of the wild • The Lake District has provided inspiration to artists for generations. Robert Brindley uses gouache to show what it is about the landscape that makes it so irresistible to paint

ROBERT'S TEN TOP TIPS

ASSESS THE PAINTING

Loose and lively seascapes • In the third of his five-part series on loose and lively painting, Kevin Scully uses pastels to capture the animated quality of the sea

Kevin's top tips

READER EXERCISE

A plan of attack • Greta Vilidaite shows you how to simplify your acrylic-painting process

GRETA'S TIPS TO SIMPLIFY YOUR PROCESS

Understanding tone • Paul Talbot-Greaves offers advice on how to use tone with colour to get the most out of your paintings, whether using watercolour, oils or acrylics

READER EXERCISE

The essentials of portraiture • In the fourth of six articles on painting portraits in oils, Peter Keegan focuses on facial features

DRAWING with charcoal, soft pastels, oil sticks and oil pastels • Alan Bickley explores four main drawing media and demonstrates the range of expressive marks each can make

Light fantastic • In the third of her five-part series on painting light effects in watercolour, Catherine Beale demonstrates a lunar landscape

UK ART SHOPS • Support your specialist art retailer by purchasing your materials from the shops listed here

Words & Art: finding your voice • Sarah Edmonds talks to artist Judith Beeby about why narrative is an important element of her watercolours

CASE STUDY Judith Beeby

The social artist • Mike Barr advises artists to balance work-based isolation and social contact with other painters and art lovers

ART BOOKS Reviewed by Henry Malt

Balancing colour • In this abridged extract from her new book, Painting Birds: Expressive Watercolour Techniques, Sarah Stokes shows you how to paint Oscar, the barn owl in watercolour