Welcome to the Christmas issue of Leisure Painter. We have had great fun putting this issue together for you with all its festive projects and seasonal inspiration. Liz Chaderton continues her popular watercolour portrait series with a very special sitter this month (pages 34 to 37). Follow Liz as she practises painting with opaque colours - not something we focus on much with watercolour - on a surface that is found in abundance, but not often used by painters, corrugated cardboard. We are all trying to recycle as much as possible nowadays - and reduce waste - and what better way to do this than to reuse the packaging that regularly arrives on our doorsteps. The surface may not be museum quality, but I love this loose and jolly rendering of Father Christmas, which is perfect for greetings cards or simply just to enjoy painting. Why not try Liz’s cardboard version then work it again on your favourite paper? We would love to hear how you get on with this project - email leisurepainterletters@tapc.co.uk - and your experience of using any other form of recycled surface. I remember the late Joy Parsons, a regular and much-admired contributor to Leisure Painter, painting the most delightful subjects on the back of envelopes and scraps of paper.
For the oil painters among you (the project is also great for acrylics), who really want to work on your brushstroke techniques, there is the painting of this month’s cover image, by Valérie Pirlot. Seeing your subject as a series of shapes is the beginning of learning how to paint what you see, rather than what you think you see. This project is a terrific way of loosening up your style and developing your artist’s eye. I particularly like the way Valérie renders the effects of candlelight in an interior.