Close encounter

Welcome from the editor

Although a majority of Leisure Painter tutors extol

PAINTERSONLINE and Search Press Competition

PaintersOnline, the online home of Leisure Painter and The Artist, has teamed up with Search Press to offer you the chance to win one of five copies of Arctic Light by David Bellamy worth £25(rrp) each.

Diary

Gain an insight into the origins of some of Quentin

Exhibitions

JANE STROUD RECOMMENDS

Letters

SHARE YOUR TIPS, SUGGESTIONS, IDEAS AND QUESTIONS WITH OTHER READERS

Books

WHAT TO READ THIS MONTH

Art clubs

OVER TO YOU FOR THE LATEST NEWS ON CLUB EXHIBITIONS AND ACTIVITIES

Art club gallery

BEST IN SHOW PAINTINGS

Holidayof themonth

PAINTING IN FRANCE

Online gallery

Jane Stroud’s selection of works from our PaintersOnline gallery

Line and colour

Part 3 Using water-soluble coloured pencils, develop your skills and fluency as you learn five techniques to add colour washes to ink and graphite sketches, with Tim Fisher

Garden performance

Worried about taking the next step and painting outdoors? Sit in your garden to paint, suggests Steve Strode

Painting project

Part 1 How to draw the complicated subject of a harbour scene, in preparation for next month’s acrylic painting, by Paul Alcock

Facial awareness

Focusing on three essential features – and colour – Hazel Soan demonstrates how to paint lively portraits in watercolour

From photo to painting

Part 8 Put into practice everything you’ve learned from Elena Parashko’s series as you produce this striking painting from five photographs

An acrylic view

Part 3 Make the most of your acrylics as you follow Tony Paul’s guide to using three essential approaches to painting

Night vision

We begin a short series on painting nocturnes by following the ideas and watercolour techniques of Jo Louca

A walk on the moor

Summer Follow Tony Hogan step by step as you practise acrylic painting techniques for breezy summer landscapes

Late spring on the riverbank

Richard Nichols visits the beautiful Canal du Midi to paint an iconic scene of life on the water using a limited palette

Don’t be shy!

Michael Fenner offers hints and ideas to take your painting to the next level

Botanical for beginners

Achieve a high level of tonal variation, complex highlights and deep shadows with this larger-than-life botanical study of a purple bearded iris, by Jarnie Godwin