Leisure Painter & The Artist Magazine September 2025 Back Issue

This month we’re highlighting glorioussummer and the drama of colour.

We start with our cover star, Jem Bowden, who is exploring the six general principles for composing a landscape, in the first of a three-part series. Jem shares insights on focal points, balance, depth, and artistic licence, encouraging you to explore your surroundings with a viewfinder and develop your own compositions through careful observation and creative tweaks.

Colin Joyce demonstrates how just a few colours and simple techniques can bring atmospheric skies to life. Colin’s step-by-step guide is perfect for those wanting to add vibrancy and mood to their landscapes. Continuing the theme of using a limited palette, Colin Steed works on a summer landscape with just seven colours, highlighting tonal planning and confident brushwork.

For coloured pencil enthusiasts, Helen Carter explores the less sunny side of summer with an essential clinic on drawing realistic raindrops. Her clear five-step method demystifies capturing light and transparency, helping you add sparkling details that bring drawings to life. And, just in case you do happen to be caught in a summer shower, Elena Parashko provides top tips for painting outdoors, from managing weather challenges to staying safe and flexible while working en plein air.

Complementing this, The Artist brings us Catherine Beale who embraces the unpredictable beauty of watercolour with her innovative dripping paint technique, transforming landscapes into dynamic, abstract expressions, alongside Hannah Dale of Wrendale Designs and her whimsical yet deeply naturalistic world of wildlife illustration, blending scientific observation with expressive brushwork.

All of this and so much more to help fuel your artistic journey! Enjoy!