Difficulties with promising subjects

WELCOME from the editor

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IN CONVERSATION Winner of The Artist Award in last

YOUR VIEWS

Letters, emails and comments

THE ARTWORLD

NEWS, VIEWS, INFORMATION AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE ART WORLD

In the STUDIO

Taking inspiration from its art societies, the Federation

Solo show

It’s been 14 years since The Artist contributor, Judi

NEW Rembrandt watercolours

Commemorating the 350th anniversary of the death of

The art of dining

A new collection of RAF-inspired works by artist, Tim

WILLIAM BLAKE

TATE BRITAIN Millbank SW1P 4RG September 11 to February

EXHIBITIONS

GALLERY OPENING TIMES AND EXHIBITION DATES CAN VARY; IF IN DOUBT, PHONE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

OPPORTUNITIES & COMPETITIONS

Check out the latest competitions to enter and make a note of important deadlines

PaintersOnline editor’s choice

Meet this month’s editor’s choice winner from our PaintersOnline gallery, who receives a £50 Jackson’s Art Supplies gift voucher

ART BOOKS

Reviewed by Henry Malt

Landscape in focus

Jayne Stokes puts the landscape under the microscope in her miniature landscapes, which she paints in a mix of media, including watercolour, acrylic and collage, as Susie Hodge discovers

Oil studies, any time, anywhere

Haidee-Jo Summers shares her tips for choosing and using the best pochade box for your needs

Portraits in charcoal

Charcoal is a beautiful medium and very adaptable for drawing portraits – you can smudge it around or be very precise and detailed, as Kathy Barker demonstrates

Heather moors

Follow Paul Talbot-Greaves and paint a heather moorland scene using acrylics, in just five stages

OPEN STUDIOS… how we did it!

Artists involved in setting up the newly formed North Pembrokeshire Open Studios share their experience of how they organised their event

An artist’s book

Creating your own book can be very rewarding. Robert E Wells, who published his own book, In Perspective, shares his experience, with a guide to the costs involved

Animal patterns

explains how to paint animal coat patterns, using these to help describe the form, and how to cope with the effect of shadows on coat patterns

AUGUST

Along the Thames Estuary paints his first ‘proper’ acrylic of the year but reverts to watercolour for a trip to Little Venice

Dealing with all those greens

brings his four-part series on landscape painting to a close by looking at green and hopes to convince you that it’s not a difficult colour, it just depends on how you use it

At the end of a day

advises on colour choices and mixing, painting equipment and tactics to capture a sunset en plein air in oils

Summer trees

shows how to achieve light and depth when painting summer trees

Out in the landscape

shows you how to paint a watercolour landscape full of interest, whether it be near or far, and shares her ten top tips for better landscape compositions

Out in the landscape

Amanda Hyatt demonstrates her ‘near’ landscape painting, which she adapted from a photo (not shown)

Contemporary portraits

Hashim Akib introduces his method of painting portraits in acrylic by applying blocks of paint. Follow his demonstrations to discover how to de-clutter your brain and concentrate on the bigger picture, rather than the details, to achieve a likeness

Pastels with a difference

Pan Pastels are ‘a fascinating medium’, says Les Darlow as he demonstrates how they can be used like watercolour – but without the water – and with other media, too

Rembrandt watercolours

Royal Talens have introduced new colours and improved hues into their range of Rembrandt artist-quality watercolours, including a break-through addition of metallic paints. Watercolourist Max Hale finds them exciting and effortless