Artists & Illustrators

One of the wonderful things about art is that it has no age limits. You can make your first masterpiece, like my nephew, aged just 3, or you can continue to learn, develop and adapt at 100 years old. You're never too old to learn, but you can also le

Inspired by the curves of Umberto Boccioni’s sculptures, London-born Op artist Bridget Riley first began experimenting with pattern in black and white when she moved to Venice in 1960. She later travelled the world taking inspiration from the differe

With the exception of a brief foray into abstraction in the 1960s, the portfolio of Douglas Wilson is comprised of figurative and surrealist interpretations of the landscape. Ask when the artist first discovered the locations that inspired his works

Peter Brown has gone back to school. The award-winning painter and father of five is currently ensconced at a public school in Lancashire with little in the way of telephone reception and plenty in the way of fresh inspiration. But Peter isn’t at Sto

Whether you are inspired to try something new this season or want to transform your practice by learning new techniques and exploring new ideas, the painting courses at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation in West Sussex offer a huge variety of

How long have you been in this space? I moved into Phoenix Studios three years ago. I shared a space with Michelle [Cobbin] for three months and then I moved into this one in the October. I prefer this studio because I’ve got the morning sun and no t

To say that Andrew Gifford has a restless spirit may be one of the world’s greatest understatements. Over the course of more than three hours in his Brighton studio, he doesn’t sit down once, preferring instead to hop around the room, pulling out pai

You must have met countless artists. How did you settle upon the 19 featured in your new book, The Pursuit of Art? Part of the idea was that the encounter with the artists involved an interesting journey. In most cases, I’m travelling to see them. In

Looking at Lucian Freud’s self-portraits, one observes the development and maturation of his craft. Open to experimentation with new techniques, pushing boundaries of composition, and paint application, he stated that he asked of his paintings, and h

It is that time of year when I am starting to think about my open studios event for next year. I’ve taken part in my local Bucks Art Weeks since 2006. Taking part helped launch my career and it is the only one of my early exhibition experiments that

I love painting watercolours using the wet-on-wet technique because each new painting is a challenge for me: the wet paint is laid on the wet or damp paper, the colours flow, they blend into one another and create unexpected and diffused effects. Thi

Ever been stopped in your tracks by a painting and wondered: how was that done? Over the next four issues I’ll be letting you in on a few of the amazing things that only paintings and paint can do in the hands of the old (and not so old) masters. If

This painting of a tree-lined avenue at Paul Cézanne’s family estate perfectly captures the feeling of a hot, sunny afternoon. He slightly compresses the space in The Avenue at the Jas de Bouffan, particularly the grasses and the shadows in the foreg

The main principle that distinguishes Old Master works from contemporary realism is the use of value and shadow to create an illusion of a three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface. The principle, which became known as chiaroscuro, an Itali

John Singer Sargent is considered one of the most influential portrait painters of the 19th century. A prolific artist, he produced around 900 oil paintings and many more drawings. In this article I will be painting a copy of Sargent’s portrait of Ge

Choosing light sources and creating lighting effects in a painting is one of the central formal tasks of creating an image. Whether a painting is highly realistic or only loosely recognisable in its content and subject, the direction, colour and inte

What are the advantages of working with pastel over other drawing media? Jeannette Hayes: My immediate answer is the immediacy. They are so direct, vibrant and capable of so many exciting effects. I am very much a mood painter and it does suit my way

While reflecting on his extensive voyages in self-portraiture, the great British painter Stanley Spencer once wrote, “I have always looked forward to seeing what I could fish out of myself, I am a treasure island seeker and the island is myself.” I f

WHO WAS MARY CAMERON? For a woman born in 1865, the life of Mary Cameron was a progressive one. She first broke the mould forging a career for herself as a portraitist and genre painter in her native Edinburgh, before travelling to Paris to study. I