The Magazine - The Artist’s Problem Solver

COPYRIGHT

Collins, an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by Collins 2001

Copyright © The Artist Magazine, 2001

Editor: Geraldine Christy

Designer: Penny Dawes

The Artist Magazine asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

COVER: Detail from Cherries in Porcelain Bowl , Anuk Naumann.

DETAILS (FROM THE TOP): San Rocco, Venice , Winston Oh; Flowers and Hat in Lamplight , John Lidzey.

The text and illustrations in this book were previously published in The Artist Magazine.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN 9780007165711

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2015 ISBN: 9780008108472

Version: 2015-01-05

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Introductionby Sally Bulgin(Publishing Editor, The Artist )

Keep Reading

About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION

The Artist’ s Practical Problem Solver has proved to be one of the most popular, helpful and longest-running series in the UK’s The Artist magazine (first published in 1931). The aim of this ongoing series is to tackle students’ most common painting problems by posing their questions to a variety of top-class artist-tutors, who are invited to offer advice and possible solutions to each problem through down-to-earth instruction, demonstrations and practical ideas.

As the series began to unfold in each monthly issue of the magazine, following the appearance of the first article in the January 1999 issue, I was asked by a growing number of readers about the possibility of developing the Practical Problem Solver series into book form, as a valuable reference guide. Happily, HarperCollins also thought that this would be a good idea: hence the collaboration between The Artist magazine and the book publisher to produce this new, practical art book with answers to the most frequently asked questions from the series.

You will find a host of different problems tackled here, of special value to painters with an interest in traditional subject matter: the basics of deciding on a good subject for a painting; how to convey depth and movement effectively; ways of coping with greens, painting skies, dealing with foregrounds; how to produce convincing figures and introduce them successfully into paintings; tackling backgrounds in still-life compositions; plus many other aspects of painting.

Jackie Simmonds,

GARDEN SHADOWS, C’AN GAURI

pastel on board, 46 x 66 cm (18 × 26 in)

John Lidzey,

STUDIO WINDOW IN SUNLIGHT

watercolour, 43 × 28 cm (17 × 11 in)

Each problem has been carefully considered by well-known artist-tutors, including Gerald Green, John Lidzey, Peter Partington and Jackie Simmonds, who offer sound advice based on their own approach to the subject in hand. The result is a cornucopia of inspired ideas to help you overcome difficulties you may have encountered already during your painting life; maybe those that you are struggling with at the moment; or situations that you might very well face in the future. Whatever stage you are at I know that you will find the encouragement and advice you need here, helping you to progress, and enjoy your painting.

Publishing Editor, The Artist

1

SUBJECT SPOTLIGHT

How do I decide what makes a good subject for a painting?

Answered by: Gerald Green

Talk to any gallery and you will invariably find that subject matter has a major influence on the picture-buying public. But to the artist the relevance of a subject is that it is simply the vehicle through which to express yourself at the time.

To begin with, what you choose to paint will often be influenced by the work of other artists whose particular painting style you admire. Or there may be a tendency to search for idealized or picturesque images that fulfil the preconceived notion of what you think a subject ought to include.

There may also be a desire to paint personal favourites that possess an emotional attachment or contain an element of nostalgia. The painting process then becomes an exercise in producing a ‘nice’ picture. This approach should always be avoided since the solution to deciding what might make a good subject lies not so much in what you choose but more importantly in what will be your response to it and how you are able to interpret it.