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THE PRACTICAL MAGAZINE FOR ARTISTS BY ARTISTS – SINCE 1931
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artist
www.painters-online.co.uk JUNE 2018 £4.40
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PAINT A
TA06p01_£4.40 UK retail, OS and subs_TA12 Front cover 06/04/2018 10:19 Page 1
Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika (1906–1994), Study for a poster. Tempera on cardboard, 1948. 
Benaki Museum – Ghika Gallery, Athens. © Benaki Museum 2018.
Charmed lives 
in Greece 
Ghika, Craxton, 
Leigh Fermor
Organised with
In collaboration with 
the Benaki Museum and 
the Craxton Estate
Supported by
Art, literature and 
friendships in Greece
Until 15 July 
««««
‘irresistibly 
compelling’ 
The Telegraph
««««
‘charming’
 The Times
Free
8550 Ghika Artist Ad A4 full Page Proof2.indd 1 27/03/2018 10:49p02_tajune18.indd 1 05/04/2018 12:45:04
D
uring a recent visit to Newcastle I took the opportunity to view the excellent
exhibition of David Bomberg’s work, on show at the Laing Art Gallery until
May 27. Born in 1890 and raised in London’s East End, he painted some of the
first British abstract paintings while still in his early 20s, before switching to
figuration, then to a kind of painterly expressionism that influenced a whole generation
of younger artists, including Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff. Yet he died in relative
obscurity in 1957 and is possibly one of the most overlooked British artists. 
The exhibition provides a chronological overview of Bomberg’s output, and his
impressive self-portrait drawing that opens the show sets the tone in its confident
execution and the artist’s expression. We are taken through his cubist drawings, his
flirtation with a style of abstraction informed by Britain’s first avant-garde art movement
of Vorticism and his retreat back into a more figurative style in his roofscapes of
Jerusalem and surrounding desert, revealing his almost effortless skill at representation.
Then we are shown works created in a freer, expressionist style of painting that look
forward to abstract expressionism in the loose, gestural handling of the paint. This is
clearly evident in paintings such as The Red Hat, a portrait of his second wife Lilian.
Yet throughout the exhibition you can see evidence of the compositional discipline
that always underpinned his work and was instilled in him early on in his career in
evening classes under Walter Sickert (among others). For example, in a pair of study
sketches of Jerusalem you can see the tell-tale grid sliced with diagonals that governs
the composition and becomes the basis for larger paintings.
What I particularly enjoy about a chronologically organised exhibition such as this one,
is that you can see clearly how an artist’s style can vary enormously over a lifetime. Here
we can follow the changes of direction and mastery of various techniques and
approaches to his changing subject matter, his evolving palette and colour choices, with
some final cohesion in the series of self-portraits that close the exhibition. The
brushwork ever looser, the colours even more intense, Bomberg turned his attention
towards the end of his life to the subject that had first fascinated him – his own, now
ageing face – culminating in a harrowing final work The Last Self Portrait of 1956 in which
his features dissolve under gestural slashes of thick hot purples and orange paint. 
The charting of the development of the artistic process behind this collection of works
representing Bomberg’s lifetime output is illuminating and inspirational in its breadth
and range. It is humbling, too, partly because we are also invited to share in his failures,
of which there were many, and from which the greatest lessons are often learnt. This
timely exhibition also helps to restore Bomberg’s importance in the history of British art.
from the editor
WELCOME
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June 2018 3artist
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www.painters-online.co.uk
incorporating ART & ARTISTS
First established 1931
ISSN 0004-3877
Vol133 No.6
ISSUE 1055
artist
artist
THIS MONTH’S COVER 
Sally Bulgin Publishing Editor
Jason Sacran Self-Portrait at 37, oil
on canvas, 26�20in (55�51cm).
See pages 26 to 29.
TA06p3_5_Contents_TA04p3_4_Contents 09/04/2018 10:33 Page 5
www.painters-online.co.uk
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jason Bowyer NEAC, RP, PS
studied at Camberwell School
of Art and the Royal Academy
Schools. He is the founder of
the NEAC Drawing School and
exhibits his work widely.
David Curtis ROI, RSMA
has won many awards for his
en plein air and figurative
paintings in both oils and
watercolours. He has had
several books published on
his work as well as DVD
films, and exhibits his work
extensively.
Ken Howard OBE, RA
studied at Hornsey School of
Art and the Royal College of
Art. He is a member of the
NEAC, ROI, RWS, RWA and
RBA. He exhibits extensively
and has won numerous
awards.
EDITORIAL
CONSULTANTS
4 June 2018artist
34
 
FEATURES
14 The appeal of India
MASTERCLASS Patrick Cullen reveals
the secrets of how to capture life in India,
with advice onwhat equipment to take
and how to pack it all
18 Tranquil scenes
IN CONVERSATION Caroline Saunders
discovers how Michael Kidd paints his
stylised yet peaceful scenes in acrylic
67 Framing, pricing and direct
customer approaches
Final words of advice in this useful series
on marketing your work from gallerist
Mark David Hatwood 
PRACTICALS
22 Five steps to a successful painting
Amanda Hyatt demonstrates an alla-prima
painting using her Five Steps to Watercolour
technique, and sets an exercise for you to try
26 My annual self-portrait
Jason Sacran describes, step-by-step, how he
painted his latest self-portrait in oils
30 A step towards abstraction
Let go of your preconceptions and of visual
reality – let Ann Blockley guide you to
making fluid, more creative watercolours
34 Portraits in pastel
Ann Witheridge shows you how to develop
your drawing skills by working in colour
using pastels, in the third article in her series
38 Painting reflections in acrylic
Jo Quigley emphasises the importance of
painting accurate reflections in this third
article of six on painting with acrylic 
1814
47
CONTENTS
FC
FC
FC
TA06p3_5_Contents_TA04p3_4_Contents 09/04/2018 10:33 Page 6
l Why shadows are such an important compositional
tool and how to paint them in acrylics by Jo
Quigley
l Paint portraits in oils using just four colours with
guidance from Ann Witheridge
l Robert Dutton explains why the new Nitram
Stylus is the perfect drawing tool
l More tips and help from Barry Herniman on
getting to grips with gouache
June 2018 5artist
And much more! Don’t miss out: 
our July issue is on sale from May 18 
NEXT MONTH
IN 
PLUS
l Add an extra dimension to your watercolour
compositions by adopting an unexpected
viewpoint with Judi Whitton
l Rob Wareing offers solutions to some common
problems when painting portraits to commission 
PRACTICALS
u MASTERCLASS
Tim Gustard reveals his
approach and the
techniques behind his
photorealist still lifes in
acrylics
t WATERCOLOUR
WORKSHOP 
Amanda Hyatt
demonstrates how to
capture different
forms of light and
suggests some
exercises to try
7 The Art World 10 Your views
73 Opportunities 76 ExhibitionsPLUS
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Register today at www.painters-online.co.uk
l Show your work on our free online gallery (using your
own URL)
l Share your experiences and talk to other artists on
busy and informative
forums and blogs
l View practical art
videos, articles and
demonstrations 
l Find the best
practical art
magazines, books,
workshops and
holidays
PaintersOnline, the online home of Leisure Painter and 
The Artist, offers you a creative and encouraging place to: 
u Advice from
Hazel Soan on
choosing your
palette of
colours 
43 Get to grips with gouache
Barry Herniman demonstrates the unique qualities of
gouache in the first of two articles about this under-used
medium
47 Take six colours
Mix all the colours you need from just six tubes of oil colour
– it’s a great palette for plein-air work, says Paul Brown
50 Genuinely modern watercolours
Julie Collins tests the new QoR watercolours from Golden,
concluding that their excellent qualities will enrich your
work 
54 White flowers in watercolour
Follow Jean Haines as she demonstrates her method for
painting white flowers 
56 Art By Caran d’Ache
Susie Hodge enjoys using these new sketching kits from
Caran d’Ache
58 Create drama
and texture
in your
watercolours
Julie Collins
brings her series
to a close by
showing you how
to achieve extra
definition by
adding inks to
your watercolour paintings 
61 How to transform a boring photo into an
interesting painting
Take a fresh look at your old photos to inspire a new
painting by using Marie Antoniou’s suggestions 
58
FC
TA06p3_5_Contents_TA04p3_4_Contents 09/04/2018 10:33 Page 7
E: Jane@norfolkpaintingschool.com T: 01485 528588 W: norfolkpaintingschool.com
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www.painters-online.co.uk
NEWS, VIEWS, INFORMATION AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN THE ART WORLD
compiled by Jane Stroud
THE ARTWORLD
u Claude Monet La Rue Montorgueil,
Paris. Fête du 30 Juin, 1878, oil on canvas,
311⁄2�193⁄4in (80�50cm)
Monet & Architecture at the
National Gallery, London this
spring focuses for the first time
on Monet’s portrayal of
architecture within his paintings.
Featuring more than 75 paintings,
the exhibition spans his career,
from the mid-1860s to 1912.
Many of the works on show come
from private collections around
the world, and have rarely been
seen in public before. The
exhibition is divided into three
sections: The Village and the
Picturesque, The City and the
Modern, and The Monument and
the Mysterious, each of which
explores Monet’s work through
new eyes revealing how Monet
used architecture not only to
record locations or occasions,
such as the flag-filled street in
Paris (right) to celebrate a
national holiday, but also as a
device to suggest scale, impact
complementary colour or add
texture. Interviewed in 1895
Monet described how he used
the characteristics of buildings as
a theatre of light: ‘Other painters
paint a bridge, a house, a boat... I
want to paint the air that
surrounds the bridge, the house,
the boat – the beauty of the light
in which they exist.’ Many of
Monet’s ‘series’ paintings also
feature, including five Dutch
pictures, ten from Argenteuil and
the Parisian suburbs, seven Rouen
Cathedrals, eight paintings from
London and nine Venice
canvases. The National Gallery
has published a book to
accompany the exhibition. Monet
& Architecture by Richard
Thomson, is available at a special
gallery price of £25; usually £30.
www.nationalgallery.co.uk
Monet & Architecture can be
seen at the National Gallery,
Trafalgar Square, London SW1
until July 29. Tickets can be
booked in advance from
www.nationalgallery.org.uk or
by telephone 0800 912 6958. 
TAW.from Brenda_Layout 1 09/04/2018 14:05 Page 9
8 June 2018 www.painters-online.co.uk
www.painters-online.co.ukTo upload images of your own work and receive valuable feedback, go to our website and click on the link to the gallery. This is a free service.
This month’s website gallery image is by Rosamunde Copping 
who writes: 
‘This year I decided to observe the horizon from the shore line and further
inland over the North Sea – from Sheringham to Wells, with the intention of
considering the way families and people visit the shoreline over a lifetime.
Exploring these vast spaces of land, sea and sky, I wanted to understand the
relationship between the horizon and the water, the light and the land.
Standing in these spaces levels our own significance and creates markers in
memories that are repeated whenever the ritual is repeated. The landscape
forever changes, but our memories remain.
‘In this, the first print of six I intend to make, I climbed up to a hide in
Sheringham Park where the shoreline can be seen from a distance. It was a
very cold but clear day in the second week of January and I was surprised to
see the brightness and intensity of the green and red browns in the
landscape. There were also two pale birds, similar to thrushes, but with rich
red feathers on their heads. I made notes and took photographs knowing
that the patterns, textures and colours could make a starting point for a lino
print. The scene was moving and cold, so my focus was to create expressive
cuts with the lino tool to represent this. Havingdrawn out a very basic
composition in line, I cut out the horizon and the pale birds and a few
highlights the sun touched on that bright morning, including the windmill
at Weybourne. I then printed the first colours, blending oil-based printing ink
colours with turquoise at the top and rich brown for the land at the bottom.
I cut out the land and details on the tree and, for the second colour, I mixed a
grey and vivid green, which I applied in stripes with different rollers. In the
third, and final cut, I left only detail on the birds, nearby branches, sea and
detail on the clouds. I mixed a North Sea grey/green for the top half of the
print and used a black mixed with a tiny bit of blue for the birds and tree
bark. I think the green works well with the other earth colours. 
‘I enjoy the effect of refining a reduction lino as it is made, hoping it
captures the spontaneity of the process of painting, along with the surface
pattern and texture of a print. The locals explained to my husband that the
hide was named in memory of a local lady who enjoyed the park, hence the
title, From Mildred in January.’
p Rosamunde Copping From Mildred in January,
reduction lino print, 113⁄4�93⁄4in (30�25cm). On show in
our online gallery at www.painters-online.co.uk
EDITOR’S GALLERY CHOICE
q Painting in the garden, BroadwayPainters at work
t Jo Shepherd Childish Things, oil on canvas, 
311⁄2�193⁄4in (80�50cm) from Surrey Artists’
Open Studios
l Surrey Artists will be opening their
studios for the annual Surrey Artists’
Open Studios, June 2 to 17, with taster
workshops, collaborative paintings and
family events held to launch the event on
June 2. For full details visit
www.surreyopenstudios.org.uk
l Artists will be out and about painting on
the village green as well as at venues in the
surrounding area for the biannual
Broadway Art Festival, June 8 to 17.
Demonstrating artists on the village green
will include Ann Blockley, Tony Allain and
Trevor Waugh, and amongst the guest
speakers for this year’s event will be Andrew
Graham-Dixon, writer and presenter of the
BBC’s Italy Unpacked, and Lachlan Goudie,
artist and presenter of The Big Painting
Challenge. For full details of participating
artists, exhibitions, music, events,
demonstrations and activities visit
www.broadwayartsfestival.com
TAW.from Brenda_Layout 1 09/04/2018 14:05 Page 10
www.painters-online.co.uk 9June 2018
l A group of rarely seen Pre-Raphaelite paintings is
currently on show at the Watts Gallery in Surrey, until June
3. The collection of works was built up by Cecil French
(1879-1953), and includes works by Frederic Leighton,
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, John William Waterhouse, Edward
Burne-Jones and Albert Moore;www.wattsgallery.org.uk
l Colourful Creations, May 7 to June 16, at the Royal
Birmingham Society of Artists Gallery, features vibrant
lino-cut prints and mixed-media pieces by newly elected
RBSA member, Eric Gaskell; www.rbsa.org.uk 
u Mally Francis Allium Ampeloprasum var.
babingtonii, watercolour, 171⁄2�113⁄4in (44.5�29.5cm) 
l The Big Painting Challenge returned to our screens on Sunday
evenings for a third series. Easter day saw ten painters battling it
out in the competition to paint a still life and each week they face
increasingly complex challenges under the watchful eyes of
judges, Lachlan Goudie and Daphne Todd. The six-week series runs
on BBC1 at 6pm on Sunday evenings.
PaintersOnline invites you to
paint flowers in watercolour
for the Jean Haines
Competition, Say it with
Flowers. Five winning
paintings will be selected on three main
criteria – colour, composition and texture. 
Entry is online only at www.painters-online.co.uk/
competitions.htm
Winning entries will receive a copy of Jean’s new book,
Atmospheric Flowers in Watercolour, rrp £19.99, plus a set of
Daniel Smith Watercolours and a Daniel Smith painting apron.
The closing date for entries is July 20. 
Botanical Art
WORLDWIDE
Lancaster University is holding an exhibition of paintings of native plants from May 18
to June 9 as part of the UK’s contribution to the Botanical Art Worldwide exhibition,
which will be held in 22 participating countries around the world. The exhibition,
In Ruskin’s Footsteps, in association with the Ruskin Library and the Peter Scott Gallery,
has been organised by the newly formed Association of British Botanical Artists, which
aims to raise awareness of botanical art worldwide. A world day of botanical art will take
place on May 18, with events held for 24 hours following the sun from venue to venue.
The day will be marked in Great Britain with the RHS Lindley Library presenting a
slideshow of 1,000 images from Botanical Art Worldwide, including 40 images from the
In Ruskin’s Footsteps exhibition at Lancaster University. 
Go to www.rhs.org.uk for more information and to book tickets. For information on the
Association of British Botanical Artists go to www.britishbotanicalartists.com
SAY IT WITH 
FLOWERS
Highlights
p Edward Burne-Jones Study of a
Girl’s Head for Sibylla Delphica, oil on
canvas, 171⁄2�113⁄4in (44.5�29.5cm) 
p Eric Gaskell Snowhill Bridge,
linocut, 7�63⁄4in (17.5�17cm) 
TAW.from Brenda_Layout 1 09/04/2018 14:05 Page 11
10
experimenting with different thicknesses
of nib at the moment, so plenty to keep
me interested.
By their very nature dip pens are
probably more suitable for sketching
indoors, but I did venture outdoors to
give it a go, with the ink being contained
in a ‘dipper’ that I use for oil painting,
clipped to my drawing pad. They do
splatter at times but that is all part of the
drawing process and part of the fun. I
didn’t find the pen as useful when
drawing architectural buildings – it needs
to be used freely with a flowing line –
figure drawing, portraiture and
landscapes are ideal.
The reed pen is a useful addition to my
collection, and one that will be used quite
often, as and when the subject demands.
Alan Bickley, by email
Spontaneous style
Having recently attended a workshop
with Ann Blockley, I was delighted to see
her featured in the May 2018 issue. I spent
a very absorbing, exciting and useful day
watching Ann demonstrate and then
applying her techniques to my own work
in an effort to loosen up. Her article has
provided me with the incentive to
continue to develop my art in a style that
I find fresh, imaginative and spontaneous. 
Thank you Ann.
Lynne Williams, by email
Inspirational
I thoroughly enjoy The Artist, it inspires
me to be creative, to develop my skills
and look out for new approaches. My
problem is that I do not have space to
store full magazines so over the years I
have torn out the articles that have
interested me, then attempted to divide
them by subject. However, if one side of a
page has the end of one article, and the
other side has the start of another article
on a different subject, I have a dilemma
over which file I store it in. I have tried
photocopying one side of the page but
only have access to a black and white
photocopier – which is no good if the
colour is vital to the article! 
Valerie Hansen, by email
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
Letters, emails and comments
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VIEWS
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This month’s star letter writer will receive a £50 gift card,
courtesy of GreatArt, to spend on over 50,000 available
products. Gift cards can be redeemed in-store at GreatArt
Shoreditch, 41-49 Kingsland Road, London E2 8AG, telephone
08433 571 572, and online at www.greatart.co.uk
your own reed pens, I couldn’t wait to
give it a go. He gives clear and precise
details on how to cut the all-important
nib, along with some interesting studies
from his own work, which serves as a
useful guide and source of inspiration.
My supply of reeds came after a cry for
help on the PaintersOnline forum,as I was
unable to find anything suitable local to
me. Within a day or so I had received a
bundle of wetland reeds from Scotland,
all dry, as they are at this time of the year,
and I proceeded to make my very first
reed pen. I’ve made pens in the past,
bamboo mainly but the reed pen is far
more flexible and gives a superb variety
of line, affording the artist plenty of
freedom to express him/herself. I am
XX STAR LETTER
Sketching with a reed pen
Like many artists who enjoy sketching,
I’ve had a fascination for all drawing
instruments since my early teens. There’s
an abundance of wonderful and varied
drawing pens available to us, each with a
roll to play in our day-to-day sketching.
Almost without exception I draw every
day, either in my studio at home or out
and about in the countryside or towns.
There is always something worthy of a
quick sketch in my sketchbook or
whatever I have to hand. Even the
smallest study can come in handy for
reference at a later date .
So, it was hardly surprising that after
reading Jason Bowyer’s excellent article
(The Artist April 2018 issue) about making
Striking greens 
On reading the article by Paul Talbot-Greaves in your April 2018 issue I was
surprised that no mention was made of the fact that greens can be modified with
the addition of touches of red, violet or purple, with very satisfactory results. The
pigments suggested by Paul certainly produce striking green tones, but many
watercolourists are not seeking to include such striking greens within their
paintings.
I have long since rejected Hooker’s green as being too strong and staining a
colour to include in my own palette, and am encouraged to mix my own greens,
often on the paper, from blues, yellows and touches of the colours mentioned. I
feel anyone inexperienced in watercolour would initially be well advised to mix
their own greens, rather than resort to buying tubes of greens, which can
complicate the painting process!
James Thomas, by email
Paul Talbot-Greaves replies: That‘s a great point you make James. Yes indeed, reds,
purples and violets do complement greens very well. My intention for that particular
article was to keep things basic and to encourage painters to make and achieve simple
varieties of green without over complicating the issue. The question of whether to mix
green or use ready-made greens is one of personal taste and in that respect I feel there
is no right or wrong answer. I do think, though, that tube greens, when mixed with
yellows and blues (as well as reds and violets), encourage beginners to achieve cleaner
greens more quickly. In my teaching experience I find people are frequently confused by
colour mixing, so the simpler this is made from the start, the more they are encouraged
to continue painting.’
June letters_Layout 1 09/04/2018 16:42 Page 1
p11_tajune18.indd 1 05/04/2018 13:49:36
Organised by The Artist and Leisure Painter in association 
with Daler-Rowneywho will provide each participant with 
art materials for each session worth over £65(rrp)
artist
YOUR TUTOR
David Webb is a 
regular contributor to 
Leisure Painter, author 
of many watercolour books 
and a popular tutor and
demonstrator. David will
show you how to paint 
bold, loose paintings in
watercolour using only three washes from start 
to finish. Working from light to dark, you will 
keep the colours clean and transparent. After the
demonstration, you will paint a watercolour
landscape in three washes from reference material
provided, with individual tuition.
YOUR MATERIALS
Daler-Rowneywill provide each
student with five 8ml tubes of
Aquafine Watercolour,
two bottles of
Aquafine Watercolour
Ink, two Aquafine
brushes, one Langton
pad, an FW Marker
Set and a plastic
palette, worth
over 65(rrp).
DALER-ROWNEY MATERIALS
The Aquafine Watercolour range has been reengineered to bring to market the
best and most comprehensive ‘Student’ quality range of watercolours, offering
artists a superior lightfastness, wetting agent, and fineness of grind.
The new range of Aquafine Gouache has been formulated to match the
watercolour range tone for tone, offering artists the possibility of working with
the two ranges together seamlessly. Aquafine Gouache combines the graphic
elements from Daler-Rowney’s historic Designers’ Gouache with a new highly
opaque formula that dries to an eggshell finish.
The new Aquafine Watercolour Ink range has 20 highly saturated, lightfast
pigment-based watercolour inks. Formulated with the same pigments as
Aquafine Watercolour and Gouache, these colours will not fade over time and
can be applied directly from the dropper, by brush, with paint markers, technical
pens and by airbrush, making them practical and easy to use.
For more details about Daler-Rowney products please visit 
www.daler-rowney.com
 
 
 
GREAT VALUE – BOOK YOUR PLACE TODAY!
Watercolour in Three Washes with 
David Webb, Thursday, July 12
Patchings Art, Craft & Design Festival,
&
Lordat, watercolour by David Webbt
The sessions will run from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm. 
The cost of each three-hour session is just £60(inc VAT) per person and includes
instruction from your tutor and Daler-Rowney materials worth over £65(rrp)
PLUS FREE ENTRY
to Patchings Art, Craft and Design
Festival for the day, worth £10.
June DPS Patchings workshop v2.qxp_News 1st 28/03/2018 16:02 Page 1
WORKSHOPS
PATCHINGS ART, CRAFT 
& DESIGN FESTIVAL 2018
One of the UK’s finest practical art,
craft and design events, set in 60 acres of picturesque
Nottinghamshire countryside. The event showcases
some of the best professional artists and craft makers,
along with paintings, textiles, jewellery, glasswork,
photography, ceramics, woodwork and sculpture.
There will also be art and craft materials for testing and
purchase, guest artists, demonstration marquees and
hands-on workshops. The festival at Patchings Art
Centre in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, runs from
Thursday to Sunday, July 12 to 15, 10am to 5pm daily.
For further information visit
www.patchingsartcentre.co.uk
YOUR TUTOR
Judi Whitton is a
professional artist who
paints in a free style
with transparency of
colour and is well 
known for her articles 
in The Artist. Judi will
demonstrate how to
produce a free and
spontaneous watercolour and you will have the
opportunity to paint translucent watercolours on
a lovely smooth paper and add lively calligraphic
marks and a touch of colourful gouache. Judi will
talk about the essential ways in which you can
give a look of free spontaneity in your work, vary
the techniques and materials used to produce
energetic work and how to decide when the
picture is finished. Working from reference
material provided by Judi, you will be
encouraged to produce a painting with a colourful fresh and free 
look. Individual tuition will be provided throughout the session. 
YOUR MATERIALS
Each student will receive, courtesy of Daler-Rowney,
one Aquafine Watercolour Pocket Set, two 15ml tubes
of Aquafine Gouache, two bottles of Aquafine
Watercolour Ink, one Aquafine Watercolour Pad, one
Aquafine Sable Round Brush and
an FW Marker Set. The total
value is worth over £65(rrp).
BOOK NOW
For more information and to book your place, please visit
www.painters-online.co.uk/courses-holidays/reader-workshops
If you don’t have internet access please telephone Liza or Nicci on 01580 763673
Creative and Spontaneous Watercolours
with Judi Whitton, Saturday, July 14
Dartmouth, watercolour by Judi Whittont
Includes
FREE ENTRY
to the festival
worth £10!
Nottinghamshire, July 12 to 15, 2018
June DPS Patchings workshop v2.qxp_News 1st 28/03/2018 16:02 Page 2
14 www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
How do you capture the vibrant colours, the constant movement and
the extraordinary subject matter of India? Seasoned traveller Patrick Cullen
advises on what to pack and how to capture what you see
The appeal of India
I
first went to India in 2002, to Bundi,
a relatively small city in the middle
of Rajasthan. On the morningI
arrived the sky was a crystal azure
blue and the sunlight lit every surface
with an intensity that made you blink.
What astounded me most was that
these surfaces were invariably strongly
coloured. At least half the houses were
various shades of blue, mostly a
gorgeous light ultramarine, shifting
towards violet in the shade. Others
were closer to a chalky cobalt blue with
the occasional surprise of a turquoise
house. Against this backdrop of soft
blues much fiercer colours weaved and
danced. Indians love yellow, and reds
and oranges too, but the frequency of
yellow struck me – strong cadmium
yellow singing against chords of sun-
drenched blues. 
As well as rich colour Indians delight
in decorating things in a way that, to
our reserved and sceptical eyes, can
seem childlike and cluttered.
Everywhere there are hand-painted
signs, decorated panels, temples with
colourful imagery, bunting hung across
p Chattri with Man Bathing, Udaipur, oil,
17�22in (43�56cm). 
Completed on site over four mornings,
approximately two hours each session.
Chattri is Hindi for one of the cupolas or
pavilions of which one finds many in India.
They are mainly decorative rather than
functional. Most mornings there would be a
couple of men bathing, which added a
human interest to an idyllic subject. The
reflections of the chattri, broken by the
bather’s disturbance of the water, add
movement and abstraction to an otherwise
tranquil scene
M A S T E R C L A S S
TA06p14_17_MasterclassCUT_Layout 1 04/04/2018 08:40 Page 14
www.painters-online.co.uk June 2018 15artist
the street, lorries painted like gypsy
caravans, even cows with their flanks
adorned with a floral motif. In Bundi the
signwriter’s craft was still much in
evidence. 
Working fast
With so much movement and everything
busy, apart from the sky there is little
rest for the eye, how was I to paint the
colours and the extraordinary range of
subject matter?
I realised quite quickly that things
progressed much faster if I stuck to
pastels (I returned to using oils a few
years later). The problem with working
in oils in front of such a fast-moving
scene was the time taken mixing and
thinning my colours. With pastels you
can frequently grab a colour close
enough, and be drawing within two
seconds, and you can draw and colour
simultaneously, a brush less so. I also
started drawing more in my sketchbook.
Without colour to deal with I could
concentrate on capturing all the moving
elements in the scenes I wanted to
paint: people, animals, rickshaws and
motorbikes; the more you draw all
these things the easier it becomes to
include them later in a painting.
Why not work from photographs? I’m
not a purist about this. I do take photos
from time to time and may use them as
back-up information when doing larger
paintings in the studio. But whilst
working on the spot I want to try to
capture my response to the whole
scene. To avoid all moving elements
and add them in later from photographs
produces a very disjointed painting
and one that is no longer true to the
experience of being there. Besides
which, figures copied from photographs
t The Market Square, Jodhpur, pastel,
16�21in (40.5�53.5cm). Completed on site.
Crowded market scenes like this are
challenging but very exciting. Having set up
my easel in what I thought was a spare space,
I soon discovered it wasn’t. I had to fight hard
for my spot in the face of some very determined
women who insisted I was on their patch and
could not see why I wouldn’t move ten yards
to the left half-way through a painting
q Jagdish Temple, Elephant Passing, Udaipur,
pastel, 17�13in (43�33cm).
Ninety-five per cent completed on site over
three mornings, 21⁄2 hours per session.
I liked the temple and its steps as a subject,
all the white and gold dazzling in the
morning sun. The elephant was an unexpected
addition but necessary, I felt, as a contrast to
all the light tones. Luckily it came by regular
as clockwork every morning. I also took a
photo of it
TA06p14_17_MasterclassCUT_Layout 1 04/04/2018 08:40 Page 15
16
decorative image making, which makes
our western style of naturalistic
painting using perspective and
shadows seem to them remarkable. The
praise is genuine and very forthcoming.
Some painters will benefit greatly from
such encouragement but it is important,
as you make progress, to keep it in
perspective. Another time a man
suspected I was using a form of conjury
and kept examining the back of my
canvas, presumably looking for some
weird sort of camera obscura.
For a few years I was a reluctant
traveller in India. Bundi seemed to
provide me with all the elements I
needed to make at least 100 paintings.
But new locations inspire with different
subjects and I gradually discovered
other wonderful places to paint, first in
Rajasthan and later further afield.
Udaipur and Jodhpur became two of my
go-to places. The lake at Udaipur and
the wonderful buildings that surround it
are a painter’s dream. I’ve always loved
painting water because it frees up even
the most meticulous and objective of
painters. Water is nearly always in
movement and its surface varies hugely
from placid to agitated, choppy, wavy
or just lightly ruffled by the wind. So
the buildings, landscape or sky that it
reflects all become fragmented and in
endlessly varied fashions. One is forced
to interpret it, to find painterly ways of
expressing its incessant movement. The
results are challenging but nearly
always rewarding. 
Jodhpur, even more than Bundi, is the
blue city of Rajasthan. There, painting a
roof-top view is like painting a mosaic.
The buildings seem to form a
fascinating and complex pattern of
interlocking colours, with blue the
overriding theme. And if you become
bored with this (unlikely), there is
always the extraordinary vista of the
Mehrangarh fort looming over this
jigsaw of colour, like Gulliver surveying
the pygmies of Lilliput. 
M A S T E R C L A S S
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
PATRICK’S TIPS FOR PAINTING IN INDIA
l Take plenty of materials. You will find it hard to get what you need.
l Check your airline’s weight allowance so that you can do the above. I found that
Air India and Jet Airways allowed a total of 46kg of baggage in the hold.
l For pastel, dry-mount your chosen surface on to card of a size that will fit flat at
the bottom of your suitcase. Store the first completed pastel face down on a
spare drawing board of the same size and secure with tape, then lay each
subsequent pastel face down onto the back of the previous one, and again
secure with tape. If they have been fixed first, the amount of pastel that gets
transferred is negligible.
l Make sure your largest support will fit into your suitcase.
l If working in oils, never take oil tubes in your hand luggage.
l Always take some fast drying medium to use towards the end of your trip.
Alternatively, use some alkyd oil paints (or some other quick drying brand). 
l If using canvas, try painting on unstretched canvas taped to a board and stretch it
when you return. This will take up less room and weighs less. Alternatively work
on board.
l Easels: I use a Daler-Rowney Cornwall box easel, the wooden fold up one which
has a drawer. I have recently taken to putting it in a rucksack and making this,
plus a very few essentials, my hand luggage. This frees up a lot of room in my two
cases.
l Learn to live with crowds. If you can chat to them and still concentrate, do it. If
not, follow my friend Ken Howard’s advice and pretend to be stone deaf. They will
drift off eventually.
t Sadhu Asleep by the Temple Steps, Jagdish
Chowk, Udaipur, oil, 18�23in (45.5�58.5cm).
Seventy-five per cent completed on site over
four afternoons, two hours per session.
I would have liked longer for this complicated
composition but I had booked my train and
next hotel, so I had to complete it back home.
I used photographs for some of the figures
and for the Hindu wedding vehicle with its
eight speakers. I liked the idea of the holy
man asleep amid the cacophony of this major
crossroads,and I wanted to capture
something of the frantic hubbub of India. 
rarely have the same quality as those
captured on the spot, because they
come from a different and less
spontaneous kind of looking. But there
are occasions when I feel I’ve failed to
draw a figure well enough and which I
sense lets the painting down. A
photograph may well then come to my
aid. 
Another difficulty every artist
encounters in India is dealing with the
crowds, mainly of young men, that
inevitably gather round you as you
paint. The constant questions, often the
same ones repeated many times, can
be distracting. Usually they just wanted
to be in the painting. Initially I tried
tucking myself away, preferably with my
back against a wall, so they could not
see what I was doing. But they just
stood in front of me blocking my view.
India has very different tradition of flat
TA
TA06p14_17_MasterclassCUT_Layout 1 04/04/2018 08:40 Page 16
www.painters-online.co.uk June 2018 17artist
Patrick Cullen
studied at St Martins School of Art
and Camberwell School of Art, and is a
member of the New English Art Club.
He has exhibited widely and won many
awards for his work. 
www.patrickcullen.co.uk 
p Udaipur Sunset, oil, 13�17in (23�33cm). 
Completed on site over three evenings, 45 minutes per session.
I used the pillar on the left to shield my eyes from the fierceness of the sun, thus enabling me to
focus on the tones of the receding landscape. In reality the tone of the pillar was much darker,
but I didn’t want it to distract the eye at the edge of the composition
Patrick will be leading a The Artist holiday to
Rajasthan from November 14 to 28. For
further details and to book, see page 64 or
contact Spencer Scott Travel on 018256
714310; www.spencerscotttravel.com
p Rooftops Jodhpur, pastel, 14�21in (35.5�53.5cm). 
Completed on site. The dead tree provided a rather dramatic motif in front of the endless tiers
of blue houses for which Jodhpur is famous 
Patrick Cullen, Pete Brown and Ken Howard
talk about painting in Varanasi, India in a
trailer from a film by Neale Worley. Go to
PaintersOnline:http://painte.rs/2FPvozc
TA06p14_17_MasterclassCUT_Layout 1 04/04/2018 08:40 Page 17
18
I N C O N V E R S AT I O N
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
Caroline Saunders talks to Michael Kidd about his
stylised acrylic paintings, in which he achieves a
peaceful oasis with arresting yet tranquil seascapes
Tranquil scenes
W
ith a style at times close to
abstraction, Michael Kidd’s
philosophy is to be simple
and straight to the point.
‘The simplicity of the painting gives a
quiet, serene and sometimes
mysterious atmosphere. I don’t
consciously apply symmetry but it has
always been part of my paintings
because that is what led my eye to the
subject in the first place.’
Having attended the Royal College of
Art, Michael studied alongside David
Hockney and film director Sir Ridley
Scott. ‘When I was 14, my art teacher
persuaded the headmaster to allow six
of us to study art four days a week. At
the end of that year we all went along
with our work to Wimbledon School of
Art to see the principal Gerald Cooper,
RA for an interview. He was so
impressed he took each of us on. After
four years I gained a scholarship to the
Royal College of Art.’ 
Michael’s two favourite artists are
Henri Matisse and Edward Hopper. 
‘I have a print of Matisse’s The Snail on
my studio wall. Whenever I see it at the
Tate I stand in front of it for at least 20
minutes – everything works, perfect
positioning and perfect colours.
Hopper’s work has a poetic use of
straight lines for which I feel a sort of
kinship.’ 
Imaginative
Michael's work shows a strong,
imaginative streak; quirky at times,
surreal at others. He tends to work on
themes – gardens, chateaux, cities –
whatever holds his interest. ‘New York
has provided much inspiration. There is
maths-geometry everywhere.’ Since
being lectured on the Fibonacci
sequence of numbers, it has stuck with
him ever since. ‘I have always had a
fascination with numbers and a love of
geometry, even at school. Fibonacci
describes an amazing variety of
phenomena in maths from nature to
classical theories of beauty and
proportion, it is quite extraordinary.’ 
Far away from the geometric
complexities of New York City, Michael
achieves a peaceful oasis with his
arresting yet tranquil seascapes. ‘The
first thing that captures my interest in
coastal paintings is that the coast is
simplicity itself, consisting of just three
elements: sky, sea and beach. Lone
buildings, boats, breakers, signs and
Michael Kidd
studied at the Royal College of Art and
worked as an art director in some of
London's leading advertising agencies,
and then in New York. On his return he
began directing TV and cinema
commercials in Europe, America and
the UK, working, among others, for
British Airways, Coca Cola, Lloyds and
Barclays banks and Ford Motor
Company, and won many awards. He
held his first solo exhibition at the Rona
Gallery, Mayfair in 1997 
t Whitstable Brewery, acrylic on board,
16�20in (40.5�51cm).
‘I looked at this scene for some time, working
out how the painting would look; I knew the
lettering and the arrow would give it a strong
presence. In many ways it was an easy
painting to do because of its overall
simplicity. I have only ever done an
underpainting with pebbles; here I used
burnt sienna, raw umber, orange, reds,
yellows and white on black. I always do my
skies last – a change in the sky changes the
atmosphere.’
TA06p18_20_In conversation_Layout 1 05/04/2018 09:55 Page 18
lighthouses giving the painting mood
and a human presence without actually
having people. I do not include people
in my paintings because I find it
impossible to see people outside a
narrative context.’
Storyboard
‘When it comes to painting pebbles on
a beach, patience is a must but I enjoy
the contrast of separate areas coming
together like a jigsaw, some plain with
flat colour, some blended immaculately,
and some busy with eight million
pebbles.’ 
All of Michael’s paintings are
produced in his studio from an initial
snap taken on his iPhone. ‘The
photographs provide me with all the
information I need; they tell me where
www.painters-online.co.uk June 2018 19artist
 
p Derek Jarman’s Garden, acrylic on board, 24�32in
(61�81.5cm).
‘Jarman’s garden is truly a garden of an artist and it
asks for an interpretation. It was exciting to do, almost
like doing an abstract. I felt I could place things where
they worked best for the painting. It wasn’t like doing a
portrait of a garden. I have returned to this painting a
few times; it is such good fun.’
u Mullion Cove, acrylic on board, 18�20in
(45.5�20.5cm).
‘It was as if the three buoys had been put
there by someone who knew I was coming
and would want to do a painting of it. With all
the greys, the black rocks really made the
composition complete. Apart from the three
buoys and the sea I used just black and white.
The blended sky really needed to be
immaculate, so I masked off the painted area
to leave just the sky. I used a Winsor &
Newton retarder so I could blend the sky
without the paint drying.’
‘When it comes
to painting
pebbles on a
beach, patience
is a must’
TA06p18_20_In conversation_Layout 1 05/04/2018 09:55 Page 19
20
everything is, the rest is in my memory.’
From the first moment Michael sees the
subject he knows what he wants a
painting to look like. ‘I envisage it in my
mind’s eye and I pretty much know
whether it will work. I see things in
terms of paintings not photographs. 
I always recall that feeling that made
me take the photograph.’ 
Using photographs as an aide-memoire,
Michael produces a series of small
visuals, 2�1in, rather like scribbling out
a storyboard. ‘I rarely move elements
around that are already composed in
my head, apart from an occasional
detour. I find if you set out to achieve
one thing one idea follows another
around the same subject.’ Once
Michael starts a painting it becomes a
steady journey towards the final result,
it can go in variousdirections, not
always where he may want to go;
interesting areas come up that he had
not originally anticipated. ‘Quite often
it will be a change of mood or
atmosphere, not always for the better,
so I have learnt to say no.’ 
Materials
The rigid surface of MDF or plywood
with gesso applied is Michael’s starting
point. Initially he used canvas but
found it was too springy, so for the
majority of his works he cuts a 96�48in
(244�122cm) sheet of MDF into six
24�32in (61�81.5cm) pieces.
Michael changed to acrylics after
finding oil paint was too slow drying. 
Liquitex and Golden are his choice of
acrylics. ‘Liquitex are good for heavy
body paint and Golden make a really
great fluid paint which is good for
covering a flat area in one colour. When
I do a graduated sky I firstly turn my
mobile off, as acrylic dries quickly and
any interruption means having to start
again. Some people think I use an
airbrush – not true – just a sable
paintbrush, about 1in wide. The first
thing I do is to mask off the area below
the sky with masking tape, then I brush
on a watercolour blending medium;
Winsor & Newton make the best, it lets
the paint remain moist long enough to
allow for the blended result 
I want. It took me a few years to achieve
the result I wanted. It is important to
keep the paint moist, so I use a plastic
box specially made for this; I have also
found bottle tops are really good for
squeezing the paint into.
‘My palette is largely dictated by the
subject, although my paintings tend to
be rather quiet colour-wise with an
occasional blast of colour. I use greys
quite a lot; they are so flexible, warm
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
greys, cool greys, dark greys. I see it as
an accidental colour. It crops up
everywhere you look. Then there’s
black, a wonderful bold statement. It
says I’m here – there is no romance in
black, just a bully boy statement. But it
makes all the other colours around it
sing.’ 
I’ve learnt not to give up, if it isn’t
working you have to make it work; if
there’s nothing there look harder. Look
twice – paint it once. My paintings take
me on average two to three weeks. 
I have learnt to apply myself and only
ever do one painting at a time. Once 
I have finished I never go back to it. 
I often get asked to do another if the
original is sold. I am fortunate to revisit
paintings because there’s always more
to learn.’ 
p Distant Lighthouse, acrylic on board,
16�18in (40.5�45.5cm).
This small window was surrounded by some
wonderful stonework, full of great texture
and lovely greys with small spots of white.
Then I noticed the reflection in the window of
a distant rock, upon which stood a
lighthouse. I couldn’t resist it; the whole
image is a harmony of greys, even the sky
and sea was created with just a hint of
Payne’s grey, which is great for subtle blues.’
TA
TA06p18_20_In conversation_Layout 1 05/04/2018 09:55 Page 20
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22
WATERCOLOUR WORKSHOP : 2ND O F 6
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
Amanda Hyatt demonstrates an alla-prima painting using her Five Steps 
to Watercolour technique, and sets an exercise for you to try
Five steps to a
successful painting
W
hat is it that makes an artist
want to paint a certain
subject or scene? Is it the
colour, the subject matter,
the familiarity, the sentimentality, the
challenge? Is that called inspiration?
This is certainly part of the creative
process. But there are other elements
at work including practice, skill,
expertise, passion, determination,
need, intellectual thought and vision.
My style of painting is called
traditional realist tonal impressionism,
where the emphasis is on light and
mood, not colour. Tonalists are affected
by light and try to capture the different
values or tones (strengths) of the paint.
Colourists are not affected by the light
and all paint used, whatever colour, has
middle values. Both methods are
equally successful.
MY FIVE STEPS TO
WATERCOLOUR
Step one is composition; there are
ways to make the painting successful.
You should analyse your subject and
think carefully about balance and what
you need to include. My subject for this
month’s demonstration is Tiger Bay,
Dalian, China (below and right). The
foggy atmosphere gave the scene a
blue moody feeling and the boats were
silhouetted. Setting the horizon line is
important in a painting and it can be
set at thirds or fifths up the vertical
side of the paper. It is up to you what
you think will work best. In this case I
set the horizon line (where the base of
the hills meets the water) at two thirds.
This gave me plenty of space to place
the boats. I also pushed the tower
further towards the right-hand vertical
third position (where you divide your
paper into thirds along the horizontal.
This is the golden rule of thirds). It was
not necessary to include all the boats,
just some major ones and indications of
the furthest ones. 
Step two is deciding on the colour.
As a tonal artist I mix every colour with
either burnt sienna or sepia in varying
dilutions depending on whether I am
doing a sky wash or a major item such
as a boat. This takes away the primary
flat colour and allows for the toning.
Only eight colours were used in this
painting: cerulean blue, ultramarine
blue, burnt sienna, sepia, Winsor violet
and the gouache colours red, turquoise
and white. 
Step three is creating the tones and
getting the bulk of the painting done.
The shape of the brush helps handle
the shape of the items in the painting –
there is no need to make the
application of paint any more difficult
than it is. I used two flat synthetic
brushes: 11⁄2in and 1in. Boats and
q Reference photo
This shows my analysis of the scene and the
decisions I made about the composition
Amanda Hyatt
has been a professional watercolour
artist for 35 years and has exhibited
widely, including in New York and China.
She has won many major Australian artawards and is a member of the Australian
Watercolour Institute, the Victorian
Artists Society and the Twenty
Melbourne Painters Society. Her
paintings are in collections throughout
the world. She has three DVDs, available
from APV Films (www.apvfilms.com) and
her book Watercolour: Tonal
Impressionism is available from Amazon.
http://amandahyatt.com.au
See page 46 for details of Amanda’s free
video tutorial for all readers
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tt
PRACTICAL
DEMONSTRATION Tiger Bay
p STAGE ONE
I set the horizon line (where the base of the hills meets the water) at two thirds. This gave
me plenty of space to place the boats. I also pushed the tower further towards the right-
hand vertical third position (the golden rule of thirds). It was not necessary to include all
the boats, just some major ones and indications of the furthest ones 
This painting took me an hour and a half
p STAGE TWO
I used a hake brush for a graded wash of
cerulean and violet with a touch of sepia over
the whole sheet, diluting it in the central and
top areas and strengthening it towards the
bottom. I dried this with a hairdryer as it was
a studio painting. If the painting had been
done en plein air it would have been
necessary to wait for quite a while until it was
dry. A different wet-in-wet technique would
have been used, which is more difficult
t STAGE THREE
The hills, boats and buildings were painted in
a combination of cerulean blue, ultramarine
blue, burnt sienna and sepia. At this stage
areas such as the boat hulls needed to be
repainted to keep the painting tonally
balanced
u STAGE FOUR
Using a very thin mix of cerulean blue,
sepia and Winsor violet and a mop brush, 
I glazed over the hills and buildings and
across and down to create the different
areas in the water. Then, using a large flat
synthetic brush, I pulled some of the
darker paint of the boats down into that
wet area to create reflections, constantly
re-touching and darkening the boats to
keep the tones all in balance. I left white
paper in areas such as the boat decking,
the gap at the top of the tower, the area
where the boats meet the retaining wall
and details on the building. These areas
pull the eye around the painting and
create the impression of an object
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buildings are geometrical so a square
brush that can create straight edges
was used. Flat brushes also hold less
water and allow for thicker paint, so you
get maximum impact with minimum
brushstrokes. As the paint dries the
tone will change and some areas will
appear light. Don't get distracted by
one small part of a painting because it
is the overall appearance that is
important. Often a small error that you
think will ruin your painting will not
even be noticeable at the completion
of your work, so don't fuss. Keep
moving your brush around the painting,
putting a dab here and there. 
Step four is creating the magic, light
and mood. It could be misty light, stark
bright light where shadows are
prominent, early morning and late
afternoon light with long shadows and
even the muted soft light of a snow
scene. Light is important and in tonal
painting it should be the outstanding
feature. You need three tones, light,
middle and dark, to balance a painting,
no more, no less. It is important to have
the dark tones to create contrast with
light areas.
Step five is pulling the painting
together by adding 'bits and pieces'
like ropes, masts, birds, flags and just
dots and dashes to link together all
areas of the painting. It is vital during
the painting process to step away from
your work and use a mirror. I use a
mirror at least 15 times during the
painting process as it does several
things. By reversing the image you will
suddenly see where you are going
wrong and can instantly correct it. Also
it is useful to turn your reference photo
upside down as this shows you
gradations in light and tone more
easily, such as where darker water is
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
Next month: How to capture magic light
p FINISHED PAINTING
Tiger Bay, watercolour, 22�30in (56�76cm).
I added burnt sienna, sepia and white
gouache dots and dashes, masts and rigging
and red for the flags. The masts and rigging
were done with a rigger, appropriately. The
man with the net (white gouache and
turquoise) in the boat at the front was the
last thing painted, along with the red flags
and where the dark shadows are really
the darkest.
As a 'big picture' artist I always see
the final product before I paint it. Any
details are put in last. This does not
suit everyone and in my classes I
emphasise that every window, door,
post, pole, tree, hill and person does
not have to be painted, but all parts of
the painting should be connected so it
flows and the viewer can move easily
around the painting. There is nothing
worse than a stagnant painting that has
no movement, feeling, energy or light.
My Five Steps To Watercolour are the
basic requirements to create a painting
using intellectual thought and planning
but with spontaneity and an alla-prima
approach. It is making the maximum
impact with minimum brushwork and
although it looks simple, it requires a
different level of thinking, which I hope
you will embrace and incorporate into
your own art. 
‘Don't get distracted by one small part of a
painting because it is the overall appearance
that is important’
TA
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June 2018 25artist
DEMONSTRATION
Try this exercise in using washes and tones
This 11�15in (28�38cm) painting
was done in ten minutes. The
colours used were cerulean blue,
sepia violet, viridian and burnt
sienna. Please practise mixing
these colours in various
combinations to get what you
like. Cerulean + sepia = cold grey.
Cerulean + burnt sienna = a
warmer grey to a celadon green.
Add some violet and it becomes a
pinkish grey
u Reference photo
The photo is from an old book
t STAGE ONE
The drawing. Notice that I used the rule
of thirds to place the horizon line one-
third up, the building at the left-hand
third and the edge of the wood at the
right-hand third
p STAGE TWO
Put on a graded and patched wash. Leave clear water in the middle
areas, where the sky meets the land and where the water runs up to
the buildings. The whole idea of washes, or glazes, is to unify the
painting and give it atmosphere, magic and light. It is a different
method from just painting things in one plane. It will give your
painting mood, dimension and a certain aestheticism
p STAGE THREE
Build up the tones, bit by bit. I used a fan brush for the trees and
moved the paint around with extra water – be liberal with it
where appropriate. I used 'dirty water' (no paint) over one side
of the building to make the distinction between sides. Often I
use the sludge in the bottom of the palette as it is a lovely colour
when a no-colour is required
p STAGE FOUR
Paint wet-in-wet into
the trees with thicker
paint (as the water is
already on the paper)
and some more detail
around the building
u FINISHED 
PAINTING
When completely dry reglaze
the sky, the lower water area
and tree area, being careful
not to go over the magic white light in the middle. Wet the middle section with clear water
first so that if any paint creeps in it won't leave a hard line – this area of no paint pulls the eye
into the painting. Finish with dark dots and dashes and impressionistic dabs
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artist
Self Portrait at 37, oil on canvas, 26�20in (10�71⁄2cm)
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PRACTICAL
June 2018 27artist
Every year, Jason Sacran paints a self–portrait. Here he demonstrates
how he painted his latest composition, describing it as a much more
personal painting than some of his earlier ones
E
ach year I do a self-portrait.
Some are just quick, one-
sessionstudies; others are
more conceptual pieces,
introspective and full of ideas and
thought. Falling into that category is
Self-Portrait at 37 (left). My positioning in
the portrait is one that I thought
carefully about: being a little slumped
gives the indication of being weary. My
expression is one of honesty. Although
not a 100-per-cent likeness, I believe 
I captured myself better than in any
other of my self-portraits to date. It is
the emotions that come to the surface
of the face that make it for me. There is
almost a blankness to my expression
which, I suppose, comes from deep
concentration. 
Planning
This is the first self-portrait I have done
without some type of facial hair, so I
exaggerated features such as my upper
lip and gave myself a slight double
chin. In past self-portraits I would
sometimes take off my hat but I
thought it would go well in the painting,
so I kept it on. I chose the sweater
because I thought it looked interesting
with its textures and colour; I played
around with the set-up for days until I
came up with the base idea of a double
portrait using two mirrors. 
Making a start
I began the painting in my usual way by
just sort of going at it to see what
happened. After drawing out a few
compositions on my canvas with my
paintbrush, and not coming up with
anything I was happy with, I decided to
sketch rather than go at the canvas in
my usual way. After coming up with a
concept I was happy with, I began to
make my compositional marks, but this
time with more confidence and being
much more happy with the results.
Usually I dislike planning, preferring to
see what happens when I simply go at
it and allow the painting to surprise me.
I do not mind wiping out composition
after composition to get what I want;
but it was as if this particular piece
needed more careful attention –
preliminary thought and mapping. The
funny thing was that I lost no
excitement with the painting in doing
so, which is not usually the case. This
time it aided me, not just in the design,
but in the concept of the painting in a
surprisingly fantastic way. I don’t go
overboard on the drawing part because
DEMONSTRATION Self Portrait at 37
MATERIALS
l Claessens Belgian linen on Gatorfoam
board
l Gamblin Artist colours: titanium
white, cadmium yellow light and
medium, yellow ochre, cadmium
orange, cadmium red medium,
transparent earth red, alizarin
crimson, ultramarine blue, viridian,
sap green, ivory black
l Mediums: Gamsol and Maroger 
l Brushes: Rosemary & Co Ivory flats
from small to large
u STAGE ONE
I started off by applying my wash using a
No.12 flat Ivory long brush, mixing Gamsol
with black, white, transparent earth red and
yellow ochre. I like using a wet wash, rather
than a pre-toned canvas, as it adds fluidity to
my mark making when drawing out my
composition in the beginning. After three
attempts at getting the wash right, I settled
on this one
u STAGE TWO
I made several attempts at a composition
before finally taking out my sketchbook and
pencil and sketching out one I liked, which I
transferred onto my canvas. I used a No. 2
Ivory short flat brush to draw out my
composition using the same mix as the wash,
but with more black and transparent earth
red added for contrast
overdrawing can be restrictive to a
painting in my experience. I am always
utilising drawing while painting, but in a
more intuitive way. 
Block-in
I treat a block-in as if it were the final
painting. I do this because I usually try
to use as much of my underpainting as
possible in my work. I enjoy the 
 
My annual self-portrait
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block-in so much that I give it a great
amount of attention, even when I know
it will get totally covered at some point.
At the very least when you do a good
job on that first pass you have
established a great colour map, so it
will be a great aid to you when you are
trying to gauge colour relationships
throughout the painting. I am not
looking for complete accuracy, but
rather the aggregate of a mass or shape.
I am looking for the total of what that
overall colour (colour = value,
temperature, chroma, hue) is in that
mass. I define/find a mass simply by my
own perceptive choice, usually light
and shadow, changes in planes, object
divisions, etc; there are no rules that
tell you what those shapes/masses are,
they are subjective and totally up to
the artist. 
Early in the painting process, in the
first pass especially, I try to stay in the
middle on colour – I stay away from
saturation, preferring to mix more
neutral – and I do not go very dark or
light in value (no white or black for
sure). You can go to a value 9 or a
more saturated orange later in the
painting if need be. You’ve also given
yourself a more naturalistic playing
field. If you start very chromatic it is
inevitable that your painting will
continue on the chromatic path until
everything is so saturated that nothing
is saturated, and everything will either
feel gaudy or begin to get muddy. 
Colour and details
When I paint I hardly ever use straight
tube colour. I pick out a spot/mass/
something that I think I am excited
about and feel I can mix fairly
accurately. Then I use that as my base
for judging relationships for the next
colour beside it, continuing to judge
each patch of colour against its siblings
until the block-in is where I want it. 
I do a lot of painting and scraping
away, and repainting. There is
something beautiful about
deconstruction and reconstruction
when working on sustained works
especially. And you can really
appreciate it in parts of the painting
like wood grain and places you don’t
want detailed parts to take the viewer’s
eye. A good scrape can knock down an
overly illustrated detail.
I wanted to keep some ‘unfinished’
looking things in the painting, as it was
part of my original concept, such as
parts of the sweater and hat, the pants,
and the shadow of my reflected face.
How do you know when to stop on a
painting? I knew I had a deadline; I was
going to be done with the painting on
that date, no matter what. But I know I
am finished when I do not know what
else to do to a painting, when I have
explored all its possibilities (both with
paint and in concept), and pushed it,
detailed it, taken details back,
simplified it and so on. 
I rarely call anything finished or done
because in art/painting I believe we are
rarely ever really finished, but we stop
and go on to the next thing. That next
thing could be another phase of that
painting or another painting all
together.
O I L S
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
p STAGE THREE
I used Maroger medium on most of my first pass as it
helps to speed up the drying time. Using a No. 7 long
flat and a No. 7 short flat I chose to break the painting
up into smaller blocks from the start (still showing a
clearly defined dividing in the larger ideas/masses). 
My larger masses are evident in the figure, frames and
negative/positive play with the dark green wall
p STAGE FOUR
With a No. 2 short flat I put what I thought to be the lightest lights as reference on
the shoulders and mirror rims, using white, cadmium yellow light and yellow ochre.
Working on the face I used a lighter skin mixture by mixing into the white, yellow
light and ochre mix with cadmium orange, cadmium red medium and transparent
red earth. I kept painting all over the piece, putting smaller marks, shaping each part
more accurately overall as I started detailing the sweater, and trying to figure out
what I wanted to do with it
TA
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PRACTICAL
June 2018 29artist
t STAGE FIVE
I decided to scrape the painting down as much as I possibly could,
using my palette knife and paint scraper; I wanted to take the texture
away and feel like I was starting afresh. I began reconstructing the
face and made the background lighter and left side of the face
shadow darker, correcting it by better observation. After much
thought, I decided I needed tochange my lighting – I needed more
contrast in the shadow and light and overall light. So I took down my
warm spot from my left side and put on a much stronger, cooler light.
I also put the warmer spot on my shadow side, far enough away that
it didn’t affect the shadow, but just adding enough light to allow me
to see colour and form in my face
t FINISHED PAINTING
Self Portrait at 37, oil on canvas, 26�20in (66�51cm).
I added the chipped white paint and wood textures to the decorative
mirror frame, which took a lot of painting and scraping away. Then 
I worked on the hands and tweaked the shadow side of the face. 
I thought I was going to keep the hands at block-in stage but decided
they needed some attention. Sparingly, I worked on the hat and
profile in the mirror, bringing them to a more finished look. I also
tweaked the sweater to where I was happy with it. I do not believe we
are ever really done with a painting – we just stop. Here is my
stopping place. Thank you for following along with me!
u STAGE SIX
I then began to lighten, correct features, expression and colours, and
polish up the face, using three smaller brushes – Rosemary & Co Ivory
round No. 0; Royal & Langnickel No. 0, and a Master’s Touch round
12/0. I also simplified the gold frame behind my back, which took a
little more attention away from it, and made it more believable
Jason Sacran has exhibited with the Oil Painters of
America and the American Impressionists Society, among
others. Some of Jason’s recent awards include Best of Show
awards in the 2016 Maui Plein
Air Invitational; 2016 Plein Air
Rockies; 2015 Plein Air Easton;
2015 Olmsted Plein Air
Invitational; 2015 Easels in
Frederick and 2014 Door County
Plein Air. For more information
see https://jasonsacran.com
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Ann Blockley demonstrates different ways of working to help
you to loosen up and take liberties with reality
A step towards
abstraction
I
am not interested in a total
abstraction, which bears no trace of
anything recognisable, because I
want to communicate with the
viewer on a level where we both know
roughly what we are talking about. The
final chapter in my book Ann Blockley’s
Watercolour Workshop* discusses this in
detail. My paintings offer clues, for
example about shape, colour or texture.
The combination of these helps to give
the picture a context, albeit one that
has taken liberties with reality. The
marks still leave enough unanswered
questions for the viewer to place their
own interpretation about the painting. 
I think of it as being like the writing of
poetic prose. It is not detailed
description but neither is it obscure
poetry that needs to be analysed in
order to understand it. I view this move
towards abstraction as an ongoing
journey and realise that so far I have
merely dipped my toe in the water –
but that is what is so exciting! 
Relax and let go
Letting go of visual realities can be
hard because we have so many pieces
of information jostling in our heads. You
have to be strict and decide whether
these facts are necessary or
dispensable. It is these choices: what
you change, distil or discard that makes
your painting personal, more open to
interpretation and consequently more
abstract. The paintings shown here
demonstrate different ways of working
that may help you towards your own
kind of abstraction. You may want to
call this style something else – for
example impressionistic or expressive.
It is the ‘letting go’ that is important,
however, and not the label. 
One method that may encourage you
to relax is to use a kind of lateral
thinking where you paint purely for the
pleasure of mark making and decide
later what it can be. This way of working
really can help you to loosen up. Once
you have finished making marks that
you find pleasing you can look through
your reference material – photographs,
sketches or even old artwork and look
Flight of the Wild Bird, 9�91⁄2in (23�24cm).
This pattern of marks was created by pressing
clingfilm into wet watercolour and trickling
further colour underneath the plastic to travel
around its crumpled network of raised ridges.
When this was dry I suggested a pale landscape
foreground using opaque paint over the darker
colour. Adding a flying bird created a focal point
to this slightly fantastical landscape. The initial
semi-abstract linear marks seem to emphasise
the idea of movement and flight
Detail
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June 2018 31artist
p STAGE ONE
In this monoprint leaves were positioned carefully to create a feeling of diagonal movement.
Although with this method there is no guarantee that the printmaking material will create
any recognisable shapes, I hedged my bets by placing one larger leaf in a conspicuous
position and was pleased with the abstracted leaf pattern that emerged. I deliberately left
one area plain in order to add an identifiable tree here later
q FINISHED PAINTING
A Blustery Day, 22�281⁄2in (56�73cm).
I pulled a tree out of the background colour as planned, using pale gouache in a sort of
reverse negative painting. By tweaking one or two of the still abstract patterns back towards
their true leafy identity, a blustery hedgerow emerged. I was careful however to leave plenty
of the original abstracted monoprint untouched
for shapes or textures that echo what
you have painted. I am often surprised
to find that my apparently spontaneous
experiments resemble, in abstract
terms, something within this material.
Once I have identified a theme I use
paint or sometimes collage to work into
my beginnings and define certain areas.
In other words, working from abstract
towards representational but letting the
preliminary marks prevent the reality
from being too dominant. Marks take
on a new life when given a context and
begin to represent things in a magical
and suggestive way. If you work in this
lateral fashion the result can often be
more creative and less predictable than
a planned interpretation. 
Experiment
Your initial mark making may be
sufficiently suggestive or tactile that it
merely needs the addition of a small
focal point to transform it into a version
of reality. A bird, animal or flower might
transform an abstract tangle into a
hedgerow or landscape. Our instinct to
interpret a horizontal line as a horizon
and a vertical one as a figure or tree is
useful as it means abstract patterns can
easily be turned into a kind of
landscape. Alternatively, a larger area
might become an object. For example,
in my book I made the patterns created
by clingfilm on watercolour
metamorphose into dragonflies and
butterflies. It can take time for these
discoveries to emerge and sometimes I
look at my experiments over a period
of months before deciding how to
develop them. It is important not to be
too hasty in your decision-making and
pick the most obvious option. Once a
subject is chosen it is also vital that you
do not crush the abstract beginning
into a straitjacket of realism. Let some
of the marks remain enigmatic, lose
edges and proceed with caution. 
My interest is in nature and its organic
tangles and patterns and so my
techniques are chosen to reflect that. I
allow paint to flow, encourage dribbles,
use methods that will result in delicate
linear marks or speckled textures. If
your interest is towards geometric or
hard-edged shapes, you may want to
choose different kinds of techniques.
For example you might create a
collaged background of crisply cut
shapes on which to build your painting.
In this way the methods you choose are
important. However, the technique
should ultimately be secondary to the
thinking behind it and developing a
new way of looking. 
DEMONSTRATION A Blustery Day
TA
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M I X E D M E D I A
www.painters-online.co.ukJune 2018artist
DEMONSTRATION Pink Tree
This demonstration shows how the development of a
painting can move towards