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Last Sunday was the final episode of The Big Painting Challenge. The series has offered a lot to opportunities to learn over the last 6 weeks – from the amateur painters as well as from the Judges Daphne Todd and Lachlan Goudie.
I’ve been following the series on my blog Making A Mark and have been writing a series of posts – one for each episode. These comment on the challenges and highlight tips as the series has progressed.
Below I’ve summarised some important tips which I’ve derived from the programme content and the comments of both judges and the amateur artists.
TOP TEN TIPS
Check out these tips if you’re thinking of entering an art competition on television – or just improving how you paint.
TIP 1: Observation is key.
It’s really important to look carefully whether you are painting a person, a still life, a landscape – or things which move and dance about and change while you watch! You will reap the benefits if you spend as much time looking as you do drawing and painting. Find the big shapes, the verticals, horizontals and angles and don’t forget to measure and check the size and relative proportions of what you can see.
TIP 2: Good drawing underpins sound construction.
When a drawing or painting does not look quite right it’s often down to a problem with the drawing. Problems with drawing often lie either in:
A failure to observe carefully (see Tip 1)
A tendency to simplify so as to ignore the difficult bits
Unfamiliarity with a range of normal drawing media and the scope for making different marks (see Tip 3)
Difficulties in placing an object on a page – leading to bits missing which you intended to include (see Tip 6)
Difficulties in handling and mixing colour when using dry media rather than paint (Tip 8)
Identifying the nature of the problem with your drawing is your first step to learning how to correct it. Example: My major problem is my verticals often lean if I draw without thinking. My solution is to check how a major vertical lines up with the edge of the page as I draw it.
My book "Sketching 365" published internationally in 2015
TIP 3: Practice drawing quickly using different types of dry media.
Dry media was usually used for the quick draw exercises in The Big Painting Challenge but was not limited to pencils or charcoal. There was also little time for slow careful drawings! Moving on from graphite to use different types of dry media – and colour – challenged a few of the artists! Dry media are great for drawing and sketching. Try becoming more familiar with the properties of different types of dry media and also how they can be used intelligently to produce quick drawings. Not everything is drawn using a tip – you can also use the side and cover more paper faster! Drawing quickly is something that can be learned – but it takes practice
TIP 4: Become comfortable in working from life – as part of your daily life.
Fancy improving your skills in drawing people in a natural stance?
Back in 2008, I stayed up to watch the results of the American Election - which Obama won. One of those moments in history. Next day I published Another kind of surge which started....
Overheard in a North Carolina polling place line: “How long have you been waiting?” “About 200 years…”
It also noted that I drew people waiting in queues to vote while waiting for the results to land - and it also included this image (BELOW - which I've made bigger for this post).
I highlighted the image again in 2016, while waiting up for the predicted winner in Sketching the Vote in 2008
The thing I remember that was so remarkable then were the huge long queues of people waiting to vote.
There were so many images of them in the press and online that I decided to start my very own queue and sat adding sketches images of individuals from the various images online until I'd created my very own queue led by an elderly African American lady with a flag.
Another kind of surge (or what I did while waiting for the results) 11.5" x 8.5", pencil copyright Katherine Tyrrell
Drawing queues to vote in 2024
In 2024, what has struck me very forcibly is the length of the queues to get into rallies and the length of queues for early voting opportunities.
This time I'm thinking of drawing all women in the queues.
If you are watching the results too and want to draw your own queues too I'd love to see the results! Comment on my FB post today to watch out for you. Or message me on FB or via sites highlighted on my linktr.ee
TIPS:
I added individuals from many different sources. Reference many media images of people in queues for sources of people to include. Stopping videos is good.
Focus on stance/posture and clothing and NOT on people's faces. A suggestion of eyes is often all you need
The zigzag enables you to get more people on the page! Plus cater for different angles....
Try and tell a story
You might want to try a few people before you get started.
You'll be amazed how your drawing improves as you build your queue!
This time I'll be waiting up again - tomorrow night into Wednesday morning - with all my fingers crossed that the "gold standard" pollster Ann Selzer has got it right - after doing her Iowa Poll "the right way" (i.e. proven sound methodology + track record over time). She has an absolutely exceptional track record - check the tabulation of her poll predictions over the years on Wikipedia. Also listen to Rachel Meddows.
Prior to the 2024 United States presidential election, Selzer & Co. released their final Iowa poll that had Kamala Harris leading Trump 47% to 44% in the state, markedly different from other polls that showed Trump with a significant lead.[18] Trump criticized the accuracy of the poll. Selzer responded by saying the poll used the same methodology as in 2016 and 2020, and that, "It would not be in my best interest, or that of my clients—The Des Moines Register and Mediacom—to conjure fake numbers."[19] Wikipedia
PS Yes, there is a red vertical line. I hadn't quite given up on my old malfunctioning Canon Printer/Scanner at that time!
PPS Do not underestimate the effect that allowing people to bet on elections in the USA has had on the incentive to keep other polls looking very close. I don't think it's close at all. I think it's going to be comfortable heading towards landslide. This is because too many male commentators have totally missed the commitment of women to voting and getting the vote out.
This sketch appeared in my first post titled Two of my favourite occupations. It's of people lunching in the Club Gascon in Smithfield and was the first ever sketch on Making A Mark on 13th December 2005. None of these people were posing for me. I was sat on the banquette at the side having a very nice lunch on my own and they were all sat in front of me having lunch and talking to the other guests.
A tutor once said to me "If you can draw people, you can draw anything" before making a strong recommendation to draw regularly and to draw people as often as I could.
It marked the start of some very steady sketching in restaurants and cafes of people eating and the food I was eating
....like the National Cafe at the National Gallery.
......which subsequently got posted to a second blog I started called Travels with a Sketchbook - which sadly died as I started to have a lot of trouble with walking and osteoarthritis.
This reminds me of an idea I had of going out once a month to somewhere nice to eat - and drawing the people and the food. I maybe ought to resurrect that idea in 2023! Now that I'm walking better and without pain, I should make my walks end at more interesting destinations - and maybe take my sketchbooks out again.....
The "Every Day in May: drawing community still seems to be alive and drawing!
I was a bit puzzled this morning as to where they were but finally found them - after brief diversions down the "move yourself 5k every day under your own steam" and other variations
There are various terms and phrases used to describe different approaches tp the development of artwork and working from life and subject matter.
Below are
my interpretations of what these mean.
"Working from life"
Working from life is a practice deeply rooted in artistic traditions -
before photography and projectors and other forms of technology were
invented.
It is commonly used to mean working with the subject in front of you
whether it's a landscape, an interior, a still life or a person.
No photographs are involved, there is no tracing or projection of the
subject. The artist has to sight size the subject and make judgements about values and
colours using their eyes and the experience and skills they have developed
through working from life.
Bottom line - it's essentially about:
developing your skills by drawing from life a lot and
then trusting your eyes and drawing and painting what is in front of you.
Practice helps enormously with developing skills. A number of artists
routinely make a point of keeping sketchbooks and drawing something from
life each day
Family Pets make useful subjects as they tend to sit around a lot -
waiting to be drawn! This is a very fast pen and ink sketch of my
sadly departed cat Cosmo It's informed by having drawn him many
times before - so that I know what the key lines which need to be
included
(Pen and ink; Katherine Tyrrell)
"Plein Air Painting"
"en plein air" is a French term. It's frequently used to describe
painting from life in the open air and out of doors and away from the studio.
Devoted plein air painters keep painting whatever the weather!
It's also sometimes used as a euphemism for painting nature and the natural
world.
It mainly developed during the nineteenth century. The practice of paintings
landscapes 'on the spot' became possible as technology advanced and allowed
artists to use tube paint - rather than paint in bladders.
There are
numerous groups of painters devoted to plein air painting around the world
- and some periodically host exhibitions.
individual painters who make a career and develop a reputation for
painting landscapes plein air - and some even record the process on
Instagram! (see below)
The sketching equivalent in towns and cities is called "Urban Sketching".
British Plein Air Painters - a group of professional artists based in the UK that share a
passion for painting outdoors, in front of the subject, and capturing the
essence of their surroundings with freshness and energy.
The Royal Academy of Arts has been running a FREE ONLINE Saturday Sketch Club for a while. I'm not sure how many people know about this (I didn't!) because there's not a lot of visits to their videos.
Below are the LINKS to the YouTube videos of various sessions. Most last an hour or thereabouts.
(NOTE: the links do NOT work on the RA website - you need to go to the links listed below)
Saturday Sketch Club: still life(10 May 2021) - still life drawing with Mark Hampson, Head of Fine Art Processes at the Royal Academy Schools. Saturday Sketch Club: collage(26th May 2021) - Grab any paper you have lying around (newspapers, magazines, leaflets or receipts), a pair of scissors and something sticky (an old glue stick or some tape will do).
Saturday Sketch Club: anatomy drawing (1 June 2021) - Artist Adele Wagstaff leads a session on the anatomy of the human form; from the deep landmarks of the skeletal system, to the musculature which is evident on the surface of the body. Observe the structure and movement of the body as you practice drawing the model in a series of short and long poses.
Saturday Sketch Club: botanical drawing(7 June 2021) a session on botanical drawing with Laxmi Hussain.
Laxmi will introduce you to techniques involved in mark making, to discover drawing as an everyday activity. Laxmi explores minimalism in her work through continuous line and will demonstrate how to approach and use these techniques.
( I'm going to jump in here and say if you want to know more about drawing plants do take a look at the Scientific Botanical Illustration on my Botanical Art and Artists website - which also discusses What is Botanical Art?) Saturday Sketch Club: drawing as exploration(14 June 2021) - Discover repetition and transformation in this workshop with Elinor Stanley, exploring the power of your drawing through multiple versions. Inspired by Picasso’s cut-outs, this session investigates how simple shapes can be crystallised into expressions and motifs for future Saturday Sketch Club: experimenting with the figure(21 June 2021) - oin artist Jake Garfield for this fun and informal life drawing session. Working directly from a clothed model, you will break drawing down to its essential ingredients. Expect to explore formal qualities including “line”, “mark-making” and “tone” through a series of short activities, before combining these different aspects over an extended pose. This practical drawing session is perfect for beginners and experienced artists alike. Saturday Sketch Club: drawing into the abstract (28 June 2021) - Emyr Williams for a workshop which will explore and challenge our perceptions of ‘realistic’ drawing and abstract art. Emyr will introduce us to new ways of seeing, building confidence in our drawing.
This morning I participated in the Facebook Event that the Mall Galleries organised to sketch the Trevi Fountain Online - via webcam - between 10am and 12 noon.
This was my effort sketching using a pen and ink (Pilot G-Tec-C4) and coloured pencils (various). I'm limited as to how much sketching I can do due to tenosynovitis in my right (sketching) hand - but this took about an hour. You can see a bigger version on my Facebook Page when I post this blog post.
The Trevi Fountain via webcam
(pen and ink and coloured pencils in A4 Moleskine Sketchbook)
If you're stuck with social isolating inside (as I am) then webcams are a wonderful window on the world. People actually walk through the view and it's the nearest thing to sketching 'for real' outside that I know.
The Natural Eye 2018 - Feature wall of the Annual Exhibition of Society of Wildlife Artists
I hate it when I've downloaded my thoughts about an exhibition onto paper - and then start to write the review and can't find the notes! Written in the exhibition they're fresh and spontaneous. Trying to resurrect the thoughts after I've written them down does not always work...
Duh!
However I have now found my notes of my visit to the SWLA Exhibition last Friday - in my shopping bag in among the receipts and the evening paper from last Friday! So that's the end of notes on paper and next time my formal red Exhibition Notes Moleskine is back in action as the repository of all my thoughts on an exhibition!
So what did I think?
View of the SWLA Exhibition in the Threadneedle gallery featuring Old Man of the Woods, Bronze by Nick Bibby
That's not to say detail is not observed or that technique is confined to the gestural as opposed to the precise.
Instead the emphasis is very much on seeing, observing over time and portraying the vitality of the wildlife in their natural habitat.
There is LOTS of emphasis on movement - particularly of sea birds. Indeed there are lots of very vigorous paintings in the Threadneedle space.
Paintings created from studies of birds at visits to Bass Rock and St Abb's Head
Threadneedle Space
There's also a lot of emphasis on colour - although the works in the Threadneedle Space tended more towards the blue/grey cold end of the colour spectrum (see above) with warmer tones prevailing in the main gallery. I like the fact that there is both complete truth about colour from some artists while others like to push the boundaries and make their art "pop" off the wall!
View of the Main Gallery
This year I particularly enjoyed the two very colourful collages produced by Carry Ackroyd - (Fox on the Prowl and Swans on the River) - on the end wall of the main gallery. (see top image)
Smaller prints in the North Gallery
There is a huge emphasis on wildlife found in the UK and Europe rather than "wildlife if Africa and Asia". the latter while present does not take over the show - with big cats and elephants everywhere.
Indeed where the wildlife from other countries is included this year I found it somewhat unusual. Hence the major exhibition of the Urban Black Kites of Delhi - which was very impressive.
Many painters like to travel to paint. However it can be a challenge to take all the kit that you like to use! Especially if you want to make the kit lightweight and easy to mobilise so as to stay within any weight restrictions and not make life too difficult getting around.
If you like to paint large using watercolour you have an even bigger challenge!
Watercolour artist and author Paul Riley has been teaching his students watercolour painting in the studio and in the field in this country for a very long time - and has also been taking them abroad for over 25 years. Many of you will have read his articles for The Artist magazine.
A long time ago - when I painted in watercolour - I was one of those students and used to be fascinated by what he'd come up with to resolve the challenge of painting large and travelling light
He's still coming up with new solutions.... and this is the latest. (This has been adapted with Paul's permission from a post in his (closed) Facebook Group for ex students Art Lovers, Students and Professionals)
One of the things which struck me when viewing "The Natural Eye 2017" exhibition of wildlife art is how exciting, vibrant and thoroughly stimulating the ART is - never mind the subject matter.
Three prizewinners in this shot
I adored Carry Akroyd's serrigraphs - particularly the one of "Towards Southwold" (top right)
which contained coastline and wildlife I know well!
Wildlife might be the subject and the focus - but what interests my eye is the sheer variety and exciting use of media, styles, approaches and techniques plus the quality of execution in the various ways of making art! It's an exhibition I always look forward to and it very rarely disappoints. It certainly lives up to its usual high standards this year.
Part of the exhibition in the Threadneedle Space.
I don't always feel the same way at every exhibition I visit at the Mall Galleries. It also occurred to me that it might be very educational for some of the members of the other FBA societies to take a look at the annual education of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA)- even if wildlife art is "not their thing".
If this is the first post you've read, be aware there's lots more images in these two posts!
Tomorrow's postwill be
a commentary onthe sort of artwork gets selected and
why submission criteria will be a lot clearer next year
and will also include a count of the number of works by members, associates and non-members.
Review of the Exhibition
What did I notice this year?
As above - the diversity and the quality of the artwork is outstanding. It's always a welcome sight to see BOTH the:
unabashed use of bold striking colour by some works
how subtle shades and colours occur where wildlife merges with its habitat.
A wall which includes very colourful artwork
by Daniel Cole SWLA who won Birdwatch Artist of the Year 2016
and Brin Edwards
I thought the exhibition looked a bit more "birdy" than usual this year - but I've had an explanation which makes sense to me.
It was pointed out that, in terms of wildlife which stays in one place - albeit it might be coming and going, birds are pretty reliable at "turning up" and "staying around" if you know where to go and where to look. Thus you might have a moving target - but it's often one which stays in full view.
As always with wildlife where artwork is NOT produced from photos, you also need a very good set of binoculars or telescope for seeing your subject matter from a distance which means they behave naturally.
It's always interesting in this exhibition to see both the sketches, sketchbooks and the study sheets. There were some great images and various styles in terms of those exhibiting studies.
Red Fox sketches by Federico Gemma
pencil and watercolour
£425
(large painting of) Studies of dead Pheasant cock and Long-tailed Duck Drake by Ben Woodhams
watercolour
£1,800
The sculpture is, as always, diverse and excellent. I think it's the first time I've seen a bear with cubs and I'm also pretty sure it's the first time I've seen a Pangolin. What I enjoy is the natural look of the 3D subject matter.
Nick Mackman SWLA's display of a bearded pig, hare, Ethiopian wolves and a sloth bear with twin cubs
An Armadillo, a Pangolin and a Tortoise - in bronze - by Adam Binder SWLA
Some of the watercolour painting is top quality.
In my opinion it exceeds in quality that seen in the watercolour competitions and exhibitions of the watercolour societies. (Some watercolour competition judges need to be introduced to exemplary demonstrations of watercolour - and it seems to me that Darren Woodhead's work would be a good place to start!)
I'm always hugely impressed with whatever Darren Woodhead produces. It's as if he's always challenging himself on a "less is more" dimension - and just how little paint he needs to use to create the painting he wants to make. The fact that he creates all his paintings 'in the field' makes them all the more impressive! I adore watercolours where there is no light edge, it's suggested through the quality of the design and composition and what gets painted and what gets left. His watercolour paintings are almost minimalist in a zen like way.
A Graduate of the Royal College of Art, he works direct in brush and watercolour outside: there is no studio.
Roosting Teal by Darren Woodhead SWLA
Watercolour
£4,595
The printmaking on display is various, numerous and absolutely first class - at every level in terms of technique and size. There seems to be every sort of fine art printmaking on display somewhere in the gallery.
The wall below includes prints by
Max Angus SWLA- the hare and redwings - who explains the process for her linocut of a hare on her website. Her prints are pressed on Hettie which is "an original 1859 Henry Watts Albion Press, Patent number 937". I like the fact she also identifies where she saw the subject of her print on her website!
Jane Smith SWLA - Little Grebes and Waterlilies (bottom left)
Little grebes, also known as Dabchicks, move from the sea-lochans onto fresh water to breed. In summer I heard their high wickering call, but they never let me approach very close. They were diving for small fish to feed their chicks, whilst damselflies skimmed above the waterlilies.
Fine Art Prints of birds and mammals
The small wall of prints - on the left as you walk into the North Gallery is particularly noteworthy. I particularly liked the bird prints by Richard Allen SWLA (a woodcutter) and Richard Jarvis ASWLA (linocutter). The later explains on his website about how he approaches linocuts and printmaking - which, of course, starts with sketches.
Excellent prints by (Left) Richard Allen; (top and right) Richard Jarvis;
plus Lisa Hooper and Robert Gillmor
The prints did make me wonder if artists had had a discussion about the best prices for smaller works as there seemed to be a sense of agreement between artists as to how to pitch prices relative to size. That might of course have developed from knowing a lot about how to get the pricing right!
Most of the exhibition is given over to native animals and birds - and those that visit these Isles. Although the Society boasts international members and some certainly travel for their art, there's very little by way of what people might conventionally think of as wildlife i.e. lions, tigers and elephants.
Notwithstanding that there is sculpture that highlights foreign wildlife and I spotted one wall of artwork in the North Gallery relating to wildlife seen in Africa by a member artist. I dont recall seeing any such artwork in the rest of the exhibition. 'International' animals seem to be pretty much limited to the sculptors....
I sat in the middle of the exhibition with my cup of tea and tried coming up with words to describe the show
very graphic and calligraphic describes some of the works which enjoy mark-making
very loose and lush - there's very little tight and super controlled photorealism in this show. Instead we have people who have fabulous control of their brushes and use of watercolour. I just love watching what some of the artists achieve
very little that's bashful and lots that shout "look at me". That's not to say they're loud. It's just that they're not in any way weak or backward about coming forward.
lots of red spots (sales) and green spots (unframed prints) - these are achieved not just because wildlife art has a big fan base but also because the artwork is excellent.
and finally
very British! Lots of native and indigenous animals as well as the regular visitors!
Tomorrow - the sort of artwork that gets selected and how to help your chances!
Projects and a video
One of the things I like about this exhibition is that it takes over the entire gallery - and then uses the two far galleries in the North Galleries to exhibit sketchwork and drawings done plein air as part of projects.
This is a society which believes in:
making its art contribute to people's understanding of wildlife; and
enabling others to develop their skills and become used to drawing wildlife in the field!
This is my video (below) of the sketches and artwork produced by members of the Society of Wildlife Artists during Wildlife Study Projects in the field at:
For more about each of these places/projects click the links above.
The sketches are being displayed in the North Galleries of the Annual Exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists at the Mall Galleries - which runs until 1pm on Sunday 29th October.
Given my personal preference for botanical subject matter it's unsurprising that I was particularly taken by Carry Akroyd's sketches of the Kingscombe Meadows.
Amazing sketches pf Kingscombe Meadows by Carry Akroyd SWLA
Sketches and a woodblock print by Matt Underwood
Some of the sketches from the John Busby Seabird Drawing Bursaries can be seen right at the end of the video
My review of the exhibition - which is taking a bit longer than anticipated - follows tomorrow.
I've been going to go to this exhibition all summer and for one reason and another didn't go until last Friday.
I now wish I'd gone earlier as I greatly enjoyed it - and would have paid a second visit.
Instead I made made a lot of notes about it! This post:
tells you how the exhibition is organised
shares images of some of the watercolour paintings in the exhibitions
plus videos highlighting each section
summarises my notes of aspects of his watercolour practice that I noticed
At the end if references various other blog posts about Sargent on this blog. I refer to John Singer Sargent as JSS below as I've been doing this for years!
The exhibition displays works from 30 lenders - including a number of works in private collections that I've never ever seen before in exhibitions or in books. Lenders include:
UK: Tate, The British Museum, The Fitzwilliam, The Imperial War Museum and The Ashmolean, alongside works rarely seen from numerous private collections.
Europe: Museu de Montserrat, Abadia de Montserrat, Barcelona; the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon and the Petit Palais, Musee de Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.
John Singer Sargent, Loggia, View at the Generalife, c. 1912, watercolour on paper, over preliminary pencil, 39.4 x 53.2 cm, Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Collections. Purchased in 1927, half the auction price met by Sir James Murray
The exhibition is divided into sections which are:
Fragments and close-ups
Cities -
Landscapes
Figures
Online booking for viewing the exhibition means a number of timed slots for visiting the exhibition have already sold out. However there are a limited number of walk-up tickets will be available each day - but you do need to arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Catalogue cover
You can park in Gallery Road where there are no parking restrictions.
The catalogue
For those unable to get to see the exhibition you can see ALL the paintings (but just a few of the photographs) in the exhibition in the catalogue Sargent: The Watercolours. There are lots available still in the Gallery shop but for some reason it's not listed in their online shop.
Most of the watercolours are from a period after 1900 when JSS tended to take a couple of trips a year to Europe - typically the Alps and southern Europe and always Venice every year - for plein air painting and sketching with family and friends.
Sargent painting a watercolour in the Simplon Pass, c. 1910-11, Unknown photographer Sargent Archive, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Fragments and close-ups
He obviously like architecture - but prefers to sketch sections of it. My first note says "pillars and pedestals" - because there's a lot of them!
. There are lots available still in the Gallery shop but for some reason it's not listed in their online shop.
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