The art of seeing

OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, ELLE HAS CELEBRATED CREATIVITY OF ALL KINDS. HERE, A RANGE OF TODAY’S LEADING ARTISTS, WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND DIRECTORS SHARE THE RITUALS, ROUTINES AND REALITIES BEHIND THEIR GREATEST WORKS, FROM MIND-BLOWING EXCEL SHEETS TO THE MAGIC OF THE DARK ROOM

Clutter-free grandeur How the artist changed her untidy ways to create a stately studio workspace

Coming up for air

Photographing a single subject repeatedly can be just as rewarding as chasing ‘ticks’, writes Rob Read

This way for the cafe – Benedict Brain joins the queue to reach the summit of Yr Wyddfa

Spotlight on readers’ excellent images and how they captured them