Jane Stroud Editor
With a tantalising glimpse of sun and warmer weather on the horizon as I write, our August issue is all about getting outside to paint. Plein-air artist, Maria Rose is part of the UK’s growing plein-air movement and is passionate about working in the elements, with colour at the top of her list of reasons why it’s advantagous to paint from life rather than from a photograph. Maria encourages you to start building a list of your favourite painting locations and the optimum weather and light conditions in which to paint them, to ensure you have a ready list of inspiration whatever the time of year. Synonymous with plein-air oil painting is the alla-prima method explored by Helen Tarr in the final article of her series on painting seasonal flowers in oils. For Helen, preparation is key and her tips on painting outdoors will save you time, energy and frustration.
No season or time is wrong to paint in Venice. Robert Brindley, our cover artist, has been visiting the city every year for the past 35 years, so is well placed to offer tips and advice for artists planning a visit there this year to follow in the footsteps of countless artists before them. Robert will be using gouache, his preferred medium for small studies when working at speed outdoors with a limited palette.
For many, at least the act of painting outside can be done in relative seclusion – a few inquisitive sheep or well-meaning tourists aside – unlike Ben Mosley, official artist for team GB at this year’s Olympics who thrives on ‘live’ events, often painting in front of many hundreds of people, as Sally Stirling discovered when she interviewed him in the run up to the games. An audience while you are painting is definitely an acquired taste, but working as an artist can be isolating. Joining a local art society or entering work into open competitions and, if you are su
