Artists & Illustrators May 2024 - Sample Issue

With stunning results

Paint your pet Art advice

Learn how to sell your artwork

Inspired landscapes

Using vibrant colour palettes

Expert illustrations

Create captivating portraits A top artist reveals all

This

We present...

EWA SCHREIBER

This Parisian artist hopes to recreate the magic of the Scottish landscapes

Growing up, art wasn’t just a decorative element for Ewa Schreiber; it was a way of life. “I grew up in a family where art was very much part of everyday life, and I’ve painted for as long as I can remember.” Yet, the realisation that painting could be more than a daily occupation dawned on her after a transformative trip to Scotland. The windswept landscape compelled her to show its beauty to others.

Her journey led to the creation of the Ninfa Fluida Gallery, her online sanctuary for artistic expression. Painting since the tender age of three, Ewa’s love for the craft became a constant companion through life’s ups and downs. “It always helped me through difficult times,” she reflects.

Her upbringing, steeped in art, significantly influences her work. Exposed to traditional art from an early age, she drew inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelites, German Romantics and Baltic Symbolists. Despite her love for visual arts, she initially pursued literature, which enhanced her artistic practice. “It helps conceptualise the approach and to become more aware of what you are doing with your art,” she remarks.

Ewa’s focus on symbolist landscape painting is distinctive. For her, painting a landscape is about making the invisible visible and capturing the feeling of a place. The choice between detailed realism and abstract representation depends on the emotional resonance of the location.

Being based in the culturally rich city of Paris offers her a wealth of artistic resources. Her creative process finds balance by spending time in a village in central France, allowing for both intellectual and emotional work.

The artist’s paintings evoke mystic beauty whilst her aim is “to replicate the ambiguous feelings experienced in nature – awe and fear, comfort and solitude.” For her, nature is both us and something larger, and her paintings embody the wild nostalgia felt in the vastness of landscapes. En plein air painting plays a significant role in her creative process, allowing her to absorb the elements and translate the atmosphere into the emotional resonance of her pieces.

Ewa emphasises that her work is not limited to lovers of Scotland and aspires to convey the beauty of raw landscapes that transcends borders. She says it’s her dedication to the “truth of the landscape” that sets her apart, rooted in the beauty of the Scottish Highlands engraved in her heart. britishartclub.co.uk/profile/NinfaFluidaGallery

month’s spotlight on a British Art Club member

The Green Valley, oil, 70x50cm

Harmony – Golden Retriever, pastel pencils on pastelmat, 28x35.5cm

Hanna Asfour

This Jordanian artist channels his childhood love for drawing into finely detailed pet and wildlife portraits that capture hearts, says Sara Mumtaz ▸

Arewyn, pastel pencils on pastelmat, 28x35.5cm

David Sawyer

This artist won the  Artists & Illustrators ’ prize at the Chelsea Art Society’s annual exhibition. Sarah Edghill dives in to find out more

David Sawyer studied at the Canterbury College of Art and has worked as a fine artist ever since.

As well as having solo exhibitions in numerous private galleries, he has exhibited with the Royal Society of British Artists, the New English Art Club, the Chelsea Art Club and the Royal Institute of Painters. He

works from studios in London and southwest France, and describes himself as a Modern British Impressionist, with work ranging from Mediterranean landscapes to urban skylines. Although his main medium is oil, he also uses watercolour to make preparatory studies and explore ideas.

panterandhall.com/collections/david-sawyer ▸

The Forbidden City, Beijing, oil, 122x76cm

Show and tell

After frustrating experiences selling her work with art galleries, Alce Harfield decided to go it alone by exhibiting at art fairs. Here, she shares her priceless pieces of advice for those wishing to follow a similar route

Whilst art fairs have been around for well over 20 years, they have only recently become a really popular way for many artists to sell their work direct to the public. With the demise of many traditional high street galleries, creators are choosing to bypass this route and take control. As a professional artist for over 34 years, I did just this by taking part in my first fair 19 years ago.

My career started selling art from a barrow at Bristol’s Watershed, then in two shops in Bristol and Bath. Unfortunately, I soon became disillusioned by the way galleries worked. This included demanding art and then leaving it in the stock room for six months and returning it damaged, followed by late payments and high commission fees, often over an eye-watering 50%. It seemed the obvious step to go it alone.

In 2017, with the experience I had gained from exhibiting at over 15 art fairs a year, I created The Bath Art Fair in a marquee in a field outside Bath.

Now in its seventh year, and held in central Bath, the fair has won an award from Creative Bath and been shortlisted for Five Bath Life Awards.

The art fair connection with customers is invaluable. The added bonus is the network of artists I continually meet which led me to set up ‘Art Fair Buddies,’ a Facebook group that now has over seven and a half thousand members where we discuss anything, from the logistics of taking part in art fairs to reviews and opportunities for artists.

Each Bath Art Fair attracts professional artists alongside brand-new talent taking part in their first fair. We specialise in hand holding new artists, taking them through the process of showing and selling their work and, crucially, giving them the tools to succeed.

New artists always report that, not only was their experience at the fair positive in terms of sales, but that they also came away with a network of new artist friends and connections. This is an added bonus to getting your work seen and sold. ▸

Visitors at The Bath Art Fair

ART FAIRS

Showtime, Alce Harfield, acrylic, 30x30cm