Do you do it from memory? (Or the importance of observation drawing!)

“Do you do it from memory or just make that up out of your head?” I was asked this recently by a lady looking with admiring eyes at my latest horse painting “Waters edge”. I wasn’t quite able to explain in one sentence, but I’m going to try here.

horses painting louise luton

"Waters edge" Oil on linen, Louise Luton
No I didn’t do it from memory, or just make it up. It may come as a big surprise to anyone who is not involved in art, but making stuff up out of your head is surprisingly difficult. Even abstract artists have  a rigorous methodology that they go through, albeit different to mine. So if you’ve ever assumed that artists work entirely from memory, or make it up out of their heads I’ve got a little experiment for you to try at home. Without scrolling down and seeing what happens next in this article I want you to draw a £10 note from memory.
No cheating!
No peaking in your wallet first
. Just grab a piece of paper and any old biro and just draw anything you can remember from one side of a £10 note.
Give yourself about five minutes.
How did you do? How does your £10 note from memory look? Don't worry, mine is rubbish!
​
So here is my £10 note from memory; some recollection of Bank of England written on it, the Queens head in profile,  and a few squiggles. A vague idea of the layout and no detail whatsoever!

sketch from memory

biro sketch from memory
Now here’s my £10 note from observation. A £10 note in front of me. It still only took maybe 10 minutes at the most, with a biro, so no rubbing out, and there are plenty of mistakes and wiggles and errors. But you can see the difference. This is what happens when you have reference in front of you compared to working just from memory.

biro sketch from observation

biro sketch from observation
I have no problem in admitting my horses from memory would not be very good at all! There is another part of the process as well which I find really enjoyable which is all the sketchbook work. Whenever I do demonstrations people are often more fascinated to flick through my sketchbook than they are with the demonstration itself. And that’s not surprisingly as lots of the decisions have been made in the sketchbook. Sometimes there are decisions about the angle, the composition, my palette, the level of detail and the source of light.

sketchbook stag painting Louise Luton

Sketchbook experimentation

Stag painting by Louise Luton

Stag in Oil on linen completed after sketchbook work.
 In fact, many artists I know refer to a formula for work, which is for every 20 minutes you’ve spent on the canvas there have been three hours worth of experiments in the sketchbook.
So for me by far the best combination is some reference photographs, loads and loads and loads of sketches all surrounding me and my easel and then I can try and create my masterpiece.

by Dougal Matthews

My top 10 tips for buying art at an art fair

I've been asked loads of times about the art fairs I do, by folks who haven’t ever been to one before. I’m so sad that some people don’t come because they’re worried they might look like a numpty and get something wrong. So I thought I'd jot down my top 10 tips for anyone considering buying art at art fair this year - there is no need to be nervous and you're going to have a great day out with my easy guide.​

Louise Luton Stand 50 at Contemporary Art fairs Surrey Sandown park

This is my stand at last year's Contemporary Art fairs, Surrey.

PictureThe Wey gallery stand at last year's Fresh Art fair. The Wey will be at this years' Fresh at Ascot.

 Amongst the most famous art fairs in Britain are The Affordable Art Fairs, and Fresh Art fairs. These are “gallery only” art fairs and as a buyer you get an opportunity to see the work of hundreds of artists from dozens of galleries all in one place. It's incredibly convenient and really exciting. Last weekend was Battersea affordable art fair which is busy and large and wonderful. There are other types of art fairs too, where you can buy directly from the artists too. Amongst my favourites are Contemporary Art Fairs who host Windsor, Surrey and Newbury art fairs. This weekend is Surrey art fair held at Sandown Park racecourse.

1.Research. If you get a chance to go to the Art fair website before you visit. This way you can see which artists are exhibiting. You might also be able to get a discount on tickets in advance or even find the artist on social media to gain private view tickets on the opening evening.

2. Do a lap.
Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming wandering around. I recommend you do a lap first. Have a relaxed wander around, collect the business cards from the artists you are interested in then go to the café for a cup of tea and decide which artists you're going to have a chat with.

3. Don’t be afraid  to talk or not talk!  Whichever you prefer.
Personally I believe lots of people really like to browse before they engage with the artist. Feel free to do that. Some artists will greet you with simply a nod and a smile, others will introduce themselves. If you are uncomfortable chatting straight away then simply say “we’re just browsing” or indeed say “we are on our first lap”. All the artists will know what you're talking about and will leave you to browse with out any hassle.

Oil painting of a tiger named Talash by Louise Luton"Talash" my latest tiger will be on stand 50 at Contemporary art fairs Surrey this weekend.

4. Don’t take photos without asking. If I have been chatting to someone for 20 minutes about a particular painting that they love and then they say to me “do you mind if I take a picture" I will always say yes. However there are times when people wander up to the stand and just take a photo without asking. Some artists find this really difficult to cope with, maybe it's because they've been copied before.
Sometimes GCSE or A-level students want to take photographs of my work. If they speak to me first and pick up one of my cards they can then have access to my members page on my website - on that page they will find tutorials and all sorts of helpful things for their coursework. So sometimes speaking to the artist means they get far more freebies than if they just surreptitiously take a photo. So don't be afraid of asking…most artists will say yes but only when you ask first.5. Relax. I think there are lots of programs on telly with art critics that don't appear to speak the same language and make the art world unfathomable for most of us. This is not the case at an art fair -  If you are buying a beautiful work of art for your home you need to be happy and relaxed. Maybe you want to hear the story about how the art was created, maybe you don’t - you’re the one that wants to buy the art; you're in charge.

6. Take a break. Art fairs can be overwhelming as there's just so much to choose from and sometimes you really can't take it all in. So do feel free to stop off at the café sit down and have a nice old chat and a cup of tea while you work out what you want to see next.

7. You can't like everything!  Walking on by when you’re not interested in a stand isn’t offensive to the artist. We understand.

8. Decision-making. This is a tricky one I think it's perfectly reasonable for somebody to want to go home and think about buying a work of art if it's a large piece or if it's an expensive piece. However I have seen the pain of somebody going away to think about it and coming back to my stand and seeing the piece they’d fallen in love with was sold. I have noticed a rise in recent years with people buying work after the fair directly online. The choice is yours.

9. Have an open mind. You might surprise yourself with what you like. You might also be surprised at the high quality work you can get at affordable prices.

10. Enjoy yourself. Buying art should be a pleasure. Enjoy it all.

by Dougal Matthews