Leisure Painter

Leisure Painter - the number one learn-to-paint magazine featuring practical painting and drawing features from top art tutors. Includes step-by-step tuition and easy-to-follow advice on how to draw and paint.

Editor’s welcome

Leisure Painter

Frieze London 2026 • Frieze London and Frieze Masters bring together nearly 300 galleries for a vibrant celebration of contemporary art, emerging talent, and global creativity.

Spotlight on art • A round-up of events and ideas to enjoy live and online

Where texture meets reality • Actor-turned-artist Lukas Leibe has developed a distinctive approach he calls ‘Textured Realism’, combining richly layered surfaces with tiny, carefully observed moments. We talk to him about experimentation, negative space and the balance between control and chance and how his two creative worlds, acting and painting, influence one another.

Painting the coast • From Venice and London to the beaches, harbours and cliffs of the British coastline, Nick Hebditch’s paintings explore the interaction of light, land, water and sky. As an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, he discusses how his work has evolved and the abstract qualities that continue to draw him to the coast.

HOW TO CREATE THE ILLUSION OF DISTANCE • Learn how to create convincing depth in a coastal scene using linear perspective, texture and atmospheric perspective. Follow this step-by-step oil demonstration by Naomi Jenkin to paint a sweeping beach, distant headland and breaking waves, while discovering how colour, detail and brushwork can guide the eye through your painting.

Are your folds flat? • Clothing may look simple, but convincing folds, patterns and textures can be surprisingly tricky to draw. Discover how to build form with values first, make patterns follow the fabric and use perspective to create realistic details – all with coloured pencil.

All the fun of the fair • From Goose Fair to Wollaton Park, Tim O’Brien has discovered a wealth of colourful subjects among Nottinghamshire’s travelling fairs. Follow his plein-air adventures and learn how to capture the energy, light and atmosphere of the fairground in oils.

Painting white water • Discover how to capture the energy and movement of cascading water in acrylics. Mike Rollins demonstrates how to use a limited palette, natural colour mixes, expressive brushwork and layers of light and shadow to bring Swallow Falls to life.

Streets full of stories • Marilyn Allis finds inspiration wherever her travels take her, from the vibrant streets of Hong Kong and Brazil to rain-soaked Venice and the historic streets of Shimla. Discover how she simplifies busy townscapes into expressive shapes, vibrant colour and loose, energetic brushwork with figures, vehicles, sunshine and even rain helping to tell the story.

Art clubs • Over to you for the latest news on your club exhibitions and activities.

Art club challenge • In celebration of this edition being all about water, we asked you to share your ‘On the water’ themed paintings and drawings - what an incredible selection we received!

Art Books

Dear Diary • Join us as we sneak a peak into the diary of an artist.

THE ART WORLD • NEWS, INFORMATION AND ONLINE EVENTS IN THE ART WORLD

Light, reflection & illusion • For more than 15 years, Michele Poirier Mozzone has explored the endlessly changing relationship between water, light and the human form in her acclaimed Fractured Light series. She talks to The Artist about balancing realism with abstraction, embracing experimentation and why working in a series has transformed her artistic practice.

Painting the energy of the sea • Capturing the sparkle and movement of breaking waves in watercolour.

Detail in every brick • Caroline...