Pitch us something useful
Write for Umber Path
We publish guest articles from painters, tutors, makers and keen amateurs who can explain one thing about outdoor sketching clearly. You do not need a reputation. You do need to have actually done the thing you are describing.
What we would like to read
- Materials tried in real conditions: wind, drizzle, cold hands, a day bag, a two-hour walk in.
- Colour for a particular British subject: limestone, peat, winter hedges, estuary mud, slate roofs.
- Composition exercises that a beginner can finish in under an hour.
- Skies, water, trees and buildings, taught through a single problem and not a full course.
- Sketching with a body or a schedule that makes things harder: limited mobility, small children, a lunch break.
- Well-sourced history: how a past painter worked outdoors, drawing on museum collections.
What we will decline
- Listicles of the "best paint sets" kind, or thinly disguised product promotion.
- Anything generated in bulk, or rewritten from other articles.
- Content on gambling, adult services, pharmaceuticals or crypto, and links to such sites.
- Health, legal or financial advice beyond plain general information with a source.
- Pieces that use another artist's images without clear permission or a suitable licence.
Length and format
Aim for 900 to 1,500 words in British English. Answer the reader's question early. Send plain text or a simple document, with links to any source you relied on, and any images separately with their licence or your statement that they are your own.
Original work and disclosure
Your article must be your own and not published elsewhere, in print or online. Any figures or factual claims need a source we can open. If you, your employer or a client has a commercial interest in anything mentioned, including a linked product or course, say so in your pitch, so that we can disclose it on the page. We edit for clarity and accuracy, and we will show you substantial changes before publishing.
How to pitch
Email [email protected] with the subject line "Guest article pitch". Include a working title, a few lines on what the reader will be able to do afterwards, a short outline, and one sample of your writing or artwork. Look through the sketchbook first so that you are not pitching something we already cover.