6 March 2021 http://www.painters-online.co.ukLETTERS, EMAILS AND COMMENTS
STAR LETTER
Let your imagination soar
I know that David Hockney has insisted that the primary characteristic of an
artist is knowing how to look, but it occurred to me that making this our artistic
priority might lead us to overlook other important functions. Glancing through
the catalogue of Sean Jeff erson’s exhibition at Messum’s gallery it came to me that
these days perhaps we undervalue the imagination.
The pages of The Artist give us regular encouragement to look more eff ectively.
The January 2021 issue off ered useful pieces on portraiture, fl oral and landscape
subjects, as well as encouragement to explore diff erent media. I can’t think,
however, when we were urged to let our imaginations run wild. Artists for whom
the free rein of their imaginations was the driving force of their art come readily
to mind, from Heironymus Bosch through the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to the
Surrealists. Among my own favourites is Stanley Spencer’s imaginary population
of Cookham Moor. These painters were all great observers, but what they saw was
only a means to another end.
The great tradition of western Christian art would be impossible without the
capacity of painters to imagine the encounter between an angel and a young
woman, or the reactions of the friends of a young man to the experience of
witnessing his being tortured to death on a cross. These subjects were well outside
the opportunities for observation of those who painted them.
As my own work moves steadily away from traditional landscape subjects, I would
welcome the opportunity to believe that I am not alone, perhaps encouraged by
more pieces in The Artist in which the imagination determines the direction of our
attention.
John Allcock, by emailVIEWS
YOUR Email [email protected] or write to The Editor,
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Please note we may have to edit letters for reasons of space
This month’s star letter writer will receive
a Sennelier portable watercolour palette,
worth £29.95.realise that practice makes perfect and
I do try. After reading Shirley’s article
I have wanted to climb my Everest art
mountain. Please can we have more
articles on this subject in the future? I
am going to try to learn that what I
produce is my perspective and that as
long as I like it, it is ok. To those who
critique, please remember to be invited
to do so and try to be positive – if you
fi nd that diffi cult, just look at stuff that
does not off end your eye. Remember, we
all see things diff erently. Shirley, you are
an angel.
Karren Whalen,by emailInspiration
Thank you for publishing the article by Kate
Priestman on drawing portraits of dogs to
commission in the February 2021 issue. It
inspired my fi rst attempts at dog portraits.
I usually do watercolour and am a
relative beginner. I hardly ever use pencil
combinations with watercolour pencils. I’m
looking forward to more issues of
The Artist!
Jeanette Hamilton,by emailWatercolour mixing
Watching watercolour dry is always an
anti-climax. The beautiful wet sheen and
saturated nuances of colour evaporate with
the water, losing light refl ection, energy
and pigment power. I want to retain the
lively brilliance and juiciness of just one
correct wash so I’m constantly searching
for watercolour paints that change as little
as possible on drying. Some pigments,
such as dioxazine violet or indanthrene
blue, can lose up to 50-per-cent of their
wet intensity!
And then we have the blacks and
marketed greys – often containing fi nely
divided carbon black in one form or
another – that are convenient but add dirt
to my palette and water container and
taint subsequent dilutions. I start off most
days getting in the mood by just playing
with mixtures from my 16-colour palette.
Just watching paints interact, discovering
new nuances and re-exploring alternatives
transforms conscious observation into
intuition.
Useful recent fi nds are that quinacridone
violet mixed with, for example, ultramarine,
makes a range of vibrant violets far more
stable than dioxazine, and perylene
violet mixed with phthalo green creates
an immediate intensely saturated but
transparent black. In fact perylene violet is
altogether a powerful ‘darkener’ for many
pigments. I like the glorious sensitive greys
and browns created by traditional light
red with blues but perylene maroon is a
stronger alternative well worth exploring.
As a fi nal tip, always look at the pigment
codes on your tubes, experiment with
mixtures and trim back your palette. Mix
with your brush what manufacturers put
in their paints – it saves money and trains
you to analyse nature’s colours quickly,
accurately and instinctively.
John Owen, by emailMy perspective
Shirley Trevena’s article in the January
2021 issue went such a long way to
restoring a bit of the confi dence I used to
have and which helped me enjoy my art,
and share art time with others.
Last year my art was critiqued by
someone (unasked for) and, by the time
she had taken my picture apart – my
perspective particularly seemed to off end
her eye – I never wanted to paint again.
I have always struggled with perspective
and although I love old buildings, the
more wrecked the better, I never seem to
be completely satisfi ed with the result. ISubscribe at http://www.painters-online.co.uk or telephone 01580 763673
Become a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/paintersonline. Follow us on Twitter@artpublishingThank you for your valuable feedback. I
hope readers can fi nd inspiration from
Paul Riley (pages 44–47), who encourages
the use of innovative still life arrangements
to inspire the imagination to create an
abstract painting. Also in this issue Marie
Antoniou (pages 56–59) suggests using
unusual objects from which to create a
contemporary still life. In order to help
guide our plans for future articles, we’d
welcome other readers’ thoughts too,
thank you. Ed