Sit back...

…and relax with your summer issue of Artists & Illustrators. The cover, by artist Alice Hole, is a scene from her beloved Cornwall, whose rugged beauty and heightened colours are depicted in her enchanting artwork. For something erring on the side of abstract, I catch up with awardwinning Scottish sculptor, painter and ceramicist Bruce McLean. His dazzling monumental garden paintings are the subject of a major exhibition this summer. Then we hear from the family of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who remains one of the most important and influential artists of the modern and contemporary art period. They detail his meteoric rise – he reached an unprecedented level of fame at just 20 years old – and untimely death, just seven years later.

Ian Beck is one of the UK’s most celebrated authors and illustrators, famously known for designing Sir Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album cover. He tells us how living in lockdown taught him to see his neighbourhood with fresh eyes. Although that period is thankfully a thing of the past, it’s a way of seeing that he has continued to use to this day.

It’s that time of year again - our annual British Art Prize 2022, in partnership with edding. It’s open to artists of all abilities, whether you are an amateur, an emerging artist or a seasoned professional; all ideas, mediums and techniques will be considered. As well as a prize fund worth more than £15,000 (which includes a luxury cruise and valuable editorial coverage) the competition will provide winning artists with a platform to gain important exposure and recognition for their work, including extensive coverage in this magazine and their winning paintings being exhibited at a major London gallery. It’s a brilliant opportunity to get your work and name out into the wider art community. Don’t delay: get your entries in today!