STAR LETTER

Black magic

Whilst Mike Barr gently reminds us to play o lost-and-found edges (The Artist, December 2021 issue), I was more intrigued by the mass of black he’d dared to use in his painting Autumn Morning, Adelaide. My approach to replicating nature’s authenticity is to switch o any ideas of creating a conventional ‘successful’ painting. I’m essentially the sorcerer’s apprentice with the sole aim of developing the skill to get nature’s magic to ow through me and my brush as honestly as possible onto the paper. I paint what I see but after 40 years’ practice am now instinctively drawn to light and colour energy – and the lack of both. Glowing autumn’s ery hues spring o the paper when contrasted with black – thanks for the tip, Mike. Looking at my pictures again, ‘copying’ nature by accurate observation has indeed recorded lost-and-found edges automatically.

Hans Pammer, by email

This month’s star letter writer will receive two Saunders Waterford 300gsm watercolour pads, 9 12in and 12 16in, worth £39 (rrp), courtesy of St Cuthberts Mill. Telephone 01749 672015; www.stcuthbertsmill.com. The prize will be despatched by St Cuthberts Mill; we will share the winner's name and address with them for this purpose only.

A timely change

I have recently changed my monthly subscription to

The Artist after subscribing to another specialist art magazine for many years. The switch was timely as I found certain of your January issue articles particularly interesting. I started painting with oils over 50 years ago but decided it is never too late to try something new. My favourite subject is landscape painting, which featured strongly in your January issue.

Derek Stark, by email

Inspired

I was thrilled to see the January 2022 issue included a new article by Richard Suckling. He is one of my favourite artists and I have The Artist to thank for introducing me to him and to a great many artists I now follow and enjoy. Back issues of The Artist were incredibly inspiring during the pandemic. I live in the United States and I have an online subscription and while we have some good publications here, nothing is as comprehensive or provides such a range of media as The Artist. I have become so inspired by the beautiful landscape paintings in your publication that I have decided to ful l a dream of coming to visit the UK in the spring to do some plein-air painting. But if this does not work out, I will continue to be inspired by the wonderful artists you feature.

Kiki King, by email