Features from our archives

I well remember Diana Armfield's articles - she was writing still well after 1980, I know. You do sometimes wonder, looking back at the older editions of both magazines, whether there's anything new to be said about art, artists, techniques and so on. Or whether writers today can say it all so well. And yet - there is, and (on the whole!) they can. The world of art materials never stands still, but more importantly the need for inspiration and encouragement never dies. This is the service which The Artist and Leisure Painter magazines provide, and I don't think the internet, however useful it is, has supplanted them. The magazines' archives represent a precious resource: I wonder if the editors will one day write (or have written?) their own books, based on their practice and the vast amount of information they've acquired and passed on over the years? Because I remember F C Johnstone's book on oil painting (a former LP editor) and it was one of the best practical books on painting in oils available at the time and for many years afterwards. And I loaned my copy to someone, can't remember who, and have never had it back.... I must seek it out in all the usual places, but time moves on, and I would certainly invest in books by Ingrid, Sally, and indeed Dawn (I'd certainly buy Dawn's book on baking cakes: I've heard about her cakes). If you haven't, have a go - Fred's book was a classic at the time, and helped generations of leisure painters AND professional artists because it was so clearly written.