The Artist

Email me at theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or visit our website at www.painters-online.co.uk/forum Alice Neel (1900-1984), one of the most overlooked American artists of her generation, committed absolutely to painting portraits at a time when it wasn't fashionable to do so. As her exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery draws to a close on May 21, our artist contributors turn their attention this month to the many aspects they view as vital to painting successful portraits. Following the principle of ‘less is more’, Mark Fennell explores the importance of using the limited Zorn palette of just four colours to paint a portrait. As Mark advocates, the Zorn palette is a great learning tool for all students as it limits the number of decisions required to be made during the painting process, whilst allowing…

Email theartistletters@tapc.co.uk or write to The Editor, The Artist, Warners Group Publications, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH Please note we may have to edit letters for reasons of space Bridges Seeing Jo Quigley's article in The Artist June 2023 prompted me to tell you about my project to paint all the bridges over the River Tamar between Cornwall and England. I first thought about doing it in 2015 as I had previously painted two of the bridges. So, I looked through the Ordnance Survey maps and counted 19 crossings and thought it wasn't too bad a proposition. However, on investigating all the way up to the source, 61 miles from the mouth of the river, I found that in the mid and upper parts of the river…

Lightweight easel I'm enjoying The Artist as always and am inspired to try plein air this year! I'm very interested in Haidee-Jo's equipment shown in the publicity for the Broadway Arts Festival (The Artist May 2023, shown again above). I'm searching for a lightweight, easily assembled outfit I could use for plein-air work, sketching in either watercolours or pastels. I've looked at information on the Etchr Slate Mini, but although it seems to be a quality product, it doesn't look practical for use with pastels. Haidee-Jo's photographic tripod looks ideal. Would she be kind enough to say what support and palette attachment she's using for her painting please? Jill Hobson, by email Unfortunately the photograph we had included in our May issue was misleading in that it wasn't Haidee-Jo’s easel that…

Catherine Goodman: Do you remember me? The Coach House Gallery Waddesdon Manor Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP18 0JH www.waddesdon.org.uk June 7 to October 29 The work of celebrated British artist Catherine Goodman will be displayed at the Coach House Gallery and Drawings Room of Waddesdon Manor this summer, including a monumental group of seven canvases depicting a grove of ancient olive trees on the Greek island of Corfu. This new body of work is rooted in observational drawing, which displays the artist's intense relationship with the natural environment. 'When I visit the olive grove now,' she writes, 'I have the sense of the landscape knowing me as well as I know it, I sense the trees looking back at me as I look at them and my drawing is a silent dialogue between…

PENLEE HOUSE GALLERY Morrab Road Penzance Cornwall TR18 4HE 01736 363625 www.penleehouse.org.uk until September 30 Lamorna Colony Pioneers at Penlee House Gallery in Cornwall, celebrates the artists of the Lamorna Colony with more than 60 paintings from public as well as private collections. The colony, which formed in the Lamorna Valley, four miles west of Newlyn, became a popular painting location for artists once the granite quarries that had operated there until the late 19th century began to close. But it was the presence of Samuel John 'Lamorna' Birch, Laura and Harold Knight, Dod Procter and Alfred Munnings there in the decade between 1910 and 1920, that led to the area becoming renowned as one of Cornwall's leading art colonies. Work on show in the exhibition will include paintings by…

As a passionate figurative painter Keith Bennett is always looking for drama whether in the form of a rocky seascape in a sudden sunny moment or the expressive movement of a classical musician. ‘Pastels are my latest medium of choice. They enable self-expression through spontaneous mark making as well as total relaxation. Pleasing textures can be created against contrasting backgrounds of smooth acrylic paint and they have marvellous vibrant hues.’ Providing a variety of marks with a simple stick of charcoal has resulted in Keith receiving several awards. A love of drawing underlies his whole practice. His most recent works are with wet and dry pastels. Three years ago, Keith developed double vision for several months which fortunately went away as suddenly as it came. It was a wake-up call.…