Dear LPG, 

Earlier this year I wrote to LPG from a very philistine point of view, with pictures being the focus of my ignorance, but I now write with one of these celebration days in my thoughts.  

If LPG prints my communication on the right day, I should be right in announcing that today is National Fine Art Appreciation Day.   Readers might remember that it was the conundrum of the canvas that provoked my last letter having found myself trying to appreciate the contents of a few art galleries for the sake of two of my dearest friends. 

I have to say that I have made little progress on that score for all my attempts at learning, but my research has left me with one question.  I have not visited an art gallery since their visit ended but I wonder just what makes some pictures worth so much.   

I have not found the answer but perhaps when one looks at some of the most valuable pieces from the works of artists like Picasso, Van Gogh, and Lowry it makes you wonder.  

When at school I did not get very high marks in art but since, I have learnt that acceptable art can be created in so many ways.  Animals have done it, disabled people get involved, blind people do it, and children do it, and I still don’t know what really makes one picture better, considered finer art, considered art at all or financially worth more than another.  But if art can come from so many diverse origins I thought, why can’t I do it?

It occurs to me that it might be something that we oldies, who are always being told to try something new, could revisit.  This is something that might give you a reason to join a class, but history has shown that that is not necessarily a real requirement of success.  If you are not sure where to start there is always painting by numbers and a bit of internet research has proved that a painting starter kit can cost less than a tenner. 

Perhaps producing something that you and the closest people around you can appreciate will give new direction but, without the sometimes cruel comments of a teacher coming at you from over your shoulder as you make the brush strokes, you might just be creating a canvas to be appreciated both aesthetically and financially in future years… 

AP, Sydenham 

AP has found some direction on where to start with your art career … 

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…a little information on some of the world’s more unusual artists…

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…and LPG throws in a little information about the significance of the day…

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