None of us will forget 2020 in a hurry. It’s been a frustrating time for everyone and many will have lost loved ones or seen their jobs or businesses go. Many too will have suffered the illness caused by the virus.
It was also, of course, a bad year to try to launch the Alston Landscape Art Town Initiative, as we were hoping to get momentum going with a series of events for people to attend. In the end we were pleased to have arranged two workshops and a four-week exhibition.
But while we wait for the country to open up again, we’ve been busy discussing just how to move things forward.
One obvious necessity is publicity and we’ve been planning posters to put up in the town. To that end, we’ve been looking for images which manage to say “Alston”, “landscape”, “art” and “town”, all in one image.
“Initiative”, however, would always be a bit of stretch for a visual image.
Sadly, however, one image we’d have loved to use is denied to us.
Lionel Playford’s painting of Alston in its landscape with a rainbow would have ticked all four boxes and Lionel would have been happy for us to use it.
Unfortunately it disappeared in a burglary a couple of years ago, and all Lionel is left with is this low-resolution image.
We do, of course, have other wonderful images done by our painters and photographers and we shall be using them in our publicity.
But Lionel would, quite understandably, like his picture back.
It’s an acrylic and oil painting on canvas, measuring about 76 X 61cm. So if you have acquired it in good faith or you get offered it for sale, please contact Lionel on lionel.playford<at>gmail.com, or contact ALATI.
We’d all love to see it back in the town.
Jon Reeds