Tony Foster expresses sadness that tourism and people relocating from cities to the countryside are destroying remote places for artists (‘Excessive tourism can destroy a place’: artist Tony Foster on the rush to the countryside, 26 September). But landscapes where you can lose yourself can also be found in towns and cities.
As a member of an inner city art group, I regularly draw and paint in Brockwell Park, south London. There you can also find trees “festooned with mosses and lichens”, or magical corners filled with beautiful plant life. Artists such as Turner appreciated the cityscape as well as remote areas, as did poets such as Wordsworth.
The problem is not tourism in itself – everyone should be entitled to visit wild areas. But perhaps it is that those people who have fallen out of love with the city never appreciated its beauty in the first place. Those who reject built environments are missing out on an appreciation of life. The city is not a lifeless place devoid of sensitivity or quiet spaces, and we need to recover some balance in the way we think about town versus countryside.
Val Harding
West Norwood, London
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.
