David Beales,
                                                            Flat1, 21 Swanley Lane,
                                                                                      Swanley,
                                                                                            Kent.
                                                                                      BR8 7JE   

Dear Beth,
                  Some of my work exists only as computer graphics. The individuality of the litho or woodblock print could be imitated on the computer by adjusting the print set up for each individual print or changing the colour of the print which sometimes has a grainy effect on the print, but anyone with a jeweller’s eye glass would be able to detect the dots on a computer image. This would be like distressing furniture to make it look old. Trying to make a computer print look like a wood cut may fool the casual buyer but not the dealer. However with a different sort of printer I was able to get an acceptable effect from a computer image with some cards I printed many years ago on a large commercial printer, I enclose an example but cannot remember the type of printer. There are still printers who will make offset litho and commercial screen prints, which vary slightly from print to print but probably not noticeable in small runs. Rock musicians sell these prints for thousands of pounds from internet dealers but that may be because their fans collect their work. 
Patients on benefit because of psychiatric illness, outsider artists living in poverty seldom have access to professional materials. Why should the quality of materials reflect the patients creativity? Look at the materials used by many of the artists in the Prinzorn collection. August Klose used scraps of paper, Joseph Maier, office paper, Wilhelm Maasch, calendar paper, Franz Klieber, packing paper, and so on. No doubt if photocopiers and inkjet printers had been invented they would have gladly used those. I accept that there may be some problem with the archival quality of computer prints due to a potential for fading, but if the gallery museum or collector has a copy of the computer file then they can renew the print at any time. Hopefully computer prints will be brought up to the standard of other prints regarding permanence. To censure the artist because of the materials they use not only restricts the artist unnecessarily but denies the public the opportunity of seeing their work. My drawings are hand coloured on the computer and as digital images are versatile. They can be used as portable images on i-phones, i-pads, and lap tops. They can be projected in galleries as slide shows.
Many of my pictures tell the story of my book ‘The Road to the Asylum‘. The pictures of Farnborough psychiatric unit; Tablet Time, The Day Room at Farnborough, The Day Hospital, the pictures of Cane Hill Hospital; the Hospital Shop, the pictures of Guy Ward the Corridors the Industrial Therapy the Main Hall the occupational therapy the recent paintings are all particularly relevant. The pictures of suburbia illustrate the world outside the hospital in the South London area, Bromley , Eltham, Chislehurst etc. also described in my book.
The people in the book, patients and casualties, are often otherwise unremembered so I believe that there is a place for the work as a historical and research document. By studying this mainly unwritten history, people could have a more companionate attitude towards those less fortunate, celebrating and supporting the casualties and anti-heroes of life rather than condemning them as losers, unworthy of remembrance. Many people in my writing and pictures are psychiatric patients. No-one else was documenting them so I did.
I am pleased that Core Arts have asked to show four of my pictures at their exhibition for the Clapton festival. I know that people understand the meaning of my work, but I think that the pictures still need the captions.

                                             Best Wishes,

                                                           David Beales