St. Agnes, Alps Maritime Cote d'Azur 12 x 16 in. oil on board, £1,250
Sketch, St Cezaire sur Siagne, pencil on paper, approx. 11 x 16 in., £200.00
sketch, Bergemon, pencil on paper, approx. 8 x 6 in., £100.00
I
am writing this on the back side of a period of quiet, after an intense period
of work. I don’t know about other
artists, but THIS one needs time of quiet between projects, after time of
intense creativity, or worry, or just about anything requiring a modicum of
focus. I don’t acknowledge weekends; I
tend to work when I can, regardless the day, because I feel inside my deepest,
darkest place that if I stop, I’ll never be able to start again. (This much, I know other artists’ suffer
from!) Utter nonsense, I know, but there
it is!
Just
as I need to work whenever the muse strikes, no matter what’s going on outside
the studio, I also need to pay attention and NOT work when my inner artist
says, “enough!” I call it my “inward”
time. I read a book, for hours, or watch
movie after movie, or even sometimes just sit in the sun, absorbing the
warmth. (To be honest, those days have
been few and far between these past 10 years in Glenfinnan....so to absorb ANY
sun is to be treasured!) The point is to
completely detach – from everything. The
only souls who claim my attention then are my cat, Ceilidh, and my horse,
Dancer. I’d include my partner in that,
if I weren’t single! Friends, of course,
but they distract me from the detachment and take me into the world many times
– which is what my detach time is asking to hide from. Sometimes I don’t even
want to have a coffee with someone other than my book or movie! Make any
sense?? And those of you who love me, I
KNOW will understand this and not take offense.
I AM a gregarious introvert (a descriptive phrase so aptly coined by a
very dear friend who is very much like me), with a distinct need to take care
of that introvert sometimes.....
What
does this mean in the studio? Well....it
means that whatever is on the easel has to sit and wait for me to pick up the
brushes again. It means that sometimes
my brushes sit in turpentine for a few days.
It means that I’m not good at answering emails, don’t want to look at my
bank statements, or have ANYTHING to do with the world for at least a day or
two. If I’m lucky, that’s as long as it
lasts, and I get tired of inactivity and sloth and pick up the brushes, the
balls, look at my email, and right now, go out and weed a section of my garden.
I
must be coming out of my sloth now because I’m writing! So, more paintings on the way (two on easels
for 2 days now), sketches to do and show, people to contact, etc., etc. Still focus is on the South of France, but
there is focus! The painting above was finished just before my little break; and the sketches are what is currently on the easel. More sketches to publish, but I want to start the work!!