Opportunities to talk about art are not easily come by. Being an artist can be a fairly isolating activity, involving work in the studio, but also a good deal of solitary activity such as correspondence about exhibitions. When the opportunity comes along, however, it can be slightly manic, as I realised this morning.
I picked up a friend in the car and we drove to Shipley, where we had both put in work for a small local exhibition. From start to finish–in both directions–there was an uninterrupted flow of chat about “the business”. It wasn’t only that we wanted to talk about our own activity. More general issues (such as my problems with Cezanne, mentioned in yesterday’s blog) also took up a fair bit of the time. I doubt that there was a moment’s pause the whole journey.
The solitude of my artistic activity was brought home to me later this afternoon, when I submitted my application for participation in an exhibition in the Midlands later in the year. The entire transaction (including the submission of photographic images) took place on line. Then I also put in a request to join an interest group of artists that had been recommended to me by a colleague. That transaction also took place on line. What a curious state of affairs!
Where in Shipley is the exhibition? I’d like to go. L
Sorry, Lynrose. It’s finished now. I guess we need to make better use of the church magazine!