If I remember rightly “they went up diddly up up, they went down diddly down down,” or something like that. This rather silly song came into my head this afternoon reflecting on what life is like as an artist. Regular readers of this blog will know that for several months past I have had a rather difficult time, feeling unable to do anything creative, with a sense that my work is going absolutely nowhere. Although I believe that it was possible to find a rational explanation for this situation it didn’t actually make it any easier to deal with. That was the “down diddly down down” bit.
Suddenly, within the space of about two weeks, all of that has been changed. Not only have I begun painting again, producing three nearly finished images within two weeks, but I have sold another painting and received confirmation that my proposal for an exhibition has been accepted. I heard today that early next year I will be showing my “Set Apart” series (dealing with the theme of solitude and sacredness) in Worcester Cathedral.*
The positive feel to life is enhanced by the fact that next week I will be away in Derbyshire on a painting trip. I’ll tell you more about that later. Meanwhile, however, I’m going “up diddly up up”. Talking with colleagues, I believe that this kind of manic depressive oscillation of one’s fortunes and spirits is pretty well the state of normality for artists.
*You can take a look at these in one of the “galleries” also included in the website.