(He always said he was.) Seriously, though, I have been away for a brief holiday in North Yorkshire, and I took with me a little volume about Hockney given to me by a friend. I encountered there a phrase by Hockney which I have seen quoted on several occasions. “That’s what artists do. We look!” Of course he is absolutely right, but I had never realised previously its relevance to me.
I have been fretting recently over my own lack of productivity. Hockney’s dictum suggests the reason for this. I’ve stopped looking. Over the past couple of months (for a variety of reasons) I have allowed myself to become very introverted, and introspective. It should be not surprise that I have not been doing any painting, because I have not allowed myself to actually spend time looking at the outside world. An indication of this is the fact that I have just spent some time in an interesting part of the country which is new to me and yet I didn’t take a single photograph. Really, I do need to get a grip!