Probably I have commented on this phenomenon in earlier posts, but I find it impossible to paint while I am engaged on an extended piece of writing. The two activities appear to occupy quite different parts of the brain, or even of the personality.
I’m committed to giving a talk to the regional Italian Circle, in November, on the Italian composer Arrigo Boito and his opera Mefistofele. This is a reinterpretation of the Faust legend …. a subject which I find interesting, and I have had it in the back of my mind that it might provide some interesting visual images for development some day. In order to do my talk I am having to read the major literary versions of the legend (especially Marlowe and Goethe), and listen to other musical interpretations of the theme (particularly Gounod and Berlioz). I’m now quite deeply into this material, and find that I have no inclination to paint. There is not a single visual idea in my head. How strange!
There is no danger that I will get into a state of panic about this (at least, not yet!) because I’ve been here before, and I know that as soon as I am able to lay aside the writing project things will get back to normal, and visual ideas will begin to assert themselves again. It is strange, however, to discover that there appear to be two quite different versions of me, and that they have so little in common. I would be very interested to know whether this is a common experience.