As I have been working through ideas in relation to my “tree” project, it has been encouraging, over the past week, to get some feedback from people who have seen the finished pieces. Artists are very often uncertain about the success of their work, and it can be immensely supportive to receive positive feedback. (Of course, there is the other kind of artist, who doesn’t care a dot for what other people think, so confident are they about its value. I’m certainly not that kind of artist.)
The positive response I have been given is particularly welcome because I have been experimenting with techniques which in several respects depart from my usual repertoire. In particular, the creation of a textured surface is rather novel for me, but it is a possibility opened up by there fact that I am now working with acrylic paint, instead of pastels. I have been reminded of the remarks made to me many years ago by my former mentor, Graeme Willson, about the importance of the quality of the surface in his own work. This is an aspect of painting I’ve never taken seriously before, and the exploration of this novelty is very interesting and rewarding.
There is a kind of urgency about the way in which I’m working at the moment, largely because I can see looming up in front of me a range of other obligations and distractions which might well make it more difficult to continue to be so productive in the future. More of these, however, tomorrow.