As I was checking the statistics of the usage of my website today I was struck by how many things have changed in the way in which artists work, even in the short period in which I’ve been practising. Did anyone have their own website when I began? I have just acquired an iPad, and apart from many other things I will be able to do with it, it is now possible for me to update this blog from anywhere. (I leave for a two-week trip to Italy in two weeks’ time.) When I started out I recorded my work on photographs, but on the old 35mm. film, not digitally. I’ve just acquired a new plan chest via eBay, and not only is eBay new, but the old habit of putting material in portfolios now seems so cumbersome.
It’s comforting to think that some things change little. Leonardo used something recognisable as pastels. The screw-topped tube of paint was invented in the 19th. century, along with the metal ferruled paint-brush. Heaven only knows when the Chinese discovered paper! I’ve just finished a project for a pair of “stained glass” windows, and although the techniques of producing these have moved on, the idea developed in the mediaeval cathedrals. The thing that strikes me is that it is these things that still make what artists do worthwhile. The electronic paraphenalia just support it. I no longer need an assistant to grind my pigments or hand-roll my pastels, but if ever I am remembered for anything it will be for my paintings and not for my web-site. Better get back to painting!