It is the season for it, and I spent a good part of the morning the garden, sawing logs for the fire. This was the intended fate of the huge laurel I cut down last month. They will need to dry and mature for a year before they reach their final destination, stacked in the wood-store. The process was arresting in an unexpected way.
I could not help but notice the infinite diversity of the cross-sections of the wood as I sawed. Every exposed surface had an individuality I would otherwise associate with human finger-prints. It was not a matter of small differences which could only be identified by paying close attention to tree rings. These were dramatic affirmations of singularity, in line and colour, which almost appeared to amount to personality.
I rushed indoors for my camera and took a series of pictures.* Later in the afternoon I began to plot a piece in which I expect to use a selection of these images. The overall scheme has come together quite quickly, and I am wondering whether this is an invitation to try another project in egg tempera. As you can probably tell, I’m getting quite excited!
It its strange how ideas for pictures can hit you quite suddenly an unexpectedly.
*No! It was far too cold to sit there sketching!