Many years ago the celebrated humorist Joyce Grenfell used to include in her repertoire an imagined confrontation between a teacher and her junior school class. Insisting on her infinite patience, the exasperated teacher, waiting for the class to fall into line, used to say, “I’m waiting …. I can wait all day.” This, of course, was eminently untrue. Grenfell’s catch-phrase came into mind today while I was trying to persuade myself that the picture on which I’m working should absolutely not be fiddled with any longer. The sensible response to the situation is to leave it on the easel for at least another day before doing anything at all to it.
If I continue to poke about with it it is highly likely that I will ruin what is, so far, a rather promising piece.* It would be counter-productive to keep attending to perceived weaknesses in isolated parts of the design before I have made up my mind about the overall balance of the composition. So …. “I’m waiting”, and if I can keep under control my sense of urgency to finish the piece, |I will try not to touch it at all for another day at least.
This task is made easier, of course, by the fact that we are at the moment in the middle of the snooker Masters’ tournament, which I find pretty mesmeric. Also, by coincidence, a friend and fellow artist is opening her exhibition in Leeds tomorrow, and this gives me an incentive to leave the house for half a day. It’s quite good to be able to surround pleasure with the aura of duty fulfilled.
*I’ve decided to add one more piece to my Green Man series before tits next showing in Worcester Cathedral, in February.