Where on earth do artistic ideas come from? I was seriously making preparations to start a new picture. A preliminary sketch was finished, and I had resurfaced an old canvas, which I had placed on the easel ready for the new job. Everything was ready to go. Then, all of a sudden, I had this … Read more
I’m feeling immensely virtuous at the moment, having spent a good part of the last two days reorganising my files, and getting basically up-to-date in several other respects. It feels good! One of the things I did this afternoon was to update the section in this web-site entitled “Picture of the Month”. Yes: I am … Read more
I have been prompted to ask myself this question by the examples of their recent work which some of my friends have put up on their facebook pages. One of them has changed his style of work completely, and has begun producing pictures which have a very sombre feel to them. As his painting is … Read more
For several months now I have been labouring (rather intermittently) over my Wassail project. There has been a persisting sense of incompleteness, but no clear idea about just what it was that remained to be done. Two nights ago I was having difficulty sleeping, and my mind began to wander. Suddenly, the answer emerged as … Read more
Regular readers of this blog might remember that on several occasions I have shared thoughts about the balance of “inspiration or perspiration” as the more important factor driving creative work. I have tended rather to be cautious about what I have always seen as the over-valuation of inspiration, and the notion that artists are somehow … Read more