The coming year is bound to be a period of novelty. We are planning to move house in the New Year, and life at the moment is almost completely occupied with preparation for that event. An important task I am undertaking in relation to the move is a reappraisal of my art work. I am … Read more
The old saying, that “one swallow does not make a summer” is perhaps to be borne in mind at the moment, but nevertheless, I am suddenly optimistic. I have actually managed to do a piece of work today. My wife kindly agreed to sit for me (although she did go to sleep during the session!) … Read more
For an embarrassingly long time now I have been unable to get to work on a new painting. The reasons for this are obscure, and I toggle between several of them. I have not spotted anything to paint. (Partly true, but insufficient.) I’m afraid to fail. (Well, that would be true if I could focus … Read more
I was horrified earlier this evening to discover just how much time has elapsed since I last posted. It almost feels as if I have actually been out of sight of the Earth. In fact the explanation is far more banal. I have simply been diverted by other things. A real problem for me at … Read more
The first half of this year was a difficult time for me, particularly because it seemed to be impossible to get on with any useful or satisfying art project. I’ve emerged from that recently, and have been pleased by the work I have managed to do recently. This afternoon I photographed my latest piece, for … Read more
One of the most difficult things about any relationship of friendship is to find oneself in a situation where you are aware of the problems a friend is facing, but unable to actually effect an escape from that situation. I don’t know whether this is a situation which afflicts artists in particular, but it is … Read more
For several years now I’ve been trying to learn the Italian language, and recently (as it has been difficult to locate a convenient public class) I’ve been working with an individual teacher, on line. These are very rewarding occasions in many respects, but can turn out to be startlingly different from working with a whole … Read more
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that it is about a week since I posted anything. There is a reason for this. Have been diverted into all kinds of distractions from art, and completely unable to focus on anything of an artistic nature. I know that this occasionally happens, but that does not … Read more
Sometimes events in life feel as if they are lying in the way of any progress in my art as if they are a tree fallen across a railway line. Nothing can get past them until they have been cleared. I have to confess (somewhat to my surprise) that the past couple of weeks have … Read more
As I have reminded readers every now and then, the purpose of this blog is to share something about what it is like to be an artist, and the way in which the art bit relates to life in general. I presume that you are interested in this, as you are reading my blog. So: … Read more