At the moment I’m in a state that varies between a sense of “recovery” (relief) and anxiety. Although I have plans for future exhibitions they lie a long way ahead, and just at the moment I can’t get moving on any particular project. Instead I have begun preparation of a talk I am scheduled to … Read more
It’s a mistake that is easy to make. At the moment I’m compelled to ask this question of myself. I do enjoy writing, although I find that for some reason it is absolutely antithetical to painting. These activities appear to demand quite incompatible metal habits and orientations. Having rediscovered an interest recently in the Faust … Read more
Long-term readers of this blog might remember that I have a recurring “thing” about the story of Faust. After a lay-off suddenly I find that I’m re-engaging with this ancient story. Aside from its philosophical (or perhaps even its theological) interest, I imagine that it ought to have a distinctly visual point of focus. It … Read more
As I’ve noted on several occasions, the purpose of this blog is to give readers some idea of the life of an artist, and in particular the ways in which the art bit relates to other things in life. Well, you do need to know that it is not all creative excitement, and there are … Read more
As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, recently I have been taking an interest in the Faust story, in its various tellings. It is a long time since I listened to the Gounod version, and today I decided that I would refresh my memory. Immediately I was struck by the enormous differences between … Read more
I came across the following wonderful statement today, by Eva Hesse.* In a “note to self” she wrote, “Don’t pressure self about this, it will come when lifestyle opens up.” Her approach to art is not one with which I normally find myself in sympathy, but this observation is exactly what I need to hear. … Read more
I had never thought of this before today, but it came to me that there might be two quite different ways of doing art. There are occasions on which I attempt to produce images that represent some kind of enduring idea, or symbol, that has a kind of durability about it. I suppose that the … Read more