I enjoy a good read, especially just before I go to sleep at night. My normal routine alternates fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Right now I’m into one of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet. It struck me last night that this must be the third time I have read this work, and I started to reflect on … Read more
Contemplating the best way of moving forward the composition I’m planning at the moment it struck me that I should probably try a technique I’ve never used before. It is, however, a device which Stanley Spencer used regularly. I have made good progress with drawing a “collage” version of the piece I want to develop. … Read more
Recently I’ve been toying with the idea of attempting more portraits. I was reasonably pleased with the little sketch I did of my wife recently. The announcement that our regular life-drawing class will be restarting very soon has re-enforced that interest. Having been loaned a book about Egon Schiele and Jenny Saville recently my thinking … Read more
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been rediscovering the work of Eric Ravilious.* A member of my family has been emailing me examples of his work, almost on a daily basis. (She has been receiving them from a friend, who is an art historian, and currently working on this artist.) This has prompted me … Read more
It is high time that I came to grips with a crucial distinction, which has become clear in my mind since watching the film I mentioned yesterday about the work of Maggie Hambling. I have often thought of my work as having a kind of “symbolic” character, in which specific images can be read as … Read more
During a Zoom conversation with a group of friends this morning I realised suddenly just how introverted I have become during the course of this epidemic and the consequent period of enforced isolation. Thinking about this during the afternoon I wondered whether there might be a direct connection between this and the fact that I … Read more
I had to drive to the builders’ merchant today to buy materials for the new compost bins I’m building in the garden. As I set off I was not in an optimistic mood regarding the trip. Because of the restrictions on public transport the roads were busy, and I reckon that every taxi in Bradford … Read more
It has been ailing for some time, but I reckon that our CD player is certainly on its last legs. Last night I became so fed up with the problems we have been having in making it play that I powered up my old Hi-fi and dug out some of my old LPs. It worked … Read more
Last week’s “raid” on London enabled me to take in the current exhibition at Tate Britain, entitled All too human. I’m still uncertain as to whether this is intended to refer to the artists represented there or to their subject-matter. The sub-title of the event was “Bacon, Freud and a century of painting life”, and … Read more