Do you know the celebrated story of the “Curate’s egg”? A young curate found himself having to make an overnight stay with his bishop. All went well until breakfast the next morning, when the egg served to the young man was clearly bad. Nevertheless he decided that rather than risk offending his host he would try to get it down. This was obviously a very unpleasant process, and after a few moments the bishop asked if the egg was all right. “It is very good in parts, my Lord,” responded the curate.
It is really good to get back to painting again. It has been months since I was able to put in such a sustained effort in front of the easel. Nevertheless, the story of the “Curate’s Egg” came to mind this afternoon. The result so far is very much a mixed bag. I’m pleased with the composition, so that the idea is developing in an encouraging way. Nevertheless, I am far from content with some aspects of my figure drawing. The least satisfactory aspect of the project is the uneasy fit between the type of paper I have chosen and the oil pastels I decided to use. My recollection of working with this medium was rather positive, nevertheless the experience is turning out to be very hard work.
At the moment I am teetering on that unstable point when there is a debate between chucking in the project altogether, starting again with different materials, and gritting my teeth and carrying on. I think I’ll sleep on it. Tomorrow will be a busy day facing other commitments in any case, and it might be Monday before I can make that decision. We shall see.