It seems that mine come in the middle of the night. It is quite common for me to be awake in the small hours, to the extent that I have to get up and do something. I don’t paint, but it is not at all unusual for me to find myself writing.* Last night, to my surprise, I solved a long-standing conundrum. I solved the recurrent question of the title I ought to give to a painting.
The picture in question is the multiple image of cross-sections through the trunk of an old laurel tree I cut down several years ago. Nine of these images (done in tempera) were framed together in a single composite image. The project was undertaken in December of 2021, and exhibited in my one-man show at the Manor House Gallery in Ilkley. I gave it the title then of I saw …., but was never very satisfied by that rather strained pun. I am much better-pleased by the idea which came too me last night. For some reason there came into my head a phrase that I discovered is from Psalm 44: “For he knows the secrets of the heart.” I think that I might stick with that.
*I make up for it normally by having an afternoon nap. This bi-modal sleep pattern has been with me for a long time, and doesn’t seem to be connected at all to the idea of a “disturbed” night. That’s just the way I work.