Summer in Wales

 Two sunny days and I'm torn between the studio and the garden. There's a painting waiting for me and I'm anxious to get to it but the garden (and this is embarrassingly fanciful) is an equally important canvas. At least that's how I view it. Moving colours around and being unsettled by jarring shapes and textures has simple parallels in painting. Time spent now will give me endless satisfaction and visual comfort for the rest of the summer and into autumn. The radio says that the next fews days will see cold weather, heavy winds and hailstones (that's ridiculous!). So now I'm making hay while the sun shines!

Summer In Wales  Oil on canvas

The first sun of summer.

 The First Sun Of Summer. Oil on canvas.                         click to enlarge.

The one that caused all the trouble. Now finally finished and ready for the gallery once it's framed.
Work is flowing again and everything feels good. Tomorrow I'll pick up some more canvases.

Better days.

I have finally finished the painting which caused me some anguish and I'm a lot happier.
I am eager to get back to the studio on Monday to continue working on a new canvas.
Meanwhile the British weather contines to tease. After a few days of dresses and flip-flops early in the week it's now back to coats and umbrellas.

   

Lost day

There's a pattern to the work schedule which has developed over time. In the winter when it's cold I get to the studio at lunchtime and work through until late afternoon. The moment it gets warmer I get in early so that I can be home after lunch to enjoy the sunshine. We have had sun for the past couple of days so I caught the train very early this morning and arrived at the studio feeling pleased with myself. Radio on, kettle on  and I was ready to paint.
Then nothing seemed to go right. I kept at it hoping things would get better but it was useless. I stayed until late morning and then finally went home.
The way I feel now I desperately want to tell everyone who will listen that I can't do this anymore and I would like it to stop. But I won't. Tomorrow it's back to the studio to face the canvas again. I'm not looking forward to it. I'm hoping that it's just the problem of the first painting in new surroundings and that once it's finished things will settle down.