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.

Sorting myself out.

It feels very good. There's lots of space now that I have unpacked but I still have to produce a painting here. I seem to have faced this dilemma so many times - each time on arrival in France and then on my return.  The break and change in studio is disruptive and getting the flow back takes effort. I shall feel better once the painting on the easel is finished - the rest will follow.   

The bus to Pontypool.

Nothing is unpacked except for paints, palette knives and everything else I need to be able to get on with  work. The room is in need of a good clean and the paintwork is pretty disgusting but I've been in worse and by the time I've got the canvas on the easel and sorted out the paints, it's not something I notice.
I'm going to enjoy cleaning and decorating the place - but I can't afford to take time to do it now.
Something is going on in Cardiff and it's all kicking off in front of the castle just outside my window. Hordes of  people are celebrating .....A person goes by dressed as a duck but he's having difficulty seeing where he's going so someone takes him by the hand and leads him down the road.
A bus goes by with Pontypool on the front. Now that's a good omen.

Almost there

In the short time I spent in the new studio before leaving for London I set up my stereo system. With no time to start painting (or unpacking) getting the radio working was the first job. Now I'm back with fresh supplies of paint and looking forward to starting work again. The weather is getting warmer and with the windows open I can hear the traffic below and look over at the castle.