Everything covered.

The new wall easel is up at home so I have two paintings on the go. No easy escape from work. I'm hoping this is the perfect arrangement - it already feels like it.

The next stage

When I called into the studio yesterday I became re-acquainted with this canvas after a break of several weeks and I could see what I needed to do next.  But I was meeting up with a very old friend and the thought of whiling away the time over lunch and a bottle of wine was far too good to resist. It was the best decision by far because by the end of the afternoon I was in such good spirits that I felt re-energised and tackling this painting over the next couple of weeks will be a cinch!

Shirking work

When I'm not painting I am thinking about painting. I have discovered iPlayer archives where I can watch John Hoyland working and talking about his work in 1978 and Paule Vezelay being filmed in 1984. It's totally absorbing but lurking in the back of my mind is the notion that I am doing this to escape the studio and the painting which sits unfinished on the easel. I am dodging work because it's hard going. I wouldn't presume to set myself alongside Hoyland but I am reassured to hear him express feelings which resonate with me. He describes it as a "nerve wracking business". "It's just you on your own in a room ... just making a painting seems such a ridiculous activity in a way ...      ... you don't know if you can do it...."


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p025lrcy/arena-six-days-in-september#group=p025z4rn
  

A day of rugby.

It's the final day of the Six Nations so although the sun is shining outside I'm going to be inside watching rugby on TV. Last Saturday I was at the Millennium Stadium to see Wales beat Ireland in what has been described as the best game of the championship. Now they have a chance to win the championship and it's nail biting time!

Morning Glory

 

Morning Glory.   Oil on canvas.

The painting which took so long to finish but by last Friday it was finally done.

My head is full of orange.

After a week in the studio finishing a painting that seemed to go on for an eternity I finally gazed at a new canvas without any clear thoughts on what I was going to do next.
I had spent the evening before thinking about it but there was no song going around in my head to trigger images and I hadn't been overwhelmed by an emotional experience or a particular landscape. I was clear about one thing only, that orange needed to dominate this picture and that's where I started. Before leaving the studio yesterday I took an image of the first stage of the painting.
I am curious to know where it takes me, why the colour orange was so important and what thoughts and past images will it evoke.    

Spring

Spring in the Bay.  Oil on canvas


It's March 1st and St David's Day. Wales beat France yesterday in Paris and are still in the running for the Six Nations championship. It's sunny but bitterly cold. That hardly matters - in my mind St David's Day heralds Spring and the promise of long hot days to come.
Daffodils are everywhere. People are wearing them, I have them in vases in my dining room and they are appearing as small green shoots in the garden. I am back at work with a vengeance - the days of hibernation are over and it feels good.