On losing The Flow and building a Wall...

A CHANGE OF PACE
A sweltering summer is here and, with it, comes a distinct slowing down in studio activity. This is a time for a very different daily routine in general whilst school is out - even though I’m sure I could find an occasional slot of time to paint, I’m just mentally not there at the moment. Whilst I was definitely ready for a break, the artist in me finds this incredibly frustrating and I always fear it will be a struggle to reconnect with my work. The interruption of “flow” feels so unnerving every time, even though I know I’ve always managed to pick up more or less where I left off, or maybe redirect myself slightly, but I’ve always regained that precious flow eventually. But who knows, perhaps the time away will ultimately benefit the work....?

SKETCHBOOK TO THE RESCUE
I’ve tried to keep the creativity flowing with some sketchbook activity. That has been fun and a change of pace - quick and easy to pick up and put down again, just pure play and experimentation. I don’t actually have a consistent sketchbook habit - I either have a season of painting or, like now, a brief season of sketching but it’s how I work right now and it seems to suit me. Ideas from my sketchbook pages might later appear in my paintings, intentionally or not!

A NEW WALL
I did make some progress recently on my studio makeover, though. I dedicated my only windowless wall and turned it into a painting wall. This involved two simple ingredients: sheets of plywood attached to the wall and some evenly spaced rows of screws onto which I could hang my paintings at various heights whilst they were in progress. It also involved a rather heated argument with my normally wonderful handyman/builder who just couldn’t grasp what on earth I wanted to achieve and why!

LOOKING TO AUTUMN
Autumn will be busy as I work on bringing my series of paintings to completion in time for The Contemporary Art Fair in Windsor in early November. This will be my first major art fair since changing medium from glass-making to painting and I’m really excited to be getting out there again after a good few years. I’ve always enjoyed doing the fairs and meeting people face to face, and I’m so looking forward to hearing people’s reaction to and interpretation of my work and what they see in it. It’s like a painting isn’t really complete without that final step - someone seeing it and reacting to it.


Have a wonderful and relaxing summer and do leave your thoughts in the comments. 😊


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