June already!!! I missed blogging in May and only one post in April. But despite that its been an intensely rewarding and significant period for my art practice. After being stuck for a while and with the inevitable and regular dip in confidence I then struck gold again. I should be used to these ups and downs by now but they still disturb me.
The visit to Skye via the incredible scenery of the Lake District and then Glen Coe stunned me. I drew in sketchbooks like crazy but when I attempted to translate my memories and feelings back home in acrylic on large canvases, I drifted back to my comfort zone of more figurative painting. Scotland is just too magnificent and beautiful !!
This wasn’t how I wanted to paint Scotland. So I went quickly back to Australia painting again, from memory.
I called this ‘Night-time Dreaming” – a reference to the aborigines landscape and lifestyle. Much better I think????I began panicking to get ready for the exhibition in Aldeburgh. We called it Sea of Stars and this latest painting seemed to fit with that. I ordered some Giclee prints based mainly on the Australian series. Not at all sure I like these now. It feels like cheating to me but decided to give them a try. I think I prefer the watercolour sketches – pages from my sketchbook. They seem more immediate and fresher than the prints. This was all in an attempt to produce smaller more saleable stuff for exhibitions.
It’s a dilemma. I want to be true to the art I want to produce but in order to be able to do that the harsh reality is that I need to sell my work and get my name ‘out there’. So I have to do some semi-commercial stuff too. With that in mind I’ve actually enjoyed producing quick watercolours of the beautiful irises which have burst into colour in the garden
I’ve been invited to show work in two galleries and am taking part in open studios and even selling work !!! All good exciting stuff. And on Wednesday we’re off to the Lot Valley inFrance for two weeks, with a brief stop to see Monet’s Garden . So life is very good again. Hope I don’t do another nose dive when I discover France is as beautiful as Scotland.
