Back in the studio after a few days away. I am excited to find that the painting I was working on is now complete and looks great. You only really know this on the return to the studio not at the end of a painting session.
I now have 3 paintings, complete, inspired by recent visit to the West Wales village of Llansteffan. It is a beautiful place and obviously moved something in me, even though I had visited previously.
But now my studio is even more full. I need to start letting go of my paintings. I read a passage yesterday about having a dialogue with images, of seeing them as entities in their own right rather than an an expression of the artist. The writer, Shaun McNiff, posed the question- if the painting was to speak to you what would it say?
If you’ve read my previous blogs you’ll know that I often have a conversation with my pictures- particularly portraits. But this question is presenting the concept at a slightly different angle. Maybe now is good time to go through my paintings and ask them- Where do you want to go? Are you to stay with me or do you wish to fly and land in someone else’s environment? Or perhaps I will just to open them up from their wrapping and listen to them- with no question being asked. Looking at things this way- the decision isn’t down to me- it’s up to them. I like this release of responsibility.
I shall let you know how I get on.
(Apologies for quality of image- used my phone- and just wanted to write)