Cycling and Social Distancing!

If asked about my influences in art, I would have to say one of my greatest is cycling. Always out and about on my old bike come rain or shine helps me to feel the changing seasons, look for new motifs and is a candy shop of inspiration, not cycling is meh. At the start of March I had an OP and was ordered to rest for 2 weeks and then the C crisis hit and to be honest I was afraid to saddle up the old pony! Why? I really don't know, perhaps afraid of the reaction of others, although exercising once a day here is permitted outdoors. Walking, jogging and cycling anything goes (as long as you stick to the social distancing rules!) but still the thought of stepping out of the door was frightening. I finally decided that this was ludicrous and it was now or never!  

Taking long breaks and sitting around on public benches is however a no no, but short breaks are allowed. Taking this into consideration I packed a wee bit of sketching stuff and headed off! Bucolic is the word I'd use to describe the area I live in, and avoiding the major cycle routes is no problem. Soon I was out in the midst of trees, fields and shrubs and completely alone. So sketchbook out and a quickie 10 minute sketch helped me to feel artistically grounded again! 

Being out and about at last helped to bring a touch of reality into what had become a completely  surreal situation and nature certainly put on her Sunday best for me ...... and although my pastels are taking a break, this is definitely a pastel painting just waiting in the wings! With that wee bridge it has a touch of the Monet's about it.

Isn’t it fab that all these celebs are whining on about learning a new skill while in lockdown, the only thing that I've learned is how to breathe in hard enough to get my trousers shut! Hope that you are keeping safe and having more luck discovering you new skills!