On the Shelf!

It was with great pleasure and a sense of foreboding that I hit the easel this week, leaving the unfinished Hecate on the shelf! Painting is really similar to cooking, you need to get the ingredients, prepare them, then start the cooking process and depending on what you're cooking you'll end up having to simmer your goodies before your culinary work of art is ready to serve. Starting this painting has been a wee bit like cooking in reverse, this one has been simmering in my brain for about 6 weeks without putting pastel to paper because the pastel dust trashed my COVID and 'flu hit lungs. That is why I had that dreadful feeling that pastel painting wasn’t going to be such a good idea. I took a mask up into my studio but I seriously can’t imagine working on a painting wearing a mask, especially as I like to warble along to Kate Bush to get me into my painting zone. Yes, I know that lots of pastel artists wear masks and gloves all the time but the tactile pleasure of my pastels and support are part of my process. And here we go!

A wintery scene down by the Main river and can you spot the hint of an icy cobweb? I really fell in love with an icy cobweb which was outside my front door, so I've decided to include it in my river painting. 

And here is poor Hecate, on the shelf! I will get her finished but the urge to paint the scene above got too strong, a bit like a pressure cooker before it explodes. This is a major change for me, I always try to have a piece of work on my easel before I take a break or go on holiday, it’s like a promise that I will return however last time I came back from a Christmas break (without COVID) I found it difficult to get back into my painting and when I did finish, I didn’t like the result, so maybe it’s time to change tactics. 

Speaking of cookery, COVID and changes, my sense of smell and taste are completely gone ….. the only thing I can taste is if something is sweet, considering I was doing the Christmas cooking this really was a challenge; I had to get others to do the tasting and tell me what I needed to add. Fortunately, the outcome was great although to be honest, it really didn’t bother me, I couldn’t taste it anyway!