Friday, September 30, 2016

It's like learning a new language

This week was spent working at a fever pitch in the studio creating new small paintings and was punctuated by a quick jaunt to visit artist, Louise Blamire at her charming country estate for the best tea, a good blether and of course beauty at every turn.

So, let's jump in! I haven't documented my new works properly yet but I can share some studio snapshots of my three most recent small works on canvas. Follow me on instagram to stay in the know. These originals will be documented properly soon and put up for sale in my Etsy shop with limited edition prints soon to follow!



The studio continues to fill with coloured blotter papers created from the making of these works. Some of the papers are hung up to dry on one wall while others are taped to my supply closet door. It feels like I have the start of a new language on every surface. I like being surrounded by the remnants of the process. The studio has a energetic quality right now that it rarely sees but that I am happy to cultivate. Dirty brushes sit in the paint water, open paint pots cover every surface and of course the papers are everywhere. These papers with their markings are like breadcrumbs in a forest showing me the way back or the way to somewhere I have never been before.



It was fitting then that I found myself in an actual forest this morning, miles away from my studio in Leith. Louise Blamire and I walked along in an enchanted forest in East Lothian with the sun streaming in to highlight the forest floor carpeted with ferns and mosses. The tall canopy above us swayed in the wind as birdsong filled the air. We talked and listened and dreamt out loud. We talked about this artist life and the bigger picture and the circuitous route that we have taken and all the bloody questions we still have about it. We talked about what we wanted, needed, desired and deserved. Artists need to be artists around each other and the woods and later the sea provided our backdrop. I returned to the bustling city this afternoon exhausted but filled with beauty and understanding. It was wonderful.



Until next week keep fighting, keep learning and creating your new language. Rage about it in the forests, by the sea, in the barn, in the basement, in the city and in the country. Let your voice be heard and share it. We need you out here with us.

1 comment:

  1. Those are some very interesting paintings. Where ever did you get the idea to make them by using blotter paper? They are like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. Have you tried showing these in an exhibit or a show of some sort? I bet they would generate much interest. Glad you're selling online though!

    Lindsey @ Nosto

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