Oh Heck, Where Next?
I made it to my art room by 10.06 a.m this morning, with a tray of tea and my mobile (all distractions and interruptions were going to be welcome).
Yesterdays work lay in the centre of the room, in crappy splendour and sullen posture, waiting for a decision – to be binned or redeemed? I could feel my eyeballs rolling with a, ”Oh heck, where next?”
During a recent week in Cornwall, I’d felt seriously energised by the stunning coastline and achingly rich colours, but now, back on home turf, I was stumbling and bumbling about and feeling disconnected from the vibrant vistas I’d left behind. I felt like a skippy foodie returning from a gourmet cooking weekend retreat, to the somber realities of an empty larder, tiny kitchen and the limitation of a microwave.
I hugged my tea and disconnected my brain, hoping something would wash up on the beach of my imagination. Then I remembered that today I was expecting some art supplied from Jacksons – 2 boxes of soft pastels, (Yellow/Green & Sea Blues) and some super-robust, indestructible water-paper in a variety of landscape colours. This 360 gsm weighted paper should be able to withstand anything I hurled at it.
So, a rescue package would be on its way!! And with better utensils for the job, maybe I could strike out with more confidence.
I have to confess that splashing out on decent kit wasn’t my idea, but my artist friend Tim. While in Cornwall he’d been gently nudging me towards investing in some quality materials and not skimping.
He’d also said, “get outside Jane, there’s no better way to produce art than being out amongst nature – feel it, absorb the rawness, fall into the whole glorious experience and it’s the only way to get out of your own way.”
So, I mused on these 2 thoughts… Buying good materials & Immersing myself in nature.
I’d certainly felt a new awakening while sketching on the clifftops in Cornwall, exposed to the elements and lost in wonder and now it was time to make this a habit, not an exception. I packed a few pencils, a jam-jar of ink and my sketchbook and headed for the door and instantly I felt a different person; joy returned. I knew where I was heading next.
