The Art of Nature and the Nature of Art
  • Musings on Life and Work in Progress
  • Find my gallery
  • Contact Me Directly

2020:  Dancing Backwards and in High Heels

14/12/2020

0 Comments

 
The  question I field frequently is “So what have you been painting?”  What HAVE I been painting?

The answer is short but not sweet, just sad:  “Nothing since February.”  The inevitable “Why, do you think?” can only be expressed as an absence:  “I have completely lost interest in painting.”  The only piece I managed to do was a remembrance of a dearly loved dog of a friend.  Other than that, I can’t
even bring myself to start something.

Having this conversation with other artists revealed that the vast majority of us are in this same state:  all of us trolling through hundreds of our digitals, seeking in vain for inspiration.  I think it is  a form of shock, and I honestly may not paint again.  Not a bad idea, given the size of our wee house.  Still, it’s worth reflecting on, if only as a symptom of extreme change.  Life may never be the same again, but we all hope to salvage the really precious moments.  That used to include painting, so one hopes.

What this whole year of dancing backward has helped my little family to realize is that our needs are quite modest; we are perfectly happy to stick close to home, to cook our own food and to stand glued to the windows in the study endlessly gawking at the orioles. Just being together is enough. Jon and I both are addicted to learning, though we practise different styles. Jon’s earbuds are usually tuned to CBC or PBS or POTUS and I have learned not to challenge him on detail. His other mental workouts generally involve the intricacies of bicycle mechanics. The Dungeon, our basement, now features a tiny perfect bike shop where the magic happens.

​I am more of a visual learner and my earbuds are there to keep sound out, so it’s books for me. After all, I always had at least two on the go and now Libby feeds me an endless supply. I have read a dozen or more books on American politics, gazillions of novels, and some wonderful books on biology, in particular Vesper Flights, Nature’s Best Hope (short version — plant oaks!!), and Becoming Wild, a brilliant look at the evolution of culture in animals. We regularly listen to science podcasts like Quirks and Quarks, The Hidden Brain and Science Friday. What an embaras de richesses technology provides. 

Theodore continues to read his pee-mail carefully but is no longer handling out-of-town correspondence.
0 Comments
    Picture

    Archive

    July 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    ALLA PRIMA PAINTING
    ANIMALS
    ART SHOWS
    BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
    CHRISTMAS
    COLOUR THEORY
    COMPOSITION
    GARDENING
    GLAZE OIL PAINTING
    HOW SHAPE MATTERS
    INSPIRATION
    OUTDOOR LIFE
    PALETTE
    PHOTOGRAPIC REFS
    PORTRAITS OF CHILDREN
    PORTRAITURE
    SEASONS
    STILL LIFE
    SUBJECT MATTER
    THE FUNCTION OF TITLES
    THE HUMAN COMEDY
    THE ISSUE OF SIZE
    THIS OLD HOUSE
    TREES
    UNDERPAINTING
    YouTubes

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.