Anybody that knows me will know that now and again I struggle with confidence. This is particularly apparent when I’m painting, or more to the point, not painting. It’s about connection. Sometimes I ‘get’ the connection and everything buzzes along for a while. Other times, it’s like being in a desert or a wilderness where everything I do has no connection to anything.

I’ve just read Kae Tempest’s On Connection and they have explained this sense of needing to connect much better than I can.

“When I am numb, how can I make myself connected? I can’t. But I can try to create an environment that is welcoming for connection if it should turn up.”
― Kae Tempest, On Connection

That welcoming environment is – supposedly – our studio or nature, but recently this connection hasn’t been available. In fact, the spark of inspiration and meaning has been totally lost.

So…

So, I decided to go ‘back to basics’ and start working on my observation: studying in detail all the things that I love in great artists and artworks: light, reflection, ‘spirit of place’, form, etc.

As of today (29/11), I’ve made my first start. A daily oil sketch. Still life from home. I think, looking back, the painting had more truth when I left it after the first break. The ‘finished’ painting is a little flat and some areas are unresolved; however: I DON’T MIND! I’m going to leave it at that and move on.

Here’s to moving on 🙂 x