Spring has come, and with it the sun. Humidity, heat, or a combination of the two have wreaked havoc with both my recently prepared canvases and the ones I started in the Winter. Saggy surfaces are far from a pleasure to work on as many of you painters would agree! I have spent the whole morning hammering wedges into the corners of dozens of canvases. I sincerely hope they will not need further adjusting later in the year. In the process of hammering I discovered a small heap of saw dust appearing on my desk. It appears that the wood worms slag has been forcing its way up to the surface. Wood worm! Not exactly the most popular of creatures to grace an artist’s studio! I do however believe the actual beetles have passed on although one can never be sure. I can imagine my mum freaking out about the trace of such fellas but apart from fumigating with toxic chemicals the only option I can think of is to (if they are indeed alive) co-habit. Similar was my eventual consensus on the lovely chaps, the Silver Fish that so loved to inhabit my sketchbooks, carpet, and canvases in my first year halls. It was nice to have the company sometimes!
This week was the first of the Easter break which means I have shamelessly dedicated most of the week to finish stretching the large bundle of canvases I bought at the beginning of the outbreak. Although my intentions to have a rest from academic work were in earnest, I have been feeling a sense of guilt. I say rest but I have kept things gently going in an attempt to not go cold. A couple of mornings I have been blessed with toilet inspiration and have given myself the opportunity to get it all out while I’m in the flow… not an ideal use I admit. The distance I have given myself from written and practical work has enabled me to see things from a new perspective. I am in the process of finishing the final images of this term and degree but not surprisingly, I have already felt a shift in process since being moderately absent for a week or so. I certainly feel less precious about my paintings in progress, which his always a good thing when trying to break personal boundaries in perception. A lengthy walk brought Dot and me much needed calming exercise and fresh air.
My short dissertation is becoming a burden. Since the beginning of second year I started writing notes on my painting and thought process. I’ve amassed well over 30,000 words now. Considering my dissertation is supposed to be between 3,500 – 4,000 I have a lot of condensing to do! A few weeks ago I started writing the first draft of my diss – starting from where my passion for 2D visual art took its hold. As you might imagine I got way beyond the word count on describing only the lead up to university. So my next goal was to write it backwards, starting at the present day. Even that is proving to be very difficult so maybe a different method is necessary. When I talk in person about my paintings I usually find it easy to think of things pertinent to the images so in that regard I have decided to choose a few bench mark paintings and use them as examples and base the discussion off them. Much like I would do in an art history essay.
This week Dot was searching for art competitions to enter. We have both entered a few despite the possible Corona difficulties. Neither of us expect anything to come from them but it would be nice if we won something one day. I entered the above painting to the ‘Welsh Contemporary’ prize that features artworks relating to wales or inspired by its landscape. The painting is titled Mynydd Parys yn atgoffa – Redolent Parys Mountain. Although I did not have the North Anglesey copper mine in mind when creating the painting, it is something that I feel has subconsciously come through my subconscious. The area has had a marked impression on me when I was younger and this painting has inspired me to visit the sublime open pit again. I would have taken a journey home to see it if it wasn’t for the lockdown. It will be something to look forward to sometime in the future.
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