The Isolation Artist Blog

Haashed 2020

Day 2
I had a rough idea of how to start the blog today and although I am a great believer in a routine I'm also a great believer in flexibility. For me this means I usually get a great deal "done" but this is achieved in a rather meandering fashion. Today I'm having a very flexible itinerary. This approach works best for me as if I'm not in the best " frame of mind" to paint then I've found it's best to follow this feeling. Last week I couldn't bear to paint as I felt very destabilised by the general atmosphere that the pandemic had brought about. I had to dig for England to find my feet. This has worked well and now I feel ok paint again. 

Today I was contacted about this painting "Haashed 2020", and now it will be going from my studio to a new home. Normally I'm not at all keen on explaining my work. I prefer the viewer to find their own story or any personal point of reference in the paintings. For me the mystery in art is that hidden secret that can't be explained in words. I will spend hours looking at paintings and the best ones will reveal something new when you least expect it. 

Of course I can say that my work is undoubtedly inspired by the sea, the Celtic landscape where I was brought up, some sense of freedom from the practicalities of life, an obsession with composition, feeling and colour. And the list could go on and on. "Haashed 2020" is a painting about a beautiful horse who lived in a beautiful field in the Isle of Man. He was a magnificent creature who had been a top race horse during the early part of his life. 

Interestingly I was supposed to be working in the Isle of Man this weekend, teaching painting at Brightlife, a wonderful retreat in the north of the island. At this point in the day I would have been looking out over the mountains with the sheep in the field, directly outside the window of the studio where we paint. This place is very close to my heart and I do feel very sad not to have got there and can't begin to wonder when I may go there again.

Instead I'm counting my blessings, I did some Pilates while I waited for my computer to settle down to write the Blog and will have a change of routine and go for a walk this afternoon instead of first thing in the morning. I'm amazed at how inventive a more limited routine can be. I've photographed my new landscape paintings to share with you here. I confess to continue to put off several administration jobs, such as accounts, spreadsheets and filing. So the paperwork is still in crisis with no management. 

Wishing you all a good day today.