I have just returned from a very windswept week on Cape Cornwall. I was fortunate enough to be accepted for an artist's residency at Brisons Veor. I spent the time drawing, developing new ideas for new series of work. It was a great week and I am missing the sea and even the wind. I am looking forward to developing paintings based on the work I did there. I will keep you updated on their progress.
When I first applied for a residency, my intention was to build source materials for future exhibitions. However, in the intervening time I had a touch of the dreaded creative block. In hindsight, I realise that this was brought on in part by forcing work and trying for unrealistic deadlines and goals. My work is based on capturing light and atmosphere. I have an opportunity to further develop a project I worked on in 2019 and I was really struggling to see how I could continue with this and I felt very stale and was thinking of giving up.
I used my time at Brisons Veor to really experiment without having definitive goals in mind. I deliberately didn’t work in my usual medium oil paint. I spent the time drawing and painting things that interested me, studying them for their own sake and not because they fitted with what I thought I should be doing. From this I have rediscovered my passion for capturing skies and light, also just how important drawing is to me. Assessing the work I have completed in the week, I have enough source materials for at least 2 series of paintings. I feel excited about painting again. Also, rather than turning my back on everything I have done in 2019 I feel more comfortable with taking it forward.