With one thing and another, it’s been a strange last few months. The last walk we did was way back on September 21st when we walked Beinn Odhar in beautifully hazy autumn weather. Then we had the annual Open Studios Weekend while at the same time we were madly negotiating to go down to Brazil. A few days later on the 9th October we flew down to Sao Paulo and had five very hectic days working in the heat. Following that, I became unwell and had a strange and rather alarming 11 days in hospital while Nita kept everything going for me in the way of preparations for the Harbour Arts Centre exhibition and the big Glen Rosa drawing project. Dan Thornton and Cindy Apple came over from Seattle to film the start of the project and I got straight into it still far from recovered from the illness. I finished the big drawing after 17 days , (ahead of schedule) and this allowed me to start work on the Brazil commissions. Between the end of the big drawing and the start of the New Year I worked on several preliminary pastel drawings and a whole number of small line sketches, ready to start the four paintings. Christmas came and went especially as Nita was working Christmas Eve and Day and so I just followed suit ….. strangely it was very pleasant being down the studio on Christmas Day. Finally started the Brazil paintings on 31st December 2014 and have been working on them ever since, with days off to dismantle the HAC exhibition work and the big drawing …..after of course we’d had the “End view” of the exhibition on January 8th.
Phew! It’s certainly been quite a tiring time but despite that the work side of it has been very enjoyable. It’s been particularly nice getting back to using the paints again and I’ve put quite a lot of time into the first and largest of the Brazil paintings. It’s coming on quite well now although still a lot of work to do to sort it out. Two of the small 30 x 30 cm paintings are under way too with another one about to be started. There is no official dead-line as far as I know but we have a verbal agreement, made on the final afternoon in Sao Paulo and I’ve agreed to get the four paintings completed by the end of February. It’s quite a tight dead-line but not impossible and in deed, it’s quite good having something to focus my mind on …..no loafing around for the next few weeks! If time allows, I’m also hoping to start a new 80 x 80 cm acrylic and pastel painting based on our walk up Lochnagar last summer ……this hopefully ready for my exhibition at the John Muir Trust ‘Wild Space’ in Pitlochry in May and June.
So then, it’s good to be getting back to normal …..whatever that is of course!
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