Now here’s a funny thing. When you play and fiddle about with a painting it seems there is more interest than when you’re trying to orchestrate things. Interest from both others and yourself!

Early this year these two small paintings, painted freely and mostly unselfconsciously, were highly commended at a local exhibition. They’re from of a series of 10 small paintings I made as part of a challenge another artist and myself set for ourselves – to paint every day during January. The others are on my website.

It was a very pleasant surprise standing outside in the covid line to pick them up when a friend said congratulations! Making this small success even more pleasant was the fact that they were the first abstract paintings I have exhibited. These pleasures are short lived however and it was on to the next project.

During June, Louise Fletcher’s “Find Your Joy” taster course was repeated. I participated last year and got a lot out of it. It’s about following your likes, playing and not focussing on results. This is good for someone like me who used to plan her art to the nth degree! Here is one of the exercises we completed. We were limited in tools, media and the number of marks we could make with each.

Paradoxically, limitation is a good way to expand possibilities and generate ideas.

Recently, I’ve been wondering where things are headed for me artwise. It’s both difficult and exciting. You know you want to head down the abstract road but you seem to be floundering about. I guess that’s what you do when you’re finding your way.

I tried to reconcile my art aims with what is actually happening. Remember, we’re a little out of control here! However, my aim so far has been to show people what I love about our landscape, mood atmosphere etc but recent work doesn’t seem to match this at all! Maybe my updated modus operandi might be to create fun, playful images based on landscape – feelings, shapes, textures, gestures or anything else landscapey that takes my fancy?

These small play images were started recently to explore the idea.

Don’t know where they point to yet but there are a few ideas in there.

Recently, our plein air group, POGO, painted at Richmond. Although cool, it was a beautiful clear, sunny day. It resulted in six sketches to use for collage, finding compositions or generating inspiration. There’s no pressure to be exacting about these sketches. It’s an exercise in being there and taking things in.

There were a couple of crops that might be useful as a starting point for something new in the future. Here’s to the future and more fiddling and floundering fun!