the path ahead…

“The path ahead” preparatory drawing December 2021

It was time.

I felt ready for a new adventure.

Throughout my life, I have constantly asked myself these questions:

“What’s important?”, “What do I want to do with my time?”, “Who do I want to spend my time with?”,

“Where do I want to spend my time?”, “What do I want to work towards?” “How can I achieve my objectives?”.

It came at the right time.

January 2022. I was participating in a free course run by United ArtSpace (UAS) entitled “Your Best Year Yet.” As suggested in their course notes, I had reviewed the past few years, a task made easier by regular documentation of my activities, thoughts and feelings in my blog touches of sense… , I then set about scribbling mind-maps. These maps will not make immediate sense to others but for me they don’t just contain written or graphic information, like all the art I make, they enable me to retrace the emotional, embodied story of their creation.

Key words from my artist’s statement:

“exploring the ephemeral nature of life via figuration & abstraction, flow & scribble, intention & serendipity” appear boldly on the page:

Exploring-Exploration.
Rainbow/Time-Ephemeral nature of life.
Figuration-Figure/Mountains/Portrait
Abstraction-Spiral/Converging Ellipses
Flow-Flow/Water/Flow life
Scribble-Scribble/Scribbled map (scribble and flow converge)
Intention-Intention/Attention/Observation

Having sketched out the background:

Walking outdoors in the countryside
Paying attention to panoramic views and the details found in nature

In the middle ground there is an illustration concerned with technique:

Palettes,
Dimensions,
Moving a board or a page and enabling flow.

Foregrounded are practical issues:

Connection with an association
Creating a website
Exhibiting my artwork on an easel
Sales

January, 2022:

I became a member of the Association des Artistes d’Auvergne.

I started investigating the feasibility of working both as a teacher and as a professional artist.

I started researching the local art market, galleries, artists, fairs, exhibitions.

I started regular life-drawing classes.

More time…more space

I spent more time sketching, drawing, and developing my watercolour painting.

I started making more time for getting regularly outside into the countryside.

I found more space at home by moving from the dining room table and a small cupboard containing art supplies on the wall to a dedicated art-space in the basement.

unexpected twists…

some way back…