works in progress
There is something wonderful about spontaneity in the studio. Those happy accidents you can not hope to anticipate. I have had plenty of these moments recently, especially the morning I walked in and discovered I had re-painted five canvases and left them to dry with the intention to continue re-painting them in the following studio session. Had it been a week? I remember at the time devoting myself to the re-painting of these canvases that I thought I could do something far more interesting with. I had a system. Paint, dry, sandpaper, repeat. Then when I walked in on Friday this whole system seemed entirely ludicrous so I immediately adopted a new system. Paint, dry, repeat. What was with the sand paper? So I have been re-painting. Some of the canvases are for a future painting, the others I am allowing to mature until that spontaneous moment calls for them.
This moment presented itself recently on an occasion when I least expected it. I found some sea grass I had collected from the beach several years ago. I had bound it together with cotton and placed it on a piece of chicken wire. I took it from the bookshelves and placed it on the small stretcher I made ten years ago. Behind it I placed a section of shipping chart. As I looked at it I realised I had finally found the right combination of objects and solved the problem of how to use these small frames that had been moving around my studio for six months. It all sounds so simple, but I had literally spent those six months trying a variety of objects in various combinations without success. The simplicity of the act and the solution make the entire venture all the more satisfying.
The joys of a studio. The nature of my work has changed dramatically thanks to finally having a space of my own to spread out, create a mess...and leave it. So I look forward to the happy accident that occurs with the three remaining canvases, and I look forward to sharing that moment with you.
