Friday, 16 May 2014

Dipping my toe in

After a long period of having no time for my art or blogs, I now find myself slowly returning back to my normal way of life ... whatever that was. My elderly parents have now been safely moved 150 miles away to live with my sister, and they are settling in well. And so, after a few weeks of trying to catch up with a lot of outstanding matters of my own, I find myself with the time to start thinking about art again. Actually, it's not totally accurate to blame my recent lack of art only on a lack of time. There have been odd occasions when I DID have some time, but then I found that I had no real interest .... my heart just wasn't in it. So it was a combination of time and emotion that kept me from my brushes.

As normality gradually returns and I find myself beginning to think more about art again, I find myself wanting to paint yet strangely lack enthusiasm. I think it's just a case of taking the first steps and easing myself back into things gradually, so to that end I have decided to dip my toes back in the water and spend a while just sketching.

I have always found sketching with pen, without pencil guidelines, most challenging. Those first few defining lines require a brave and confident start and forcing myself to sketch this way will do more for my confidence than anything else I can think of. Whether the ink is then supplemented by colourful watercolour washes or fairly pale coloured pencil work doesn't matter at this stage. The objective is to re-learn the art of making useful marks on the paper, to re-discover some degree of confidence, and to once again enjoy picture making.

And I will of course be visiting all your blogs, which have always been such a wonderful source of inspiration for me. See you there. ;-)
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8 comments:

  1. Laura16 May 2014 at 21:29

    Really glad to have you back John. Good to hear your parents are doing OK too. Sometimes we do need a break from art and it does take a while to ease back into it especially when life kicks in hard. I totally know where you are coming from with all this. Just go with the flow and do what you feel and don't force it. Your sketches are beautiful as ever. You certainly haven't lost your wonderful skill.

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    1. John (JWJarts)18 May 2014 at 11:53

      That's very kind of you Laura, thank you. And I'm glad you know where I'm coming from ... its nice to know. ;-)

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  2. Jane17 May 2014 at 08:46

    Welcome back John !I'm sure that once you start setting your mind on art again,the inspiration/enthusiasm will return ! You certainly didn't forget how to draw, these are both great and very accurate.

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    1. John (JWJarts)18 May 2014 at 11:56

      Thank you very much Jane. I'm sure I'm going to find lots of inspiration here in blogland. ;-)

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  3. Judy18 May 2014 at 16:43

    I am glad to see you back in blogland, John, and with these wonderful sketches! I went through an episode of not wanting to paint as well. And though it was a little upsetting, I just waited and one day the inspiration just came back.

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    1. John (JWJarts)21 May 2014 at 20:02

      I've heard this before Judy so I'm not worrying unduly. I'm sure sketching from time to time will help speed it along. Thank you.

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  4. Keith Tilley19 May 2014 at 19:56

    It's good to see you getting back into art, John, and I'm sure sketching is the best way to do it. These two pieces are very nice, especially the difficult subject of the boat, which has good proportions and sits nicely on the mud.

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Your comments are very much appreciated and I value every one. Thank you

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