Gently Gathering...

Refilling my creative well during this period of hibernation!

Grey days, snow days, dark nights: I think it’s time to switch the twinkly lights on…

…and re-read this book…

Wintering by Katherine May

I’ve said before, I love the changing seasons, but can, when days are an endless grey, become a little gloomy. Reading how other cultures embrace the ‘darkness’ provides an alternative perspective, along with the acknowledgment that I can look upon the shorter days and that sense of ‘hibernation’ as a time of gathering; resources, inspirations, ideas, directions…just waiting to burst into life come Spring.

"Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximising scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that's where the transformation occurs. "

Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

If you want some ideas on how to savour these winter months, have a read of ‘How to Enjoy Winter (Even If You Hate It)’ on Almost the Weekend blog.

Gathering information and inspiration was exactly my intention last weekend when I visited the Manchester Art Fair for the first time. The desire to step up and push my work further, would mean finding other places to exhibit.

Manchester Art Fair had received positive recommendations from artist friends, so I thought I would check it out - mainly to see if I would feel out of my depth participating in such an event…

In no particular order, here are my initial thoughts:

• It’s a really central location with easy access to metro links - so footfall should hopefully be good.

• It’s held in a purpose built convention centre so not at the mercy of the weather, unlike other fairs I’ve participated in, where I’ve been in a marquee and, even in summer, experienced everything from heatwaves to biblical downpours.

• There’s a real variety of art/genres. I thought that there might not be any watercolourists, but was delighted to see several works in watercolours/inks.

• The artwork on display was in a range of sizes, from small (6” x 6”) to large…well over a metre square, or bigger.

• Prices ranged from £100 to £24k (That was the most expensive one I saw…and it had a red dot!).

• Some artists were selling cards, but you would have to sell a lot of cards to cover your costs!

• People were there to purchase artwork rather than learn about materials and processes etc.

Going around, seeing the art, there was several that caught my eye, but I was really drawn to:

• A couple of watercolours by Javier Plata…

• The landscapes of Karin Friedli…

• The joyous colours of Gabriella Buckingham…

• The beautiful ‘fish’ prints of Jane Evans…

• The colour palette, marks and textures of the works by Alice Sheridan…

• The ‘barely there, making every mark count’ work by Jamie Frost…

• Along with the draughtsmanship of Mark Demsteader…

And the colours in this watercolour by Jacqui Watkins were right up my street:

So where does that leave me with regards to the Fair? Well, I’ve registered my interest for 2025 - whether my application would be successful is another matter, but it gives me a goal for the coming year! And, having a goal gives me a ‘kick up the posterior’ to push on with experimenting/doing the work… Do you work better with goals and deadlines?

Other inspirations this week include:

• The morning after the previous dreary, dank day… The moon and the sun welcomed me, the cold winds ruffled my hair…and it felt good!

  

  

• Learning a new word. I love language, discovering the etymology of a word…as well as extending my vocabulary…

  Thanks to Laura Pashby who, in her recent ‘Chasing Fog’ book, introduced me to the word MARESCENT meaning ‘withering without falling off.’ Who knew there was a word to describe those last, lingering leaves…?

  

• The YouTube Shorts of ‘Mixed Media Art by Trina’ - just my sort of thing!

• Aimée Francis’s Substack ‘Flourish & Fare’ - the gentle rhythms of her posts really speak to me…

• This quote by Brooke Hampton: “I am pieces of all the places I have been, and the people I have loved. I’ve been stitched together by song lyrics, book quotes, adventure, late night conversations, moonlight and the smell of coffee.”

• Continuing to compare the Daler Rowney acrylic inks with the Golden High Flow:

P.S. And, in case you missed it - here’s me swishing water and ink around!

Until next time, happy painting!