Learning to Celebrate Variety...

...one wrinkle and grey hair at a time!

“It takes a certain amount of guts to go to your class reunions.”

Dick Cavett

(Can I just apologise for the quality of the photos…but they are from a life-time ago, when the world was a very different place…)

Over the weekend I went to a school reunion; I’ll admit to experiencing a fair amount of trepidation. Foremost, was the old ‘compare and despair’; would some of my old classmates have done amazing things, have notable achievements, travelled round the world and back - you know the sorts of things that run through your mind…!

As it was, my fears and doubts were unfounded; within minutes, we had slipped into easy conversations, the years falling away. There were recollections of school trips, of teachers, of a certain house-party…along with ‘catching up’ on the intervening years.What had everyone been up to?

One word to encompass all those years - variety! We had been up to ‘Life,’ with all of its twists and turns, its highs and lows, its moments of great joy alongside depths of sorrow and grief. It was fascinating to see the differences, the variety - even though we had all been in the same class, in the same bottle green uniform. Some had achieved notable professional careers, others had had various roles, whilst some had relished a family life. My worries about ‘comparisonitis’ faded away. We laughed and joked about the grey hair and wrinkles, we cheered and raised a toast to those unable to attend, and to EL, sadly no longer with us…

There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ route through life; we’re individuals doing what we can to navigate the waters, be it smooth sailing or somewhat choppy. Finding our own way, doing what feels right for us, the best that we can. Sometimes that can involve just plodding along, or taking great leaps of faith, other times, it involves compromise…but it always seems to involve a great deal of variety!

Taking my leave of the reunion, heading off to watch two of my granddaughters swim in their club trials, that word popped into my mind - again! Two such diverse activities in one afternoon…

Where am I going with all of this…?

Well, you see, I used to worry when I saw other artists focus on one subject, and one subject only. Is that what I should be doing? When others only used one material e.g. oils, acrylics etc. Is that what I should be using? When others used only one format of substrate…?

I used to worry that I appeared to be jumping from one subject to another, to be mixing my materials, to switching up the format - from concertina sketchbooks to square paper…and back again.

I used to worry that all this apparent ‘indecisiveness’ meant that I wasn’t a ‘proper’ artist. I hadn’t found my subject/material/format, therefore I couldn’t possibly be considered a professional artist. There was far too much chopping and changing…

From the florals in various shades of green…

…through to my latest experiments…

…inspired by Sam Boughton’s course…. Was there just too much variety?

When searching for a quote about variety, apart from the one about spice…I couldn’t decide between these two - each seemed to have their own merit!

“The concept of “Variety” (is) inseparable from that of “Information”.

W. Ross Ashby

And…

“Variety of mere nothings gives more pleasure than uniformity of something.”

Jean Paul

It’s funny how something that I was apprehensive about i.e. the class reunion, actually helped me not to fear that variety. It’s what keeps things fresh; it stops me fixating on one detail. What I learn from one subject/material etc, I take to the next. It doesn’t mean I’m not an artist - look at Degas, who drew ballerinas and racehorses or Van Gogh with his sunflowers and street cafes - because I switch between subjects. The variety is where I garner my ‘information’ from, and gives me ‘pleasure’…and combines to make me who I am as a person and to grow as an artist…

So here’s to Variety:

"Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances."

Sun Tzu

The Art of War

Until next time, happy painting!