October Vibes...

...and it's finally back to school!!

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”

Emily Bronte

It’s been noticeable this week; that edge to the wind, the drop in temperature. Night skies, glittering with stars - even a glimpse of the elusive aurora. The first touch of early morning frost, shimmering. Leaves continue to turn; copper, amber, gold…

Whim Wood

Katherine Towers

into the coppery halls
of beech and intricate oak
to be close to the trees
as they whisper together
let fall their leaves,
and we die for the winter 

I walk and walk, imbued with a sense of urgency; as if I’m trying to absorb enough light to see me through the dark days of winter. Far above, two buzzards perform a minuet, calling to each other. Sunflowers bow their heads. Spires of teasels stand rigid: guards of honour along the dyke side.

Skeletal branches, devoid of leaves, reach skywards. Berries dangle, shining bright with dew: early Christmas baubles. Conkers glisten. Fungi appear, as if they’ve been waiting for the stage to clear…

The air is filled with the raucous chorus of crows, circling the tree tops. Everywhere I look, the earth is settling down for winter…

Indoors, I hunker down, lighting candles…

…make soup, bake…

I love this time of year, even if it does make me slightly melancholic - that sense of time passing, one year sliding into another…

Autumn:

"At no other time does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.'" Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters on Cézanne

I’ve been slow to get into the studio, but finally, this week, I found my way back there. Tidying, sorting and discarding has left me with a pile of work awaiting trimming etc., ready for photographing and uploading.

And I made a start on the experimenting I’ve been visualising since attending Sam Boughton’s course back in July…

I’m playing around, mixing colours, which is new for me: normally I’d use the colours straight from the tube/bottle. I’ve used gouache, mixing it with watercolour, and I’m learning that once applied and dried , it’s difficult to lift.

I’ve been using this roll of Wallrock Fibreliner Wallpaper from Screwfix here in the UK…

…as recommended by Sam for practising on, and so far, so good. It takes a fair amount of water/ink/paint - although I think it reached its limit when I accidentally tipped almost a whole bottle of Payne’s Grey ink over it…..

I am loving the soft gradation of tones, the subtle nuances…

The lack of control brings its own rewards: the happy accidents, the individuality of each piece. It’s a steep learning curve; how the materials flow and mix, when to drop neat ink in for the best results, how much is too much water/fluid…

But there’s something about exciting about this:

What else has caught my eye this week;

• The wonderful imagery of Johan David Duran - those fleeting moments and ethereal delights…

• A few years ago I saw an exhibition by Peter M Hicks and loved his work. Thanks to LM, who pointed me in the direction of this video about his recent residency at Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, I was reminded again why I liked it so much. The joy and excitement he still gets from the whole painting process, at 86 years old, and the fact that he still considers himself to be learning is both catching and inspiring. Two comments he made really stuck; “A painting is as finished as it needs to be,” and about how he likes to leave an ‘open door’ for the viewer to go through… I think I might just print those out and stick them up in my studio!

Having read Laura’s previous book ‘Little Stories of Your Life,’ I’m looking forward to this one. I love her style of writing and the way she conveys the moods and atmosphere:

“Fog is weather that becomes a space - somewhere that is neither here nor there, a temporary fissure. To be, fog seems to open up a rift in reality… But there is one particular foggy place in which the landscape itself exists as a liminal space that is simultaneously land and water.” P.79, Chasing Fog, Laura Pashby

• I recently finished reading ‘The Guilty One’ by Lisa Ballantyne. Some of the drama takes place in the courtroom, and it struck me how barristers usually only ask questions they know the answers to. Conversely, as artists, I think we continually have to ask ourselves questions we don’t the answers to - that’s the way we move forwards and evolve. What do you think?

Until next time, happy painting!