Working darker, smaller, more abstract

It has been COLD here today, I doubt it got above 12 degrees. We’ve had most of  the heaters on all day just to keep the house reasonable. At Mum’s age, the World Health Org say anything under 16 degrees is dangerous, so we keep the house at 18 as a minimum. She’s 87 in a  few days time, why risk illness for the sake of a few dollars? And besides … power bill? What power bill? 😉

One consequence of the cold weather is that I don’t use my art room, I stay indoors and paint at my office desk instead. The art room has no insulation, dirt under the concrete floor etc so it is freezing out there.  Working at my desk means working smaller, and not being so messy with the paint. I have started a new poppy painting tonight. It’s only 6″ square, which is a nice size to work on, and it’s much darker than the ones I have done up till now. I suspect that is a reflection of the dark skies outside my office window today.  It is also, at this stage anyway, a lot more abstract – but it’s not finished yet so we’ll see what happens. The more familiar I get with a subject or theme, the more abstract the work tends to become. As my head and hand come to *really* know the theme, I feel less need to make it recognizable. I like the gap between reality and abstraction, where the suggestion of a theme sits.

This is a terrible photo – flash on wet paint etc, but it gives you some vague idea of what I’m up to!