Exhibition at Tourist Information Centre, St Davids

 Last week I spent three and a half days with Nigel from the Tourist Info Centre in St Davids moving and hanging the exhibition that will be on there until the end of January. The TI Centre shares its space with Oriel y Parc, the beautiful and small gallery that houses a part of the Museums and Galleries of Wales collection. At one time they ran an artist in residence program in the building, but with cutbacks this is one of the things that has fallen away and the room has been idle and little used. Somehow I managed to talk my way into becoming an 'artist in residence' there, using the studio space and having an exhibition that runs through the length of the building.
Today will be my first day working there. I have never worked away from home before and require solitude when working so the idea of working in such a public space is, at the moment, filling me with dread. The residency is not a paid position, but even so I feel some, pressure isn't the right word, maybe obligation would be better, to be a little accessible to people. So, how to get the balance right?
This week I will be open to the public between 2 and 5 on Thursday afternoon, working in my studio and available to sign books. Then in the evening a more formal opening from 6.30. ( If you would like to attend please let the Parcs know as they are trying to get some idea of numbers attending.)
Other than that if people want books personalised they can leave them to be collected and I will sign at the end of the day. 
Moving my studio has been more disturbing than I thought it would be and so I am moving tentatively at first. I am hoping to be able to 'play' with some new ideas at home during the evenings. Meanwhile will see how things go one day at a time.
And for those who find Pembrokeshire too far here is a sneak preview of the show. It will be on until end January and the exhibition at Oriel y Parc in the Museums and Gallery space will change on around 25th November. At the moment is a Turner, Cecil Morris, John Bellamy and Graham Sutherland. Also beautiful silver work and exquisite glass pieces. A small but richly rewarding exhibition.

Caro Flynn is also showing some work in the window of the centre. Emma asked if I would help her to arrange the display, so, despite my better judgement I said yes. We were chatting and she had been cleaning the glass doors and shelves and I was saying how I didn't really 'do' ceramics because I am such a clutz, but, being brave I picked up the most expensive and very beautiful jug and went, 'I'll put this here then" and slammed it straight into the glass door! The noise was awful and I felt sick and Emma's face was a picture and the room ( where there was a meeting going on) went silent and everybody looked at me, and the jug, still in my hands, and fortunately for me and goodness knows how, unbroken. Well, if Emma hadn't cleaned the glass so well I would have seen it!

Glad to say the rest of the window disply was put together with more care and the jug looks beautiful, as does all of Caro's work. I am particularly taken with the small, round, owlpot.

Robin Hobb, City of Dragons cover art.

Watercolour and red gold leaf.

The End of the Song.

For the past few weeks I have spent far too little time walking and far too little time painting. But I have finished the owl painting.

In the garden the green reflected in the moongold.

Now the painting is hanging in The House of Golden Dreams.

On some days I feel very much like the owl. On other days I feel like the wren.

My working day today.

A dream

Some years ago I had a vivid dream of six kingfishers. It was bright with colour, and when I woke that is what I remembered. The sketch from teh dream lingered as a memory for a couple of years. Now I am trying to make it real.
But all of these owl and kingfisher paintings are just distractions from work. I should be painting cats and working on East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Titles

Working steadily, quietly through the day on a large piece to take to Art in Action. I want to try and catch the last light of day or the first light of day in the feathers of an owl's wings.

How much does a title change the way a painting is seen.

I could call this:

Huntier

or

Barn Owl

or I could call it

Hushwing, Bellvoice.

Or I could call it 

Soft Wings Silence Song.

It needs gold leaf, moongold I think. I will work on it a little more then finish it at Art in Action in July. Until then it will sit in my studio and I will watch and wonder, if the owl gets a meal, if the wren escapes to sing another day.

Facebook, foxes, inspiration and owls.

Many people criticize Facebook. It has its problems, doesn't always work as it should, reminds me always that I have a fat belly ( thanks for that facebook! every time I look at my wall! with it's specially chosen facebook adds). At the end of the day it is free.

And I have found that from facebook I have been able to connect with other people who are sometimes like minded, sometimes not. I have been able to make a closer link with my peers. I have found a supportive community of people and there have been times when I have been inspired by facebook, for example when Kathryn Evan's son Archie said that while he believed in faeries he didn't believe in foxes because he had never seen one! The result was the painting of The Strawberry fox.

 

Sometimes I feel challenged by the opinions of some people, often I find links to beautiful things, always I find that my time becomes tangled in the world of others and very often I find inspiration, so, my thanks to both Jane Hill and Richard Mabey. Jane posted a response to something I had written.

"from Richard Mabey's 'Nature Cure'. The book I was reading this morning, a description of seeing a barn owl at dusk: " it was winnowing the grass, threshing it for food. i could see the last light from the west shining through its wings, marking out the dense primaries from the almost translucent trailing feathers. it seemed at that moment to have four wings, two in the day and two in the night...."

 It reminded my that walking and watching and sometimes standing still and watching is good for the soul, and has drawn me back to the depiction of owls.

 

Other things I have done with facebook:

bought books recommended by others,

sold books,

sold paintings,

met people,

cemented friendships,

learnt things, 

wasted time,

talked nonsense,

argued,

invited people to events and exhibitions,

seen things of beauty.

Gold

Walking to try and clear my head and saw seals, buzzards, red fox, stonechat, ravens, fulmar, linnets, skylark, martin, swallow and swift, foxgloves, tormentil, marsh orchids and bluebells. Rich.

Trying to tidy up my desks, my room, my head, but instead I am wandering around other people's creative spaces on facebook.

 

One Cheetah, Nine Cherries

When I started this painting, months ago, I thought it was called 'One Cheetah, Eight Cherries'. It lay on the drawing board for a long time, something not quite right, until I picked it up yesterday, moved a paw, added a cherry and then it became 'Mine'. I have seen Elmo look at me like that when he has a mouse by the tail.

Owls

A tiger in a tea cup and a cheetah on some cherries.

Walking, thinking, painting, signing.

Walking to the hill top with the dogs to gather thoughts and exercise mind and body before starting work today. I love the curves of the bodies of horses.

At the beach the seal pup has grown. I watch as the mother calls the pup into the sea. They swim around a submerged rock and he swims as hard as hard as he can as she glides through turquoise water. He follows close around the rock and then back to the beach for warm seal milk and we walk on. Soon there will be more pups.

On the path the tattered remnant of a bright butterfly reminds me of how fragile life can be.

Just a scrap of colour like bright paper on the dusty path.

Here in this place where the sea bites the land and the cloud is low, so low it touches my face like a thousand soft kisses, the path is narrowed by fern and heather.

At Maes y Mynydd the horses are curious.

I find myself thinking more and more about horses. Their curious heads push and sniff as I bow to them. Warm, they smell of summer grass. Velvet soft noses with warm breath.

Back home, working on cheetahs, thinking of horses, nursery rhymes and in the middle of the day a quick visit to Solva Woollen Mill in Middlemill to sign books, including The Icebear.