October 23rd 2013. 'Industrial area, Brazil', and below 'Winter Road'. Two sketches for possible future work.

This week I haven't had much time at all for painting, as I'm in the process of clearing out my studio, in order to de-clutter it and make more space. At the weekend I delivered all of my paintings to the gallery for my up coming exhibition, and being there with all of my work ready for hanging, for my first proper exhibition, I really had such a longing for this to be 'what I do'. I realised whilst standing in the gallery how much I want this...to be able to have the time to concentrate on my painting, and on future paintings, and the luxury of not having to 'squeeze into daily life' the few chances I get to paint. So I thought a good start would be to make my studio (the spare room upstairs! ) more conducive to being able to go in and immediately start working.  Seeing my paintings altogether at the gallery I realised that I prefer my work on a larger scale, and although I enjoy sitting in my studio doing some smaller pieces, I tend to see these as sketches for possible future works (see images above ). My aim is to be able to do the paintings that I want to do, without being limited with regards to time and space. 

Every now and again it is possible to see through day to day life,  without your vision being clouded by daily necessities such as washing up, going to the bank, and hanging up yet another load of washing... and to see through it all to what must actually be the point of life...to imagine doing something that actually makes you feel not only more alive and full of energy, but that also makes you know or remember who you are. This is what I felt in the gallery... I had the feeling of 'oh yes, this is who I am...I remember me...'.

George Orwell wrote in 'Coming up for air', "There's time for everything except the things worth doing. Think of something you really care about. Then add hour to hour and calculate the fraction of your life that you've actually spent doing it. And then calculate the time you've spent on things like shaving, riding to and fro on buses, waiting in railway junctions, swapping dirty stories and reading the newspapers". I always think of this quote, and think to myself how true it is... it is about time that I start to actually make time for the things that are worth doing.