Of weeding, water and wiggley waynes

The week didn't start too well for Jim as he had to have a small op on Monday but, even though it was on the NHS, it was done at the Esperance in Eastbourne which was a real eye-opener. Private rooms and individual service made what could have been terribly unpleasant, a bearable experience and it was all rather lovely from my point of view as the driver. I dropped him off, went shopping around town for 2 hours and returned in time to watch a little bit of live coverage of the olympic torch relay on the TV in his room while he waited to be discharged. The only problem was the resident doctor who had the task of putting the canula in Jim's arm just could not find a vein, or as she called it in her accent, wayne: 'Your wayne's are too wiggly'. The consultant had to do it finally and couldn't understand what the problems was as he descibed Jim's veins as 'like drainpipes'!

The evening got even better for me (Jim stayed home, poor love) as it was the first meeting of the 'Cabaret' year for the Dicker Players. We met for a meal and agreed the dates for the cabaret (www.dickerplayers.blogspot.com) while listening to some rude and funny songs with a view to performing them. It's great to be in a room full of friends who've already seen you make a complete arse of yourself many times in the past and just have a good old laugh and a natter. Our Cabaret rehearsals gradually build up over several weeks from some quiet sniggering to massive belly laughs then usually a few tantrums and frustrations until the final performances. These are over in a flash and we're left with a sense of relief that it's all over at the same time as a massive hole in our lives where 'Cabaret' used to be. But now we're back in the swing of planning another show and I can't wait. I shall be writing some sketches and this year they'll be better than ever.

 an old 'water' inspired pic

I got my head down and just painted on Wednesday. There were plenty of others things I could and probably should have been doing but now I have the space and the inspiration I'm not going to waste the precious painting time available to me faffing around with things that can wait! I completed the abstract I'd started - well, I say completed, I keep standing and gazing at it knowing something;s wrong, despite the fact I 'drew a line under it' and signed it. I'm intending to show it in one of the empty shops at the end of August so I have a few weeks to decide exactly what it needs.
I also completed another acetate painting, started a third, all of which have the usual flowing water theme  - I think perhaps the incessant rain is having an effect on my work. I also completed the fourth in my Rural Industrial series. Sorting out my studio out was a great thing to do - It focussed my mind on which works I really want to complete rather than needlessly slogging away at something I'm not convinced about to start with.
My next plan is to print off the images I have taken of pylons, cables etc and sketch out some alternative and decide how many of them I'm going to work up into final paintings.

And finally, weeding. In addition to a few snatched hours of gardening in between the thunderous rain downpours, I spent a fascinating few hours as part of the selection committee for the Gallery North Summer Open. Three of us viewed one piece at a time and several of them were unanimously given the thumbs up. Many of the others were a 2 to 1 vote and quite a few ended up in the 'possible's corner awaiting a final decision at the end of the selection depending on available space. Surprisingly there were very few that I really did not like but there were several that I could easily have taken home there and then. There are some interesting 3D works, quite a bit of photography, very little watercolour, a few abstracts, a couple of collages, some airbrush work, mono prints and mixed media. I think we chose a good variety of work and didn't have to disappoint too many artists. The exhibition starts on 24th July and is well worth a visit. Even if it's just so you can mutter 'how did that one get through the selection process'? Hey, I like Tom Jones, french opera and James Blunt, I never said I had good taste.

My walls of inspiration