The leap!
I had been meandering in my job for so long. Time to stop, reflect, enjoy, engage and energize, be the kid I was again!
As that kid, I loved being out with friends, on my bike, in the glorious Essex countryside with it's plentiful sights, sounds and smells. I'd often try to capture the things that attracted me using art and film photography. But that was too many years ago. I'd almost forgotten.
Qualifications? University? A turning point for many of us. Like many young folk I was uncertain which way to turn. But, one thing was sure. Heeding well intended advice I dropped art for a language, science and mathematics. Well, the advice got me fully employed until retirement and to the best place in the world; Yorkshire for which I feel very fortunate.
Whilst working, I occasionally found time to paint and create. All the paintings I made then conformed to a logic within which I had constrained myself. My day to day drivers were not art based, so I usually buried my creativity away. Many other, albeit often rewarding priorities came between me and my brushes.
Now I've been retired for two years. During that time I have rediscovered the joy of cycling after 35 years away! I've cycled several thousands of miles on my bike, with fantastic new friends (recent events aside), into the magnificent Yorkshire countryside. I've often captured what I see to rekindle my arty side, only this time with the benefit of a lifetime of experiences to help me start to experiment.
I was just settling into a pattern when Corona Virus restrictions happened. Initially the whole situation caused me to stop just about everything. One way I am fighting back is by exploring the brilliant opportunities out there such as through Yorkshire Art.
I am drawn to oils on canvas. Some of my paints were 40 years old in the tube when I started painting again. I have replenished my stock since! I don't have a studio, but a box room suits just fine. I am delighted to try new ways to paint that pull me away from my initial style.
I paint both landscapes and portraits (although not live sitting - as yet). I console myself that the best used a camera obscura, ha ha! I'll show examples of my portraits and am currently working on an on-line gallery. I love to paint skies. Yorkshire landscapes play with the clouds to make, for me the perfect images. Who needs blue skies all of the time?