SEPTEMBER SKETCHBOOKS AND SHEETS- Arctic studio

POST

ARCTIC

SEPTEMBER STUDIO PRODUCTION

22 days since I departed from Longyearbyen and flew south to Scotland; to late summer warmth, to early dusky evenings, to friends, to exist again in a city realm. Hurled down from the sky in to a landscape hectic with vehicles, people, fumes, overwhelming options, beautifully starry and depressingly dark night-time skies and a wonderful studio which I stripped bare and painted white- a blank canvas ready to support expressions of my Arctic experiences. It’s felt hard and sad to be separate from the incredible Arctic space, the thrilling landscape and the majestic 24 hour sunlight. Every day those Northern surroundings provided natural nourishment which over time now feels to be leaking out of me. Every day I long to return to that simple existence which provided the sacred space for me to operate as a landscape painter; mixing water-colour and homemade ‘78 degree ash paint’, drawing in sketchbooks, exploring in all directions, all hours of the day, eating when hungry and sleeping when tired. Being an artist in Scotland now presents a busy situation in which I am also a friend, daughter, sister, girlfriend, Wasps studio companion, Painting Lecturer; lots of time consuming relationships which uplift, inspire and drain all at the same time. The Arctic period presented a special kind of focused living, as did the time when I spent the Icelandic winter making research for one month in 2015. I will create residency opportunities whenever possible.