The art of the turn around

Flat is the only way to describe how I’ve felt the past 10 days - cottonwool head, achy joints, snotty nose and the deep rooted blahs dominated. I am so thoroughly sick of it all. I am normally one of the world’s big optimists …my ex used this description of me: give Anne a barrel of horse manure and she’ll dig around in it saying “there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!” And I’ve always felt it’s far better to be optimistic than permanently gloomy about things. So, it’s no surprise not feeling well is not one of my strengths, if you can call it that.
This morning as I sipped my tea in bed and watched the light change over the river walk, with Geordie giving me a running commentary on bird and squirrel activity outside the window, I pondered what to do to get myself back in top spirit. Do something different was the decision.
The creative process takes a dive when you’re down, so to keep things going I’ve been doing the boring prep work for the Vukuzakhe Project - bonding the plexiglass dowels to the wooden cradled panels, gessoing - and more gessoing. So much so I’ve been looking at the gesso with a jaundiced eye. No gesso today I determined. No something ‘prep’ oriented.
I walked in the studio back door and immediately started hauling out one of the panels, taking off the protective cover and placing fabric landscapes on it to start thinking what to paint. Wait! Isn’t that what I said I would not do?
Then I fired up my laptop and checked out things. Got a wonderful boost with a nice article on the arts in Kent County by Pam George in a very cool magazine, Delaware Today,
http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/March-2012/Arts-and-Entertainment-in-Kent-County-Delaware/
And a mention in a couple more in the series…
http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/March-2012/Kent-County-Guide/ 
This cheered me up no end!

And now I’ve decided I will paint something today - but it won’t be the Project art. Maybe what I need is a little “and now for something completely different.” Okay, I know, short attention span and all that, but it can do your psyche good to do an about turn on occasion. So - voila - here is the start - it will be an abstract -I stuck a piece of burlap in to the paint to add to the texture. The poor cut piece of burlap was looking lost and forlorn since I didn‘t use it for the Vukuzakhe Project, so I slapped it this one.
I just had a visit from a new friend, who cheered me up 100% more. I’ll be skyping with another friend soon, ditto cheer up. And tonight we go to the theatre - our local Second Street players are putting on ‘One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest‘. I personally think a comedy would be cheerier for gloomy February, but what do I know. But it doesn’t matter - I’m happy now!!!
A good day can wipe out 10 days of glumpf easily.

The art of staying fresh

Getting ready -  part of my messy set of watercolours

We woke up yesterday morning to a small dusting of snow on the ground, how pretty everything looked - especially the holly tree and whatever the bush is next to it. The dark green lightly covered in white with the red berries bursting out, lovely! I got all bundled up and left for the gallery. KahPOW! The white stuff doesn’t seem so cute outside. I am, after all, a girl from the tropics.
I think with calm tranquility, and aiming to be rational, it is now January 2012 and we have at least 2 more months of inclement, cold weather. So, no use fussing about it - I’ll admire it from indoors as much as I can until spring, without whinging. I hope.
My fingers aren’t quite as forgiving of the frigid air, so I am having to work up enthusiasm about painting in the cold. Oh, I do have heating in the studio but my fingers say, “So what? it’s bloody cold outside.“ To try and overcome this, I am approaching the studio with caution this first week of 2012. I spent most of Wednesday working on my Vukusakhe project. To my relief, it all started falling in to place without reason. Last week it fought me. So I’ll happily take this as a good start for the New Year.
My artist friend, Rosemary - see http://livecheapmakeart.com - announced her aim this year is to do a small 8x8 painting every day she is in the studio, no matter what. At least that’s her plan. I believe she will stick with it. I have other artist friends, like the exceptional talent and an old school friend, Carol Lee Beckx in Australia - see http://www.carolleebeckx.com/home  aiming for the same ideal. I think it is quite an inspiring idea. So…I am now thinking perhaps I should do something similar. It would be good discipline if nothing else, and Lord knows, being disciplined isn’t one of my strong suits.
Each canvas is 36x24 for my project, not huge but big enough. I like painting large, but perhaps doing an additional small one will be a good challenge. It could be on any subject not the project. It's a good way of keeping me 'fresh.' It will keep my mind from cramping, by becoming overly focused on one thing and therefore also draining my creative juices. Also I could do some in watercolour for a change, to mix things up. If I’m honest with myself, I doubt I’ll manage one a day. I think I’ll join the quest but limit it to 3 a week. Rosemary and I can compare notes as we stride around town during our walks. Hope I can keep up with her painting! So, without further ado, I shall paint a small one today.
FYI : I’m chronicling the progress of the Vukusakhe project on my gallery face book page and am starting a page on my website about it…if you’re interested, go to http://annejenkinsart.com  or http://facebook.com/annejenkinsartgallery