Sketches, songs and socks
Inspiration is very elusive, even for people who are supposed to be creative (though I believe that all of us are creative in one way or another – it’s a human thing). If creativity is about making ideas visible or audible, then most of the time those ideas are hiding in the back of your mind refusing to come out, or turning out to be not as good as you though when you put pencil to paper or hands to strings.
I’ve had a very busy year but feel I don’t feel I have much to show for it. To make new paintings or designs you have to have time to doodle, play around, work out what you want to do, get it wrong before you get it right, be prepared to start again, spend as much time as it takes. Oliver Burkeman in his wonderful book ‘Four Thousand Weeks’ quotes Arno Minkkinen’s analogy for all creative endeavours – any project. It’s ‘stay on the bus’. I love this concept. An idea is like a journey. You get on the bus, all packed and keen to begin, with your art materials or your musical instrument or your pen and paper, but the first part soon becomes dull. You travel through the suburbs and everyone’s journey looks the same, rows of houses or factories, or miles of motorway, very uninspiring. It’s tempting to give up and get off, try a different bus. But the same thing happens. That’s the graft of getting something done or learning something new. It’s the first few lacklustre attempts, the struggle to find your own skill and voice. Eventually – hopefully – the nature of the journey changes and you come through the dull bits into the colour and beauty of the landscape as your new skill or creative endeavour starts to come into being. ‘That’s where the distinctive work begins…. only for those who can muster the the patience to immerse themselves in the earlier stage…..’ I’ve been on my artistic ‘bus’ for many years and it takes me to some interesting places. I’ve also acquired a certain level of skill. I’m now trying to do the same with music! One journey is never enough for a butterfly brain.
Of course the creative journey will always have plenty of tricky or dull bits. You know the kind of thing – you’re at a tedious stage of a project when you suddenly want to go and tidy your kitchen cupboard or sort the sock drawer – anything rather than get down to the thing you said you really wanted to do. I live on a boat and only have two small kitchen cupboards. If they’re tidy or there are no odd socks in my drawer you know that a drawing is not going well, or I don’t want to be reminded that to play a piece of music well I need to go over and over the same tricky phrase until I’m bored to death of it.
My own artwork took a back seat this year because working days were filled with commissioned work; book illustrations, talks, workshops and courses along with lots of smaller bits and pieces.
There have been intense work times and some adventures too. There wasn’t time this summer to get my own little boat into the water but I’ve been lucky enough to say ‘yes’ to some some great travel and sailing in other places.
This year I sailed a brigantine in Scotland (twice), a schooner in the Arctic, and a pilot cutter to Brittany. Two of those were working trips, which makes me feel very fortunate!
Now suddenly it’s autumn and the nature of the river is changing. Boats are leaving, birds are returning. Writing this in bed with my morning cup of tea I see six black-tailed godwits outside my window, beaks stabbing into the mud in search of food. Thinking ahead, there are a few thing coming up this autumn and next year……
AUTUMN EXHIBITION, 29th October – 4th November
I’m taking over the Craft House in Woodbridge town centre (1B Thoroughfare) for my autumn exhibition, planning to fill it with all my bits and pieces and – hopefully – a few new designs! Opening times 10 – 5 each day (11-4 on Sunday).
AUTUMN AND WINTER ART COURSES – I’m doing a series of zoom workshops from October – see ‘Talks and Tuition’ page for full details
ART RETREAT AT BOCONNOC, CORNWALL, 19th -24th April 2026 – see https://artsafari.com/art-holiday/cornwall-art-retreat-boconnoc-in-bloom-2026/ for full details
SKETCH AND SAIL, BARRA TO OBAN, ON LADY OF AVENEL 30th August – 5th September 2026 – find out more at https://www.ladyofavenel.com/sketchandsail
HARWICH SHANTY FESTIVAL – 10th – 12th October 2025
And on a completely different note – a musical one this time – our little trio are taking part in Harwich Shanty Festival again this year. We’ll be doing six performances over the weekend so it’s hectic but huge fun, meeting up with sailors and singers from Europe as well as from around the UK. Earlier this year when I spent a month or so recovering from an eye operation, I couldn’t draw or read much and I don’t have TV. But I could use my ears so as well as listening to music I had time to get back on the songwriting ‘bus’ and added a few songs to our repertoire of sea music. Convalescing is a great way to have thinking space with no distractions, not even the sock drawer!
Don’t wait for inspiration to strike – as Picasso said ‘Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working’.
In a crazy world, what else are we to do?
