New Studio, New Ideas, New World.
So, I just realised that I haven't written a new blog post for nearly two years. There are probably quite a few reasons for this. One being due to quite practical situations getting in my way, namely moving house and setting up in a new region of France. Another due to living in a sort of 'twighlight zone' ever since March of last year and being unable to make sense of anything at all, let alone writing anything coherent!
After the severe stress of trying to sell a property and search for a new one, and moving house during endless lockdowns and curfews, we finally made it to our destination. A very beautiful and tranquil little corner of France. A bright and comforting place to hide away and live a simple life as the world around us gets darker by the day. In this charming old cottage I have set up my studio in what is a sort of attic room.
No beautiful sunset views anymore like in my last studio but this loss is made up for in plenty of other ways.
I named the house 'Silver Moon Cottage' and find myself constantly taking photos of the quirky interior. I even made a Pinterest page of my photos.....
The property has a tiny house attached to it which used to be the village bakery. So sweet! The small hamlet is nestled in the depths of a Regional Natural Park, surrounded by beautiful lakes, woodland and endless pretty villages and picturesque walks. The place is also full of cats so I am in my element! The lakes provide endless inspiration and have already starting seeping their way into my new paintings.
I finally feel at home for the first time in many years. In between all the drama around us I have managed to work on a few of my own ideas but have mainly been busy working on commissions. This has been such a relief as I've been unable to exhibit since March 2020 and for the foreseeable future I choose not to. Now being more settled I can divide my time working on commissions that are still coming in and on some of my own pieces. There are so many ideas just waiting inside my head that can't wait to get out!
I've started working with oils again as I can take my time to perfect the technique which is always a challenge. I always use acrylics for my commissioned work because it saves so much time. With the winter finally settled in, I shall be doing the same in my cosy new space. Where I can at least watch the clouds passing-by through the skylight and daydream to my heart's content.
