We live in strange times indeed....
The world has been locked down for the past 7 weeks – particularly hard in Bulgaria, a country with a seriously aging population and a frail health service, so restrictions have been severe. No more popping up to big town to grab a few canvasses or tubes of oil paint. Well, not without having to endure Police roadblocks with serious amounts of forms to fill in as to purpose of visit, duration, length of inside trouser leg and blood group type.
Which brings me to the purpose of this post – how to survive without the luxury of materials and how to keep the creativity flowing in times of lockdown.
I decided to keep active with at least one painting or study a day. With so much happening at this time of year in the garden and countryside, it isn't difficult to find suitable content. Nature is exploding and the dull greys and browns of winter are cast aside for the almost luminescent greens and yellows of spring. The light changes dramatically here and the pale yellow winter sun is now gone, replaced with a particular light that suits painting perfectly. Not the bright, harsh overhead light of mid summer, but a gentle yet accurate glow that accentuates contrast and shadow perfectly.
Having long since run out of ready to go canvasses, I've taken to priming watercolour paper with a gentle wash of thinned PVC primer, giving a good surface for oil to adhere, without draining the life out of the paint applied. With masking tape applied as a border, the results are clean and crisp, ready for framing and more importantly, easy to roll into tubes and despatch anywhere in the world (yes, you can buy them in my shop).
As I'm restricted in where I can travel, most of my output in the last 6 weeks has been based around the garden and studying perspective of the villa – trying to capture something of the Mediterranean essence that permeates here. I find giving a solid blue or red underwash before starting seems to suit my style, adding a real feel of early summer and allowing a strong contrast between light and shade (avoiding hard lines – one of my rules) and the results have been genuinely encouraging, and more importantly, rewarding to my creative soul. I set myself the target of a painting a day and have yet to run out of suitable subjects.
I was hoping to launch my painting holidays venture in May, and after a huge amount of administrative work on making sure the venture was legally compliant and also what I consider to be adding real value to both my prospective customers and this very special region of Europe, it's all been knocked for six by the current chaos – but I suspect my pupils are more maverick than the average traveller and as soon as things slowly return to normal, they'll be happy to make the journey to come and paint in what I consider to be one of the most unique regions reachable by budget airlines. The website for holidays is ready – but not yet launched – so pop back later in the year and hopefully I can show what a real adventure holiday should look like.
Keep in touch with me by all the usual social media channels, and remember, this will pass – as everything does, and perhaps, with luck, some perspectives will have changed for the better. Life is for living, so get out there and do something truly amazing.