Taken By Surprise

Small Study in preparation for a larger painting. 

A quick  watercolour sketch.

My studio at the moment is like a time machine where I  can easily move from one country and time to another by the flick of a carefully placed brushstroke. I have scenes from Venice, fish markets  with fishermen from all over the world. sheep in fields, dogs, flowers and portraits all spread  in different browsers or on easels or even floor waiting for me to decide which I will work on today. I may start something completely new or work on a painting that was previously started.

Working this way means I always without fail move towards a subject calling to my artists soul .I paint  from my heart, selecting what I want and when I want which I believe shows in my results. But sometimes things just happen that take me totally by surprise. Yesterday I was  painting colourful washes and loved one that  was full of life  with oranges and blues. It reminded me of a scene I had painted years ago and so I added a face or two,then I could imagine a camels head in the foreground.  My time in Dubai came flooding back to me with vivid memories of days when I would watch groups of riders moving across the desert.What an amazing sight that was and I could never in a million years capture that feeling without having witnessed it myself.

I have placed the small study by my desk so I can enjoy its colours and the memories it is bringing back to me and I am  thinking of painting a large scene next. This study is far too tight and I am unhappy with certain brush detail so will work on a far better piece  later. As a starting point for a new collection it really is turning me on though.

What choice  I have at my fingertips and how brilliant it is  to be able to be anywhere in the world this way!

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