Stumped

Stump K Howell 2012 (tiny study) Pastel on Paper

Torrential rain last week and now the sky is a careless, indifferent grey. Maybe that's what I like about living here. The unpredictable, intense flashes of sunshine that never last, but are more interesting for their infrequency. Well, it's a theory.

I've painted this stump before - it looks totally different now, having entirely shed its bark. It's looking more vulnerable and exposed. Fibrous. I suppose what caught my eye was the dance of supple limbs around the ragged remains. An intricate, rented world momentarily brightened.

Moving on with some larger acrylics which are building slowly, but hopefully will be ready for a tiny local exhibition next month. They are twin paintings, exploring paint application and dancing with the devil in the detail, it seems. We'll see what emerges.

Congratulations, Lucy Watkins! Lucy's painting has been selected for the Royal Academy's A-level Summer Exhibition online, which is quite a feat! There were over 1450 entries, and Lucy's piece even has a room named after it.

Having seen the actual exhibition of A-level work, I think everyone deserves congratulating, as the developmental work, sketchbooks and finished pieces are really wonderful. Great to see! Keep it up, lovely people...

Seven Good Things

Persistent Fog K Howell Acrylic on Paper 2012

Life goes in so many directions. My thoughts are in several places on various projects and refuse to cooperate and regroup for anything resembling a blog post.

So here's some things to love, instead:

1 Fog: it makes the ordinary surprising.

2 Simon Armitage: what he does with words is Magic.

3 Writing books with magnetic closures. A tool that is also a toy! (for those of us who never cease to be amazed by simple mechanisms...)

4 Chewable Vitamin C. And they're legal.

5 David Blackburn's pastel landscapes. Genius.

6 Placebo. Who knew? I'm slightly obsessed. Slightly, mind.

7 Rocket. Related to cabbage, and yet...

Seven is a good number. Let's leave it there.