I have continued our campaign today with a medium sized view looking out towards Devonport from St John’s Lake. This time the weather was fine and I drove about 5 minutes from the boat yard (well within our limit)1 to a spot just off the little lane that takes a back route to the village. I set up my easel and looked out towards Devonport in the distance. I’m still getting to understand the medium and of course I hope to get better with practise so the few false starts I experienced today are to be expected but I felt something came together in the end and I’m grateful for that. It felt like I spent 90% of the time dithering with an under painting and when I finally realised that time was running out I went for it knowing that each stroke was for keeps. Only then did I feel like I was getting anywhere. It may be the case that I am of a type who needs a distraction or constraint to be able to paint freely and also to stop me spoiling it. I’m not suggesting imposing a time limit or anything like that but perhaps it would be wise to make a conscious distinction between the initial under painting or sketch and the painting proper, to say to oneself ‘this is it’.
Perhaps I dithered so due to a curious encounter I had with a passerby. He seemed to me to be very interested in what I was up to and was keen to converse freely, I even posed for a photograph for him but strangely he kept to a strict distance of about ten meters away as if there were an invisible barricade between us. I was well aware when I applied for this project that the sight of a plein air painter around the town would be highly unusual and would inevitably attract a lot of attention, almost like a piece of performance art, and today the gentleman certainly seemed to be under the impression that he could only come so far. He was interested but didn’t want to commit. It reminded me a bit of an encounter with some old piece of relational art or hapless institutional outreach stunt2 that you don’t really want to participate in but nonetheless would like to learn the nature of the invitation. On the other hand perhaps the good fellow was just being polite. Anyway the journey is still just beginning and there is every reason to believe that we will improve and make something to be proud of in the end. I think I’ll head up to Anthony House next, perhaps a view of the church.
Can you send me some smaller brushes?
Bests,
John
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1 A one mile parameter around Torpoint was agreed within which all painting must take place.
2 John previous work with the Open Council in Newcastle dealt extensively with these themes see Art Council England At The Monument