This made me smile; it's such a lovely little illustration (stolen from Kat Wheeler, a local potter who exhibits with us in Cley) and perfect for this particular moment in time.
I am firing off a bit randomly today and picking up bits of jottings from other unfinished blogs I’ve started, although ultimately it's turned out to be about food!
I came across this great David Hockney picture, although I'm not supposed to like anything to do with smoking
When I was smoking I wasn’t painting so it was never that sort of helper to me. I wonder if it does help one contemplate and create. I have been feeling a bit fallow re painting, not producing what I want to. Maybe not surprising after so many months of inactivity. I am sure that inspiration with return once the sun comes and we’re unlocked.
Although I’m not euphoric about it as there still exists a risk so I will have to defend myself from anybody who is. I kind of imagine people waiting at the gates ready to rush out and go wildly around
Somehow this morning I started thinking about the ICU and why it felt like such a twilight zone. I suppose with all the dimmed lights and machines everybody in there is in the zone between life and death as we’re all needing machines etc. to help us going. I wasn’t thinking about it in any hugely morbid sense in fact I was remembering the lovely nurses who swooped in and demanded to know where I’d got my glasses and then managed to get all my pierced earrings back in. I was also thinking how pleased I was that I’d had a half decent pedicure before I went in so had nice pink toenails. I kept getting told off for sticking my toes out of the end of the compression socks.
You are also of course aware of what else in going on in the other cubicles; the woman with anaesthetic induced delirium who kept asking for a taxi home and the man next door who they couldn’t get off his ventilator despite keeping on trying. Then the night time rushing and bustle of a father and teenage son being brought in after a car crash,
That is that reminiscence over; back to the present:
We had a really nice Easter Sunday with two friends. With the double doors open onto the garden I think we just about kept within the rules with the outside in. And are a feast starting with Mimosas and cheese straws, watercress, egg and anchovy salad, pot roast lamb with chicory, courgettes and potato purée followed by chocolate and pistachio tarts. Couldn’t manage any of my Simnel cake after that!
Apart from my painting I’ve been enjoying having time to cook and we’ve been eating plenty of good food, not just for Easter. Roast chicken is always my favourite and it was especially nice cooked over potatoes with aioli. We had a nice pork chop with salsa rossa and lemon:
A fabulous fish stew made even more fabulous by M finding a delicious fougasse at the bakers. I threw caution to the wind and ate some clams and prawns despite being on the transplant NO list.
I even ate some crab which we had with borlotti beans and watercress.
When I’m in France I always seek out a salade chèvre chaud although they are often disappointing. I made a version which wasn’t right as I wasn’t really happy with the goats cheese, crottins being hard to come by in North Norfolk.
Mind you most things are available online if you really need them. One thing that is hard to get is Italian sausages with fennel, which I have bought online with some castellicio lentils.
Despite all that eating I’ve been painting in oils, mostly tulips, but picked up some acrylic for these:
We are starting Cley exhibitions on the first of May which gives some more incentive to paint. Here is a very loose oil and my friend Jane likened it to Winifred Nicolson's style which is the greatest compliment:
Apart from images of cigarettes David Hockney did a lot of iPad art which is wonderful. we went to an exhibition, I think in Copenhagen some years ago and there were iPads displayed all over the walls just as you would with 'normal' paintings:
It seems that no post is complete without the lovely Ralph; here he is playing with his favourite feather toy:
Finally I was pleased to get this photo of one of my paintings that went to Australia last year:
