In An Ideal World Artists Could Paint Every Day

In an ideal world, artists would paint as many days and hours as they wished or needed. Most painters I know complain that they don't get the chance to paint as much as they need in order to push their ideas forward and I feel the same. I would love to paint 7 days a week but life obligations inevitably reduce those precious hours. There are various Admin jobs that you have to keep on top of: website updating, social media posting, applications, noting deadlines in my diary, etc. I hoped today to get the chance to start some new, vertical canvases but instead found myself bogged down in these Admin jobs!

Paintings that are going to London, to show in the offices and foyer of Gordon Dadd solicitors (Covent Garden) on Thursday next week had to be prepared and bubble wrapped. Frequently this means tidying edges of canvases, attaching D-rings and making sure the work is signed. Then I spent ages updating social media, my website, and sanding stretchers prior to stretching canvas. 

For this post I've added some photos of myself painting in my studio in Daugavpils, Latvia, during the Mark Rothko Plein Air residency in 2012. It was one of my happiest times because I had a really large studio and could spread out the canvases and work as I prefer; bouncing between canvases and letting each one send ideas across to the others.

I think the truth is that no matter how many hours we paint, we will always want more, and the Admin times can also be good for thinking about what comes next. While considering a new body of work, I have also been busy finding a Paris hotel for the forthcoming Salon Des Beaux Arts (Caroussel du Louvre) which I am taking part in (December 13-16th). Having booked both hotel and flight from Gatwick, I'm beginning to feel really excited. My hotel is near the Louvre and I can't wait to see all the marvellous artworks that will be on display.