Depicting love

The poet Jon Stallworthy in his introduction to an anthology of love poems, writes as follows:

“…Given the high premium that artists set upon intensity, and given the relationship between creativity and sexual energy, the artist is likely to have more intense moments and more emotion to recollect than most of his fellow men. An artist, moreover, is a maker; one who assembles existing materials to give substance and a name to something that did not exist before, or something that existed unperceived…at moments in the act of making…he experiences an intensity of awareness and exaltation comparable to those experienced in making love…”

He goes on to say that an aging artist will recall the beloved of his youth and bring her to life again.

Jon Stallwothy's perception of rekindling love in old age comes close to a similar quote that I once read, but cannot remember where. In essence it was saying that the artist in old age has an insight, and hence, a valuable contribution, that younger fellows lack. Maybe love, like youth, is wasted on the young.

Today's picture comes close to the above theme. It is a detail of a “two in one” torso that I am currently working on. Making my own paper opens up a new world of creative possibilities. In this case my hand made cotton paper has been formed into the contours of my models torso. The form creates the sculpture and to that I add my watercolour washes.

In pursuit of beauty

Seventy six years ago today I was born amidst the destruction of an air raid. Perhaps, subconsciously, that is why I have spent my life in pursuit of creativity and beauty.

My vision of beauty has taken many forms and my search has taken me from my native West Riding of Yorkshire to the palm-fringed beaches of my adopted Caribbean. For the last thirty years my figurative  paintings and sculptures have collectively fallen under the title "Daughters of the Caribbean Sun".

My life continues to be a work in progress. Today's picture shows the colour and texture of my most recent batch of handmade paper. It could be said that the pattern has something of the cosmos about it. A secondary meaning of the word cosmos is, "the sum total of experience". It is the sum total of seventy six years of experience that I invest in my work, no matter what form it may take - and continue to take.

Think fast!

The picture shows my hand testing the consistency of a bowl of plaster in readiness for pouring into the mold of my most recent sculpture. Because plaster sets within minutes I sometimes add a few grains (and I mean a few) of sodium citrate. This delays the setting time and allows the plaster to find its way into all the nooks and crannies. But if you over do the amount the plaster will take for ever to set. This once happened when I was making a life cast of a model's torso.

It takes a committed model to submit herself to a life cast. Plaster heats up when it sets rapidly. For the model's comfort, I add a tiny amount of sodium citrate to the mix so that it becomes no more than pleasantly warm. But on that one occasion I added too much and after ten minutes the plaster was showing no sign of setting.

Think fast! Here I am with a naked model covered in wet plaster from her neck to her thighs. I can't leave her like that. If she stands up the plaster will run down the rest of her and we'll be in a worse state than ever. I had no option but to scoop it off by the handful and then sponge her down.

And you know what...the brave girl volunteered to try again the next day!

Try as I may

Through my paintings I try to get to somewhere where no one has ever been before. For the last twenty-five years my spontanious water colours have focused on the female nude and, thanks to my adopted home land, my models are Afro-Caribbean. But try as I may to explore new ground and avoid being repetitive I sometimes despair. This is all the more frustrating when my models have given their body and soul to progress my work.

Over the last few weeks I have taken a break from my regular subject matter and made an attempt to revert back to landscapes, townscapes and still-life from fifty years ago. It has been a dismal failure. Deep down inside I know that I cannot desert the ultimate challenge of the live model.

Thirty years ago my dear friend, the Virgin Island poet Sheila Hyndman (1958 – 1991), inspired me to explore the sensuous. In recent days I have discovered a writer in a far off land who is beautifully saying in words what I am trying to portray in paint.

But more about this later. In the meantime today's picture is a detail from a painting from two years ago.

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