It has been said that one of the first signs of old age is when you bend down to tie your lace and wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
I am now working on my second attempt of the torso and hoping to overcome the problems I encountered on first version. The clay was left intact after Mk 1 but I have now modified it to accentuate the contours. This time around I am building up the surface with thinner layers. On both torsos I have worked from the bottom up and getting down to work on the lower sections - layer by layer, piece by piece - involves the equivalent of hundreds of exercise squats. As when tying my shoe laces, I cannot think what else I can do while I'm down there.
On the subject of old age in relation to art, I have recently re-read two of my books on the subject: one by Kenneth Clark and the other by Philip Sohm. Both are titled The Artist Grows Old. What I consider to be the worth of a book can be judged by the sentences I have highlighted and the notes I have made in the margins. Philip Sohm's glossy 222 pages are devoid of both whereas Kenneth Clark's plain 30 pages has them in profusion.
A quote from Kenneth Clark's book that I can well relate to reads:
I haven't long to wait. I shall say what I like, and as forcefully as possible.
Both authors have taken the great names in art as their subject matter. However, I believe it is often the lesser known artists that battle on and find their feet in old age.
On the subject of bottoms, here is another from my collection that may lend itself to being translated from plaster to paper.
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