I Suffered for My Art This Week

Physically.

I've started working on a 100 × 100 cm wooden panel. My largest square panel to date and all that space to play with!

I hadn't considered the logistics of working with a 6kg panel.

Not too heavy, but try manoeuvring a metre-square piece of wood around a small studio and suddenly you have a panel with an attitude.

I paint large works flat on the floor. It gives me the freedom to move around it and approach the composition from different directions.

Except that with this panel I can't reach all corners, so I have to rotate the bloody thing. Constantly. On top of that I regularly lift it onto the wall to look at it, then put it back on the floor to continue. Ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty times during a session.

This week, my back started registering its objections and I had to laugh that despite my regular gym sessions, I was nearly defeated by a sheet of plywood. Not giving up though, just need to rethink my choreography and make sure I stretch!

Next
Next

Back to the Mix