This is the end of the line for this blog; the paint has been splashed and dripped, dribbled and scratched at, trowelled on in great wadges, and spread so dilute it’s barely visible. It’s been applied under, over, and around bits of packing paper; I’ve stuck string and dead grass to sheets of cartridge, and let the local wildlife make a Pollock. The blog will stay here so new starters can see what 61% looks like, but don’t skip to the end to see how it turned out, look at the struggles I had at the beginning, trying to make sense of it all. Those struggles are what made the end result happen and if I have any advice, it’s to let yourself off the lead (leash, if you’re American) and take some risks.

This all took place during COVID lockdown and at times I was angry with the way constraints hampered my efforts. But the bottom line is that art and creativity don’t happen in a vacuum, context is everything and where you are is what you work with. I’m learning that all over again with a demolished conservatory-turned-studio that’s only half rebuilt due to COVID supplies delays, so my current module is having to emerge from a quarter the space I had before, half my kit in tents in the garden, and cats sitting on my palette <fixed grin emoji>

So here it is, and here it will stay but with no further updates. Be encouraged by what you find; I made it through, and so will you. I’m at ConboyhillPaintingMedia now and for a little while longer and look at what came out of that in its earliest days:

Passed with 61%.