THOUGHT OF THE SEASON - WINTER 2020/21
AN ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE: Thought of the Season
WINTER 2020/21
Little did I know when I wrote the words below at the end of 2019, just how prophetic in some ways these words were! 2020 certainly did sound, and become, like science fiction, but not in the way I thought and hoped.
“Well here we are, on the brink of the Winter Solstice and the shortest day, and only a few days before Christmas. Then a week later we will be starting a new year and a new decade. 2020 - how amazing is that, and how very unreal it sounds, almost science fiction! “
I’m very late in writing my ‘Thoughts of the Season’ this Winter, I think I’m like many people who have been very depressed by the whole situation in the UK, and indeed the world, with Covid-19 dominating everything we do, see and hear, to the extent that I’m actually reluctant to even write or think about it. So I’ll only touch upon it as is relevant to the theme of an ‘Artist’s Perspective’.
And there we have it, it is indeed relevant to my artist’s perspective, in that as the summer and autumn months morphed into winter, I found myself unable to paint, or read, or do anything truly meaningful to me. I just lost the will..... the days monotonously all rolled into one long round of planning nutritious meals (to keep us healthy), ordering the online shopping for delivery (if I could get a slot), cooking, eating, watching television, trying to sleep at night, and repeat. I can’t even say I was bored really, just lethargic and disinterested in life.
Now I do know that that’s a sign of depression, and I was on the brink of really falling off that ledge, but every now and then a ray of sunshine would pull me back, usually in the form of speaking to my family on the telephone, or FaceTime, and my weekly day out with my sister - we’re her ‘support bubble’ as she lives alone, doesn’t have a car, and only has us near enough to see her and help her, all our other siblings and their families live hundreds of miles away.
During the first lockdown I painted almost non-stop, the weather was bright and warm, and it was ok as we thought it was only for a few weeks. Bright and colourful florals were the main theme of my artwork 🌺🌻 and very well received. I was told I had to ‘shield’ for 12 weeks, being clinically vulnerable. That 12 weeks was extended and extended until eventually I’d shielded for about 25 weeks - almost six months! A brief respite during summer was all too short lived. Then the ‘tiers’ restrictions were introduced, followed by the second lockdown in November, the promised five day reprieve for Christmas - that was then cancelled, and only Christmas Day allowed to see family, and now the third lockdown in January 2021, set to last until March (I sincerely hope not that long!)
I’m normally a fairly cheerful, spiritually inclined and positive person, but this has been relentless, and my family are so important a part of my life that not being able to see them in person, and hug them, has been the worst part of it all, especially as I’m such a tactile, expressive person. I’ve felt as if my wings have been clipped. Nothing feels normal, the atmosphere everywhere feels heavy, subdued and depressed - the collective consciousness has been muted to a large degree.
But thankfully my spirituality has started to rise up again. After all, we’ve just entered The Age of Aquarius, and there’s a massive spiritual shift happening in the world right now. And it’s having a very positive effect.
So now my Artist’s Perspective is shifting too, and today I’ve cleaned and sorted out my little art room, moved some things around to make it work better for me, and brought out some fresh canvases to start painting 🧑🏻🎨🎨🖌
Winter can be so very beautiful - cold, bright, frosty mornings, misty woodland, snow capped hills and mountains and icy streams, rivers and lakes. Then there’s cosy log fires, hot, warming home cooked food, mugs of hot chocolate ..... and I’ve got a long list of paintings I’d like to start ☺️
Perhaps the remaining weeks of this season will be more artistically productive, and I’ll be able to show you some new work soon 🧑🏻🎨🖌🎨