Today I painted at Blackpool front. It was heavy work - carrying and standing up for 4 hours - not all of it in rain. But I learnt a lot from 'letting go' and painting what I wanted, as I wanted, with 'artistic licence'. For instance, that's my fellow artist and fellow teacher, Al, bottom right. Participating artists were spread out at their easels across the concrete steps and hard standing above the sea walls. The pier stuck out temptingly into the Irish Sea: picturesque - especially the sinuous rivulets draining across the sand as the tide receded. Behind us were the rusting railings, boarded up shops, and hotels putting up asylum seekers. Seagulls wheel and shriek continuously. A man and his dog, as well as many other passers-by, came to stare at what we were up to. As well they might. Sometimes looking out to sea can be a welcome break from reality. And don't ask me what the conical things are - some Blackpool lighting arrangement, I think. (Because the painting competition was being filmed and has yet to be broadcast, I am not allowed to post a photo of my painting. I hope to do so in January 2023.) |