Day 24 - April 25, 2007

I was up early and went for a swim with Bobbie. By 8:15am when we left Sweet Briar it was a lovely temperature but it was rising quickly. It was the beginning of a hot and humid day with a forecast for thundershowers. My canvas was on the wall prepped and staring at me when I entered the studio. I had no vision of what should be on its surface. I turned on the air onditioning and lay on the bed enjoying my completed paintings and reading Gary's poems. (Each studio has a bed and there are 3 kitchens in the studio barn as well as a few showers so you can work around the clock or be anti-social if that is what you prefer.) I decided that I needed to do something washy and loose and by the end of the day had completed 2 paintings on watercolour paper, was part way through 2 more and had done some sketches of the trees on the VCCA property. Not bad for an off day! In my Vancouver studio I alternate between acrylic on canvas and watercolour on paper and I think that I've been missing the feel of the paper. It was perfect thing to do.

I am starting to mentally prepare myself for my return to the real world. That might explain why I am reluctant to start a major piece. I've always found it difficult to get back to a painting after leaving it for a period of time and it will take some time for my paintings to find their way to Vancouver.

I've talked to several of the people here about their experiences saying goodbye, leaving and returning to their regular lives. Most of them feel that it takes awhile for them to decompress, to be around people again and to talk about their experience.