I should have know what was coming: David approached me this morning with a spring in his step, a twinkle in his eyes, and a piece of paper in his hand.
Here, he said, this is for you.
His enthusiastic tone implied even the Rosetta Stone was significantly less important than this paper which he gave me.
And I’ll keep you guessing for a moment longer because otherwise it’ll spoil the fun …
It is 3:12 in the morning. I am wide awake as I often, listening to those radio podcasts which I can’t hear during the day because I prefer silence when I paint glass (or J.S. Bach).
Suddenly, in the middle of the night, I am attacked by a sudden fit of breathless spluttering, a violent seizure.
Day 1: spent 10 minutes cleaning and painting undercoats on 8 small pieces of glass, then 17 minutes copy-tracing 2 images [just 2!] before deciding other things were “more important” than painting glass. Felt bored and distracted.
Day 2 … Day 3 … Day 4 … Day 5 …
Day 32: began with 60 minutes practice on light-box – thick lines, thin lines, dark lines, light lines, straight lines, squiggles, spirals, signature, various symbols, anything! Was surprised to learn an hour had passed. Then spent two hours painting a complicated roundel from start to finish without a rest. Very focussed. Couldn’t be distracted by “necessity” of other tasks.
Big change in just over a month, yes? That’s what this post is all about. It applies to everyone who doesn’t paint glass every day.
Is that you?