l'air de rien: Oh, the sunny dry days!

18 April 2026

Oh, the sunny dry days!

Evening Prayer Brunswick Heads, 12 April, 2026, oil on canvas board, 30 X 25 cm

Evening Prayer Brunswick Heads, 15 April, 2026, oil on canvas board, 30 X 25 cm

These are not set out in chronological order but are rather all thrown together like wild flowers one has collected in a single afternoon because these skies here on a mundane beach are as varied as the British countryside in June.

After months of rainy skies we've been blessed recently with a string of dry sunny weeks and because I had not been out so regularly I'm super grateful to rediscover the ritual of steady work from the variety of these Autumn skies. And although I'm a lazy gardener, I imagine it's not unlike the bliss one would feel picking fresh veggies from a generous garden in which their hands have been working the earthy soil each afternoon. A ritual of work when it's practiced steadily is a happy and lucky gift. I'm continually impressed by myriad of ideas that come into fruition when a daily ritual is established. It's almost easy to forget this vital link in the creative process.

I've chosen these images randomly out of a large batch of work and I'm not even sure that many of them merit to be shown, but hey!

In this seasonal moment the 'blooms' are short-lived most days but they are certainly interesting, and full of colour. There are also days when I'm pretty happy with what I'm up to but then, there are also days when I think I've exhausted the motif. But I know these are just feelings, so they pass. By the next day, I'm looking at the horizon line with a cautious optimism. Already today, the afternoon looks to be good, so I'll be on my way.