Julian & Margery 2023 Acrylic on Canvas
I have always enjoyed art. Galleries have always had an almost reverent effect on me and in the last couple of years (thanks to Louise Verity, the human I love most) I have seen, read and learnt more about art and artists than ever. As a result, just before a trip to Paris last summer, I started to paint. At the time of writing I have painted thirty six canvases. I feel like I have embarked on a new creative voyage, that whilst not having been fully charted or mapped, will see me through until I transition out of this world. Yes, it has been that impactful, not only on how I now live, but how I see the world and my place in it internally and externally.
Music and my desire to be a musician has been my lodestar since I picked up a guitar in 1993. I have developed my ear and technical facility to express myself beyond anything I thought possible. Yet, the immediacy, the application and completion, not to mention the sheer joy I derive from putting paint on canvas, completes me in ways I am unable to describe adequately.
As I near my fiftieth year, I've had to come to terms with physical limitations that I did not expect just yet. The vessel is starting to creak a bit and confront me with the stark reality that eventually I will not be able to sing or play as I do now. And whilst there is still lots more music within me, I truly believe that I am a painter and not only that, I always have been.