It feels like we are emerging from the longest winter I can ever remember. Being mercurial by nature, I wonder how I have survived. I am very affected by barometric pressure and lack of sunlight. I tried one of those SAD lamps and they made no difference whatsoever. However I realised they are very good for painting in low light, which is how I now use mine. I have kept sane by walking religiously for 40 minutes each day. I am so lucky to have a beautiful green space with a cliff path overlooking the sea to walk along daily, but the rain this winter rendered the path so muddy it was virtually impassable, so I donned my wellies and hiking poles and waded through every day; through wind, snow, rain, sludge and mud, slipping and sliding and sometimes shouting out of sheer frustration. I refused to join a gym with that path on my doorstep. I feel like walking re-formats my mind and body. I can feel the endorphins kick in after 20 minutes and I return home happy.
I also decided, alongside my sporadic teaching jobs, that I would paint sun and warmth, if the sun wouldn’t come out. So I wanted to channel a bit of Mexico and a bit of Spain, (although according to friends, Spain has been through a couple of months of unusual cold and rain, so I didn’t make my default getaway there.) So here are my latest paintings: ‘Frida and the Tree of Life’ and ‘Red Planets and Hills.’
In my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/593995400/red-planets-and-hills
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/592686636/frida-and-the-tree-of-life
All paintings on this blog are my copyright. Copyright Alice Mason 2018.
