covid – bexODESSA

I’d like to say that I am faithfully nursing him back to health, but when he tested positive, I fled his house lickety-split and came back to the virus-free salt-air of Anam Cara. I did manage to buy him some Vicks VapoRub before fleeing, so I didn’t totally abandon my fiancée duties.

So now I am hold-up in the studio, waiting to see if I too have the dreaded lurgy. I did wake up with a sniffle this morning, but that might have been due to getting caught in a storm last night while romping around the Ayres. It was all fun and games on the way up there, with a tail wind and all, but I got battered on the way back, and was drenched by the time I got home.

Before my fella went to Seattle, we had the great pleasure of filming Hampton Creer for the Ann documentary. Hampton wrote the book “Never to Return”, about the Manx involvement in the penal Transportation system, which is where I first came across Ann’s story. It was wonderful to see him again, and listen to all his stories. He is so knowledgeable, not just about Transportation, but about Manx history in general. I could listen to him for hours.

I am pleased to say, I finally have a name for the Ann painting, Anileis – which is a Greek word meaning merciless. Not only is it very fitting in its meaning, it is also a beautiful sounding word, and when you say it, it sounds like the words Annie + lace together, which makes it the perfect title for the painting.

Here is a write-up about Anileis, that explains what the painting is about.

While I’ve been hold-up at Anam Cara, waiting to see if I too get Covid, I have been having a wonderful, undisturbed time painting away and enjoying my new satellite internet. What a difference it makes! Instead of waiting an hour or so for things to upload, it happens in an instant. This should definitely make my second year at art school easier.

Speaking of which, my second year starts in one week. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again, but am slightly terrified with how quickly the first year flew by and how much work I have yet to do on my research project. I have pretty much figured out what direction I am going in, which I did while on my long walks to the Point of Ayre this summer. It’s a wild, visually stunning landscape, which makes it perfect for thinking through creative projects.

I am not quite ready to share exactly what I have in mind, but here are a couple of the experiments I did this week for one of the paintings. One thing I have noticed since retuning to painting after drawing all summer, is how much my drawing has improved.

Well, it appears I didn’t flee my fella’s house soon enough, as I too have tested positive for Covid. Luckily, I haven’t got the nobody’s-ever-been-this-sick-and-lived man variety like my fella, just mild lady-Covid. Still, it’s early days, so I shouldn’t be too smug. One good thing is, I can now hang out with my fella, us both being diseased and all, that’s if he is able to prize himself out of his sick bed.

I’ve often thought that engineers and scientists, especially those of the aerospace variety, are the world’s true romantics. Watching the documentary “Good Night Oppy“, about the Mars-rover, Opportunity, confirmed this thought. The engineers and scientists who built and operated Oppy (as they affectionately called her) during her 15 year mission on Mars, came to love her passionately, and were heartbroken when she finally gave up the ghost. I challenge you to watch their final farewell to their dear Oppy with dry eyes.

Sticking with things romantic, my fella caught the dreaded COVID this week. It’s his first time getting it, and he has been a sick bunny indeed. We’re not sure where he got it from, though spending the previous weekend dancing outside Santa’s grotto dressed as a snowman and coming in contact with the town’s child population is the chief suspect. There’s no need to tell you how adorable he was as Ramsey’s dancing snowman, you can see for yourself in the video:

With my fella in quarantine at his house, I spent a solitary week in my studio at the Point of Ayre, working exclusively on the Ann painting (as mentioned in my last post). I am close to finishing it, and as always when the end of a painting like this is in sight, working on it is an irresistible pleasure. When I say close to finishing it, I reckon I’m looking at 2 months if I work on it exclusively, 3 if I work on some of my other projects as well. The latter is preferable, though it will be hard to tear myself away from Ann.

Because working on a painting like Ann is meditative, and therefore conducive to thinking through creative ideas, and due to the emotional turmoil of our current family crisis, as well as the added solitude, and, who knows, perhaps even the presence of the full moon, I was thrilled to find myself in a state of super-charged creativity, so I took the opportunity to think through and (imaginatively) resolve major aspects of my next (Ann-like) painting. I say imaginatively resolve, as I am yet test out my ideas to see if they will work; even so, it is an exciting step forward.

I reached another milestone this week – I have completed my first term of art school. It’s hard to believe how fast it has gone. Although I am effectively on holiday, there are a number of art opportunities in the New Year that I would like to make the most of, so I have a lot of work to do between now the resumption of classes in mid-January.

I had some interesting classes for my final week, including one in which I learnt how to code. I doubt Microsoft will be headhunting me anytime soon, however, I did manage to ask the computer to draw a face and some squiggly lines.