Monday, April 02, 2018

Looking towards Bray Head


I'm fed up with winter! I really want to get out there, sketch and paint. But it's too bloody cold. I did get a good day when I went to the beach that time. I didn't stay out very long. And I didn't capture the brightness of the sky and the sea. But I got out with my sketchbook, pen and paints.
It's not going to happen this weekend. I'm currently looking out at a grey grey sky, with the same forecast for tomorrow, and rain.
Easy to tell myself "no excuses". And the weather is definitely not a good excuse. It's just the waves of creativity, with their peaks and troughs. I knew I would have to pick myself up and dust myself off. I just didn't think I would find it so hard to get back into the routine.

And in case you're wondering why I have those James Joyce quotes in my sketchbook, it's that I'm taking part in the Bloomsday sketchbook project. And rather than having a separate sketchbook just for that, I've decided to make every sketching outing into a Ulysses moment. There's very few locations in Dublin that have no Joyce connection. And if I need to stretch reality a tiny tiny little bit to make it fit, well, that's allowed! Sometimes, the connection will just be in my head.

"—Then what is it? Buck Mulligan asked impatiently. Cough it up. I’m quite frank with you. What have you against me now?

They halted, looking towards the blunt cape of Bray Head that lay on the water like the snout of a sleeping whale. Stephen freed his arm quietly.

—Do you wish me to tell you? he asked."

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