I've been busy trying to paint things outside my comfort zone - busy city scenes, atmospheric night scenes, rainy days, crowded pavement cafe scenes, sunset boating scenes, winter scenes, lazy summer day scenes. I have to admit that some days, rather than painting shadows on tarmac, I would much rather have been trying to capture that kookaburra sitting on the washing line or the jacaranda that are now in glorious bloom in our garden. But I firmly believe that there is no growth if you don't at least try new things. Who knows in what direction this practice work will lead me?
But this afternoon I took time out and let myself paint from my heart. Two weeks from today it will be a hundred years since the end of the First World War. The red poppy, the symbol of the blood that was shed in that awful conflict, is a reminder of the young lives that were lost and whose sacrifice we should take time out to remember.
