Did you photograph an image of the eclipse? I didn’t.
I viewed it from my friend’s garden, wearing the special glasses, but I didn’t take a single photograph. Instead, I chose to live in the moment.
I sometimes feel that too much of life is viewed through a lens, and that, in doing so, we can miss the feeling a particular moment gives us. Before we have even allowed an experience to soak in, we are often already thinking about capturing it, editing it, and creating a story for social media.
I am just as guilty of this as the next person, so I have to consciously stop and ask myself: *Is taking myself out of this moment going to be positive or negative for me?*
Sometimes, creating from the memory of a moment, rather than documenting every second of it, can produce something more beautiful and more personal than photographic evidence ever could.
Don’t get me wrong, I love photographs and capturing images. They hold memories and allow us to revisit moments that might otherwise fade. But sometimes, we need to step back and allow our senses to fully envelop the experience. To watch, listen, feel, and simply *be*.
Then, perhaps, we can carry that memory with us and bring it into the studio later—not as an exact copy of what we saw, but as something shaped by how that moment made us feel.
And sometimes, that can be even more beautiful. That is how I choose to work, to try and capture the emotions of the story, the thoughts and feeling within my mark making and choice of colour palette.
I had a great time in Boscastle at the Tilted Angel Guest Gallery in July, meeting so many new people and having the opportunity to talk to them about my art, how I create and why. It was even more lovely to hear other peoples thoughts about my work and what it was saying to them. I will be back there at the end of this month, Monday 24th to Sunday 30th August. If you are about please do come over and say Hi as I would love to speak with you too.
