I think 2018 was a few months short of a full year. It seems that way to me. I spent the first few months of 2018 painting enough work to leave with Manzart and The Studio so that I could indulge a long held yearning to learn more about painting the figure. Figurative work was always my first love. During my Art school and college years I always loved life drawing and was most excited about those days. But I ended up painting landscapes for most of my career. I hold a special love for the Karoo and it’s light and landscapes, it has been my muse for many years. I enrolled at Studio Escalier in France for a three month intensive figure painting and drawing course. And wow, what an experience. Intense it was, but equally fantastic. I felt like a 20 year old student again. It was marvellous. Studio Escalier have a great faculty headed by Timothy Stotz and his wife Michelle Tully. Assisted by Tobias M Hall, they filled our days with inspiration and the most excellent tuition and guidance. I wish I could have stopped and rewound some days to take all the information in. It truly was one of the best three months I have spent with other artists. Apart from the fabulous tuition, we stayed in the quaintest of villages in France with very little to do other than learn, paint and draw. I shared the experience with 11 other art enthusiasts from around the world, and I wont forget the people, the place or the experience.
Once I returned home in mid August, I had a few commissions to do and then pack up my home as we were moving. We moved in November to a somewhat chaotic building site and it took a full two months before my new studio was anywhere close to workable. But it is now and I have been loving the space and the light and a really well organised studio with everything I need to get going again. The Studio Art Gallery in Simonstown, are hosting an exhibition for me in May and so most of my days now are filled with painting towards that show.