A change in the weather...

Just as I got a good way along the colour mixing trail, I had an unplanned delay so I’m pleased that today I managed to get into the studio and start work again.

When you enjoy playing about with paint and colours, any forced removal from the studio feels like a lifetime. Luckily, I have met a few people who enjoy art or are also painting, so have been able to talk about my passion!

The initial driver for my Rainbow colours mixing tests was to see what I had and plan how I would replenish my paint stock when I need to. That is still important, but along the way I've enjoyed reading up on colour psychology and really thinking more about why I like to use specific colours, but others are not as important.

A friend dropped by yesterday and 'offered' to take all the colours I don't want off my hands! That's not going to happen, as I will soon be starting on a new series of paintings in which I will use some of those myself. While I'm aiming to replace all the Cadmium and Cobalt based paints, they aren't unusable and I doubt you will find many artists who can just give away tubes of colour.

So, alongside completion of my colour tests, I'm busy reorganising the studio storage, planning my new series and getting ready for the Herts Open Studios. These are organised by Herts Visual Arts and begin on 1 September; I'm taking part for the first time this year. Even though it is primarily "virtual open studios" because of the virus, I will offer the option for people to visit me by appointment. The space is big enough for social distancing, and I have plenty of sterilising spray and face masks. Look out for posts about this on my Instagram page @vallawsonart