Another manic painting session with more running up and down the stairs. Its one way to get some exercise! Beginning to get a little panic struck about my shortage of canvases. Going to have to think seriously about making my own canvas boards.

Great delight with the mail arriving today – the friend whose portrait I just finished sent me a care package of chocolate, and delicious chutneys in interesting shaped jars – can see a bunch of still lifes coming from these.

Still researching the Fauvist movement and am intrigued to look at Matisse’s work and see it develop. So many artists get stuck in a groove of what sells and that stops them from growing. I love to see the progression and hope that my work too will develop in that way.

I have been thinking of books that I own from my University days and have a bizarre longing to go back and read them even though at the time I found them rather ivory tower-ish and rather obtuse. In particular I would like to reread John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing”.

Intersting picture for today – the driver of a motorbike wearing a helmet and full protective biking clothing (a rarity in itself) while his wife sat side-saddle behind him in a bright pink shalwar khameez with the scarf prettily draped over her hair. I’m fascinated by the multitude of colours worn by Pakistani women after the monotony of black abayas and niqabs of the middle east which are rarely seen here. Girls at work wear brilliant colours – lime greens and bright oranges, some patterned in modern designs while others are traditionally embroidered with silks and sequins. One thing that had intrigued me is how they keep the scarf draped all day – and then I was told that its all down to safety pins! So much for that!

“Colours, like features, follow the changes of the emotions”Pablo Picasso