2019-10-13

johncomic: (Frank)
2019-10-13 06:55 pm

something I am grateful for today

Bear with me a second:

Back in midsummer, I finished my fourth novel, The Night Shift. During the course of my research for it, I was introduced to the paintings of Gabriele Münter and something clicked. Just as happened last fall, when I was first reading Alice Munro, and suddenly felt a sense of inspiration along the lines of "I could do this" [I don't think I would have started writing fiction without her example], this year I found myself looking at Münter's work and thinking, "I could do this, too".

The idea finally coalesced into another new project: when they are published, my novels will need covers, and I have decided to paint them. Since then, I have been slowly girding my loins, preparing to learn to paint. Part of that learning has been wandering around taking reference photos of my surroundings -- I have a rough idea of the subject matter for my covers, so I know what sorts of views I want to capture. I have been playing photographer for a few weeks now.

I am grateful for the renewed appreciation of [and pleasure in] light and colour which I am gaining thru my photography, and for the increased mindfulness and "being in the moment" this project has brought into my life. I am finding this process more enjoyable and enriching than I imagined.

view from my front door