Going wild

Hello. Are you all well and cheerful?

I hope so. I know times are tough and stressful for so much of the planet. There is so much hardship and so much to worry about. 

I came across this article today in the Guardian, about ways you can help by volunteering in the crisis. The only thing I can volunteer for, being 70 and considered to be vulnerable, is ringing up lonely people. I am pondering whether I have the suitable skills. I might sound chatty to you, but I can't do small talk, so I am not convinced I am cut out for talking on the phone to people I don't know. I am thinking about it.

But I can keep writing bulletins from Hepworth Towers, giving you a snapshot of how "normal" life can continue at home for wrinklies who are not allowed out. Actually, I don't want to go out any more, unless it's in the garden or on my bike. It sounds much too risky. After watching last night's news, I'm not convinced they'd be letting Dave or me have a ventilator.

At home, when I am not thinking about the world out there, I am having fun. When I started learning the sax ten years ago, people asked me if I wanted to eventually perform and I said 'No, this is just for me.'

Now I have started painting, I feel just the same. It's very liberating sitting down to paint and not worrying about anyone else appraising it. My painting just consists of sloshing vivid coloured acrylic paint around and giving the resulting abstracts semi-convincing titles like February Cabin Fever. Although in this specific case I did paint it in February and I was expressing how I felt.

Exhibit 1:

February Cabin Fever
mixed media

Don't you like the 'mixed media' tag? It was genuinely so - acrylics and oil pastels - but I added the tag to make it sound swanky. 

It's helpful that Dave is the most encouraging and supportive person I have ever met (which is one of the reasons he was such a popular teacher) and even when he doesn't understand or even like my creative efforts (for example, my choice of sax music) he cheers me on. 

I showed you that painting to encourage YOU to try things you have never done before and not to worry about making a fool of yourself. If I can do it, then so can you. It's fun! I have even taken to dressing up for the part, which is also fun:

Sue Hepworth wears her old dungarees and her mother's over-sized knitted waistcoat.

I think I might be channelling Frankie from Grace and Frankie, which I am currently rewatching from start to finish. It's so comforting.

This morning we had a beautiful dawn. 

I hope you have a good day and that something makes you smile.

p.s. My new book DAYS ARE WHERE WE LIVE is available worldwide on Amazon as an ebook. the paperback is coming out soon. 

Here is a link for the UK

and here's one for the USA