Last August, feeling a bit down as COVID-19 stretched into another month of isolation and physical distancing, I decided to take a step that would force a little bit of happiness into me.
   I undertook a one-month self-imposed ‘Art Immersion’.
   There wasn’t a great deal of planning to it, and the plans continually evolved, but the essential theme was to take part in art each and every day.
   I took my camera with me on my morning walks. I visited the art gallery weekly. I read about the artistic process of others, and I sketched and I wrote and I consciously created whenever I could.
   One of my favourite activities was settling in for my ‘non-judgmental’ art sessions where I would paint by the lakes hore an hour or so at a time. It was concentration on the process, not the product.
   I knew it was good for me.
   I could feel it.
   Come September, I settled back at my desk and made progress on a manuscript that had been bothering me for a while. For he next few months I approached everything with a little more vigor.
   Art is my comfort zone.
   Yesterday, while sipping my morning coffee in my usual park, I pulled out a pencil and sketchbook and admired the flowers on the trees in the 19th century garden. It wasn’t a long session, but it got me thinking.
   I decided I was due for another ‘Art Immersion’.
   Let’s face it, this whole COVID thing is hanging around longer than we thought possible, and I need to clear my mind of the confusion that seems to have settled in again. A little extra art, right now, would do me some good.
   Now, I have a few specific projects in mind. I’ve got a manuscript that needs more attention and, in March, I started to, again, paint with oils. I’ve got a few large paintings underway, but I believe I need some more random hits of art, a few more trips to galleries, and a little more of an attitude adjustment.
   I believe I need the stronger focus this month is intended to provide.

08/02/2021                                            j.g.l.