This week, I must admit, has been mainly about family & about swimming . We are having an early holiday, and the temperature in the Mediterranean sea is on its way up …

But I have also manage to put in a tiny bit of painting and sketching. I’m still not to excited by working in gouache instead of acrylics, I miss the transparency & plasticity, and I really miss all my colours; all kinds and shades of blues, reds and yellows … And to be honest, for a woman used to wind and rain, it’s a bit too hot here for har work – .

But I have come to understand that restriction (just as in life in general) can be eye-opening; it makes you aware of what you miss (and so hopefully makes you appreciate it more when you have it around), and limitations can also spur innovation and creativity. But it’s a fine balance… A good studio, in my mind, should contain a multitude of materials and options, many more than you ever want to use in a given day.

Hopefully some of the sketches can become starting points for new paintings when I’m back in my studio.

For now — I’ll let swimming be my main focus …