A number of times recently people have asked me how I like to fill my time, to which I respond that I like to paint, every time they’ve asked the same question “so, what do you paint?” In the past this has been an easy question to answer, I paint landscapes, but do I?

(A shameless copy paste from my blog).

It’s some time since I painted an actual landscape; I’ve painted Hobbits Elves and Wizards, the One Ring has received a coat or two of paint, and I’ve sketched more nooks and crannies of Rivendell than I care to think of. However the rolling tree capped hills that I can see when I close my eyes stay there and not on the paper as they should be, mist filled valleys are just a distant thought. It would certainly be easier if I no longer felt the desire to paint the rolling hills or become lost in the mist, but the desire is still there, if not stronger than before.

So how do you explain to people that your a painter of landscapes who does not actually paint landscapes any more but paints characters from fantasy and fiction? Is there such a thing a an ex-landscape artist, or perhaps I could be artist-without-portfolio, the only trouble being that I do, own a portfolio that is I’m sure it’s not just me that has off thoughts like this, it goes further too. The next question, if the person you’re speaking to has an interest in art is normally “what medium do you use?” Well, that’s an easy question to answer

Well, I say it’s an easy question to answer; My preferred medium is oil paint, which is why I do the majority of my work in watercolour that is of course when I’m not using pen & ink. In truth it does not really matter, the need to define what you are and how you do it does not really mean that much to me, but there are times when it would be handy just to give a simple answer to such a simple question. Until I come up with a simple answer I’m just going to keep my mouth shut, and when people ask how I fill my time I’ll just respond that I do nowt all day long.