Days in the Studio as Christmas Approaches.

This time of year as Christmas approaches I struggle with light levels in grey old England. I can't imagine how those in the land of the midnight sun fair over winter. It fills me with a whisper of glumness that sneaks into my days and settles in my lap at about tea time.

I long for the summer to come along and wake me up with bright sunlight.

My studio suffers from light inconsistencies this time of year. I may moan about low light levels but when the sun does shine it ricochets in through the window straight across the painting I'm working on, splashing light and shadows everywhere making it hard to judge colour and tone.

So I put up paper blinds on the window (I find the thin paper that comes between the sheets of glass for my husbands picture framing business ideal for that) and get a lovely diffused light. Then the sun goes in and my studio is plunged into an  underwater world, leading to blinds up and lights on.

I'm amazed how I actually get any work done with all this housekeeping.

Low light in November © Mary Kemp

I'm working on a few things at the moment, exploring landscape and seascape, finding them as often as not peopled by those I know.
I have a lot of material from summer to draw upon, saved up for the time of year when I don't want to be out and about. Memories, watercolour sketches , line drawings and photos. I installed daylight bulbs in the studio so there's no excuse. I've just got to get on with it!
Watch this space.......