jflaxman

First up, I’ll wish everyone a happier year than their last on this rock and hope it isn’t overdue. I should also cover my last year. 2022 started well and I got lots of drawing done, but other obligations – some expected, others not – accumulated over time. Less creative ones included lots of landscaping which at least kept me very fit! Further north, Fran’s older sister left the husband she should have left long ago. It was a messy, complicated business that took Fran and I back to the mainland, but once we were there it was quickly resolved and it’s something we won’t have to go through again. The sister’s found a great new home for herself and three adopted strays. Three months on she looks five years younger and can’t stop smiling on video calls! Last year’s creative challenges were more varied and not so easily solved. Some hardware problems were (a new tablet has made a big difference and a new monitor is on the way) but around mid-2022 I felt more disillusioned with art than

I’ve been away for quite a while. As always, winter's been a blessing, and a small slice of local landscape now looks very different. I find swinging a mattock and shovelling earth every bit as cathartic as drawing when days are short and skies are grey! Will returned to the North Island with a whole lot of great photos and a couple of rare books. I’m pleased to report he’s back on his feet and his current projects include restoring an old car interior. I caught up with Shane and Kate on a recent Sydney jaunt and they’re still a witty and attractive pair. I was also pleased to note that ghastly city’s CBD is now more human/less car friendly. Fran has been incredible, and although it was all too brief, a well-planned travel schedule and well-chosen hotel room made our last trip to Melbourne a wonderful experience. In much more important news things look better in Ukraine. This gives me cause for quiet hope, though I’m still very much aware of how horribly things could go wrong.

Given the state of the world right now it’s easy to feel varying degrees of anger and despair; but given my own distance from the main source of these emotions I feel I have no right to complain. The same emotions, in the past, have inspired many brilliant minds to produce enduring works, even under threat of death. Comparing my own lot to theirs would be the height of vanity. I’ve dealt with my own concerns by focusing on things I can change in my small sphere of influence. I’ve had some long and valuable exchanges with an old friend of Russian extraction. Anyone who’s interested can read them under my last journal post. I still haven’t replied to her last as she’s given me a lot to process and it isn't always easy to keep up with such a formidable mind. I hope at least some of my contributions have had a positive effect and hope it reaches others too. Things have been simpler with Will, the longest-running friend I have. After an act of true heroism he lost his car and most of