Still breathing and all that...

I needed a break from the Internet after my last journal post. This was partly due to disillusion with some of the work I’d posted online and partly due to offline concerns that would make fascinating reading if I didn’t exercise restraint. I’ve sent friends a few emails but haven’t logged onto DA until now.

I ended my last journal by saying I’d like to concentrate on work that feels right for me. For a month or so afterwards nothing felt as right for me as landscaping and gardening. Late autumn and early winter in Hobart are good times for outdoor work and the mornings have been good for walks. When a sun that hasn’t risen turns the undersides of clouds blood red and the mountains to black silhouettes it almost looks like jolly old Mordor. I'm sure the effect would be more pronounced and longer lasting throughout Scandinavia but while I’m in Australia this is as good as things will ever get.

Creatively I haven’t done much but my motivation got a boost in the most unlikely way. The owner of a secondhand bookstore had some of my work on display and had managed to make the odd sale as I’ve done myself a few times. In a marked break from tradition a shady local character stole a whole lot of my work from the store along with the owner’s car. This is bad news for the owner, who has my deepest sympathies and very kindly repaid the cost of printing and framing in secondhand books. It hasn’t been so bad for me; books aside, it’s nice to know there’s at least one lunatic who likes my work enough to steal it!

I told myself I wouldn’t log onto DA until I had new work to share. My most recent effort, Mouse God, doesn’t really break new ground, but I think it turned out well considering I’ve been away for so long. I’ve got lots of roughs I could take further, some of which might get a few laughs, and some of which might strike a chord with other ugly, broken, rotten souls.

Hope to have more for you soon,

JF