The 2020 Covid Pandemic Lockdown in the UK was a unique experience. We were not allowed to go out, except for one short period of exercise a day and essential tasks. I quickly discovered that a known hip problem was worse than I thought and I couldn’t walk very far. I couldn’t go swimming (my go to exercise) and cycling was restricted. An active person was stuck and we had no idea how long it was all going to last.
We are lucky because we live with a long distance view from our upstairs windows. I decided to make a painting that captured the view over time and took the simplest approach to that. I took a photo of the view and divided it into blocks. Over time I stood at the window and did sketches of each block, choosing them at random and using different media. I tried to reflect what I was feeling about the view and about the particular section of it. I repeated some sections, especially sky.
At the end I scanned in the sketches and assembled them as an electronic collage, adjusting slightly to maintain the skyline. One of the panels is part of the original photograph. There is no attempt to maintain perfect visual continuity. It reflects seasons, events and conditions. There are creatures moving through it but no people.
The sketches were done in an A5 sketchbook. Many of the individual panels would have been done from an altered view, if you were making a visual choice, but that discipline was part of the process.
As I did the sketches and afterwards, I produced a couple of other works based on the experience, gathering different moods, conditions and events together in a single painting.
