The Everyday Portrait Habit


Beautiful me looking up inside a yew tree, the branches are silhouettes


Outside the clouds tremble with fine rain. It drops from them sparsely, clearly mocking my decision to hang the washing indoors. I have the windows open. I don’t mind.
It occurs to me that I take each day as raw materials from which to construct a portrait of myself, and I like this idea. It shows me the magic of everyday things. It isn’t too grand, it allows for unassuming - it allows for all the variables.
Some days are daubed in turbulence and now they are not bad days but in fact part of a series of studies; my moody phase, my this-is-overtired phase, my shadow sketches; some are gleefully oversaturated, glitter-spattered, sequinned-and-celestial.
Each day is subconsciously coloured in uncountable shades, textured with everything I see, touch, hear, taste, or smell; has one or many points of interest, it is as sparse or as crowded as I choose. Today I am a kitchen maniac, cooking up coq au vin, pate, stock, lentil curry, chocolate sauce, cheese sauce, roasted and steamed vegetables; a mosaic of blur and focus; and I am the slightly dishevelled woman looking out of an upstairs window, amused by the fickle weather. (Apologies for the spareness of my output here- between the land and writing the current novel time is happily but also unfortunately squished. I hope you are well, I wish this for you.)


Comments

Elephant's Child said…
It is lovely to see another post from you. And thank you for your wishes.
Many of my portraits are much the same. Perhaps I need to take a closer look.
You are definitely cooking up a storm today.
3 October 2023 at 17:55
Lisa Southard said…
I have been busy with land, writing, family, earning a living, and so on; again this blog has been neglected, but THANK YOU to my faithful readers, I really do appreciate you :-)
15 December 2023 at 15:17
Lily1959 said…
Thank you for your stories, they inspire me. XXX
15 December 2023 at 15:56
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