Yes, blame it on the man who tried to make sense of the universe, inside and out, including the realm of dreams. Or perhaps move forward in time to C.G. Jung whose landmark book “Memories, Dreams, Reflections” was top of my gift list when the paperback came out in 1976. Or, you might cut to the chase, and blame one of my artist heroes, Giorgio de Chirico, as an early champion of surrealism.
They all have to do with my musings about where to go next, with my long-held interest in the face and figure. My sketchbooks (which I’m trying to glean) have many quick-captures over the years of interesting figures I’ve noted in passing, interesting faces and costumes. Quite recently, at the familiar bus stop nearest home, I waited along with a young woman in an almost military neutral tan outfit – but with random graffiti-type markings in black, and red accents randomly splashing her black hair.
I would love to paint her, but how? Using up some paint and cardboard, I could catch only a glimpse.
Over a few days, I mulled this over and thought of a decades-old aspiration of mine: To paint figures in their settings. My memory of her contained, of course, a much fuller jumble of the components of the setting in which I encountered her. Here's my bus stop, for example, looking in both directions:--
And always, the fascinating splashes of graffiti on the central power pole.
Okay. The clarity of the photos is quite different from the jumble of my memory – and it’s that jumble that forms the context. And so begins my new series of sketch-worthy figures in their remembered context. Surrealists, take note!
The walker from the pedestrian sign strides in to show off for my “real” figure.
Moving along, the signs and poles begin to take shape.
And finally, let’s call it a wrap with “Inverness Bus Stop – Context Series” - copyright 2026.
Hard to say where this series will lead, but already I’ve made a fascinating discovery in little known 20th-century artist Sam Szafran. Do you think my thought-trains might have mingled with his somehow? For an utterly fascinating video (French with subtitles), view here.
In all of this, of course I've remembered that as I hit “POST”, it’s Halloween. My neighbours, as usual, have obliged.
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