I felt refreshed.Outside it was a sunny winter morning,the variegated roofs[pronounced "rooves" by many] of our neighbouring town bright and seeming closer across the green fields from our elevated position. Our five month old cat had taken my wife's side of the bed while she was in the city for the weekend.He is orange-brown and white above and pure white beneath,a Manx with just the stub of a tail.Very companionable,he followed me into our bathroom while I shaved and showered,catching the low angled winter sunlight on his fur against the tiles: unusually vivid in the early morning illumination.It seemed as though I was part of an artistic tableau:Man and Cat at their Toilette.
I felt a yearning for art - original painting with nature and light - and I knew where to find it.For the last few weeks I have been looking at works by local artists, wanting to buy but balking at the price.Now I was willing to pay to capture a little of that elusive moment of rapture.
After dressing I drove directly to to the art and craft tourist town of our district .I bought all three paintings that I had been dithering over and returned home to find the best position for each one ,enlisting the only other occupant of the house - my thirteen year old daughter - to assist.
The smallest most intimate picture,a tinted etching, was placed where it could be closely appreciated - I hope the artist wouldn't be offended that it is in the bathroom.Next,a swirling tree of gold leaf and autumn colours is now found above the head of our bed.The last, largest and brightest painting consists of thickly layered oil on canvas.It is a riot of grass stems,brilliantly coloured wildflowers and stalks of grain viewed close up from ground level against a backdrop of blue sky and white clouds.Perhaps it is a little glib but it is sunny and warm and now adorns the kitchen wall.
Later the weather is cold ,wet, windy and dark but now we carry three new sparks of joy inside our house to kindle our spirits.
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