That’s David Hockney and his dog, Ruby, sat in his garden in Normandy where he’s been painting the blossom in his back garden and dispensing wisdom like this:
“We have lost touch with nature rather foolishly as we are a part of it, not outside it. This will in time be over and then what? What have we learned? I am 83 years old, I will die. The cause of death is birth. The only real things in life are food and love in that order, just like our little dog Ruby. I really believe this and the source of art is love…. I love life.”
- I can’t tell you how much that quote has helped me over the past week.
- It’s also really made me want to buy a house in Normandy, retire there to paint and hang out with my dog.
- If you want more Hockney wisdom, the Guardian has some: “We need art, and I do think it can relieve stress. What is stress? It’s worrying about something in the future. Art is now.”
- Like most people lucky enough to have a garden I spent most of the past weekend weeding, mowing, planting and even a bit of power washing and just generally making things habitable and comfy.
- Outside of that I’ve read and watched precious little outside of Netflix. Work has been full on, so evenings have been taken up with taking Buster for a walk, making dinner and then a bit of TV and reading (still Catch and Kill) before falling asleep.
- Somehow, working from home is more tiring than going to the office. Not sure why, think it might have something to do with the ‘micro breaks’ that come with chatting to colleagues in the kitchen over a cup of tea etc. And also video chat fatigue obviously. VCF is definitely a thing.
- Done a bit of Zoom socialising too. A spot of online poker with friends, and a quiz with the family. All good stuff.
- I’ve noticed my podcast consumption has shrunk dramatically too, simply because I only listen to podcasts during my commute. I need to figure out a new podcast routine.
- This from Hanya Yanagihara on Instagram was also a welcome artistic distraction.
- And I have been getting a steady stream of great music thanks to my friend, Mark and his excellent playlists: