Resolutions schmesolutions!

Since it's a new year - I've been reviewing my resolutions from last year with a wry smile or two - yeah I made them, and yes I tried.
I didn't paint or draw as much outside as I'd have liked ... pity that (but the wind's a bit of a problem anyway).
Being hard on yourself comes with the territory I think - but I know I believe in myself more than a year ago, which is pretty positive, so I'm happy with what I aimed for mostly, and the rest's an ongoing project.

This year I want to apply for a residency somewhere other than Wellington - and preferrably overseas (though to be honest holing up to paint in the Far North wouldn't be all bad!) I'd like to experience the sense of 'otherness' that only comes from displacing yourself for a time, and I think I'd benefit from the challenge and the extension it would bring.

On that note, I went to a cool exhibition on my way home from the farm this summer, called 'The museum of inherent vice'.
(Inherent vice is an art historical/curatorial term to describe art objects with the potential to degrade or change over time).
Matt Couper had a residency at Tylee Cottage in Wanganui last year, as part of the Sarjeant Gallery's residency programme and his work is currently on show at the Sarjeant until the 10th of Feb.

I was impressed with both the scale of his paintings, and the diversity and complexity of his work. His symbolism is powerfully strange - and the image of Prometheus depicted as an artist, chained to the rock and painting with his hands and feet cut off and brushes strapped to his wrists has stayed with me a long time.

Mostly I connected with the wall of small tin ex-votos he made over the year, which describe his year as a resident, the struggle to stay focussed and be creative and to trust that what he was doing was valuable and 'good'. He made himself vulnerable - and I respect that. If you get a chance, go and see his work (or look at his website here).