The first two sentences are lies!

I really needed to do something creative and a couple of days ago I baked a rather delicious lemon drizzle cake. The first in a very long time. It turns out you can get fat and do mischief to your teeth whilst being creative, It’s not all paint, charcoal and canvas you know.

To be honest I have not done any painting in quite a long while, instead I have started roosting in the eyrie and pondering things from up there instead. It is currently too hit to garden. (At least during the day time it is.) And the heat is making me slightly fractious as a result. The children. (Four of them) Spend most of their time collapsed in various heaps, having a black fur coat on in this heat must be murderous. The heat is making us all drink greater quantities of water than before, the pond wants to be stocked with fish and the idea of putting a net over it is simply too much right now. The idea of that Heron Bird having a meal at my expense also pisses me off, happily my old catapult reappeared last year and there are pebbles aplenty in this garden. The trouble is of course, the pond is rather near the greenhouse ultimately meaning the evil Heron Bird will have the last laugh and me a criminal record. ( If caught)

I have done no small amount of gardening this year, not being hampered by university helps tremendously. Mail ordering plants seems to be quite efficient, though I do get anxious waiting for deliveries to appear. The soil here is rich and fertile and just about anything will grow here. The garden ( Like many) is a haven away from the insanity of the outside world, here I can sit back talk to the cat and simply relax in between bouts of working and everything else I am obliged to do.

It is my way of bringing peace to the world, by at least having peace at home. You see all good things begin at home, Jeff Bezos will testify to that. Apply hard work to the equation and some positive thinking and visualisation of what you are aiming for and everything will fall into place. The universe works for everyone, it is simply a matter of knowing how and what to do to attain your goals. Nobody ever got very far by focussing on negativity and having a cannot do attitude. Nor does making excuses and then being jealous, none of this does any good. Whilst it is a good idea to know what is going on in the world, do not make the affairs of the world your own, you will end up with a head ache.

The rewards of hard work are immeasurable: blood, sweat, tears and getting up early all play their part. The rewards of the artist are not totally dissimilar: questionable mental health, self doubt, anxiety, questionable mental health, (Again), little social life and even poverty. Which makes you want to ask is it all worth it? Well… Rembrandt thought it so and so did a few others, indeed it was probably the only thing holding them together. Their legacy is there for all to see, just visit any half decent gallery and see the results of years of self doubt and mental anguish.

Study these people a little bit and realise the close correlation between mental ill health and creativity and then thank Dog for the mad people. This planet would be a very dull place but for those who paint, draw and create.