As a kid, I was fascinated by meteorology.
I would catch a tube to the met office, just off Tottenham Court Road and just hang around peering at weather charts and would never miss the evening forecast at five to six.
And so it continues to this day. Currently I'm following the climatic fortunes of a friend who is on holiday in Iceland and warn him when to wear ear muffs when the Arctic air blasts in from the Pole.
Still awake?
OK, now after a balmy, sunny beach time meeting near Pedaso, followed by dinner at a Chalet restaurant with my Art friends, I couldn't help but notice the signs in the sky and sea of a serious change in the weather. This I mentioned to my friends, but they blanked out (I know the look).
And sure enough, the very place where we were sitting was whacked by a tempest the following day, yesterday. The coastline was blanketed with an ice storm and severe damage and and we, further inland, had torrential rain with part of our road washed away.
So, you may ask, why this obsession?
Answer is, I don't know. Closest I can get by explanation, is that nature is in control and I prefer this to the wreckage wrought by human beings. And did you see that photo in this morning's Guardian of a young girl with her head in her hands sitting on the stump of a three hundred year old oak tree, cut down to make way for a new road? A tragedy. No wonder the planet gets angry with us and blasts us in it's fury?
Anyway, the painting above was painted a few days ago and in its simple way is an image of the above mentioned storm. Most of my work now is about weather, forests, rivers etc, and I often foresee things which happen days, sometimes weeks before they occur. I suppose it's being in tune in some mysterious way.
I'm running a couple of art/Nature workshops art/Natureworkshops in early September in the Sibillini mountains here in Le Marche. It's a time when the storms begin, after the heat of August, and they are amazing to experience then rocking the landscape about.
Be great if you can come along
Michael; micermice@gmail.com
