The title wot I wrote

I spend much quality time thinking of titles for paintings, researching in different languages, looking up Roman gods, trees, names and thesaurus connections... then someone takes it into their own hands and misreads one of them. Lo! A new title is born. Bill called the painting I chose to call 'Lillie Duck' (which is itself the result of a long story) 'The lady in the drink'. Weirdly, when I subsequently hung it in a gallery, they misread the title as 'Lillie Drink' so I thought I'd better go with it as this was clearly its destined name. Same happened with 'Green Janey' which became 'Green Journey' on the label; went with that one as well, largely because I liked it better.

Now another has been reborn... Charlie read 'Feronia's Grove' wrong -after all my aforementioned research into Roman gods, and the fact that it is a 'sequel' to a couple of paintings called The Glade and Blue Grove. So now it is to be known as 'Feronia's Groove'... I can't help but laugh when I look at it now; what was a mystical angel in a sacred grove is now a party girl having a wee solo boogie in the woods. Love it. The original inspiration behind all three of these was a great dream I had on the first night of a holiday in Thailand; a group of huge monumental women were dancing in a beautiful wooded glade, their big sculptural bodies almost indistinguishable from the huge trees. It has moved a long way away from the original image, but it was about dancing so... it all makes sense. I should really just put out contests to title things or play chinese whispers with selected titles to see where I end up. I suppose at this point I should share a 'blonde' moment I had a while ago as it is relevant to the title theme. Stu was playing some reasonably hefty guitar-based rock music on the stereo and I asked (innocently enough) what he was listening to. 'Abba', he replied. I looked puzzled. 'It's called Benny and Frida wig out'. So what does Miss Gullible of the century ask?......... 'Really?'

Doh. Thus, I am at some point going to create a picture in the memory of this blondeism called 'Benny and Frida wig out.' I had thought of using the forest ladies, so maybe that will fit in even better now. I do also still have a 'challenge' title set years ago by someone who said "Bet you can't do a painting called 'Anchovy at the Crossroads'." So far, Jack ,the answer is no - but I haven't forgotten!

My favourite word of the day was 'incandescent' - used in the context of someone describing how cross they would be if they returned home without a crucial item of shopping. It is just a word I have never knowingly used in conversation, let alone about shopping, and I love the over-the-top nature of the reaction.

Doodled out a few promising pictures today at cash-work, so I am yet again in the position of having too many ideas and too little time; which ones will make the cut at the end of the day? I am going to sketch out a few boards and have a bash at doing a few simultaneously, or maybe just a couple. Trying to 'up' my output to two pictures a week now, as I am feeling on a roll as long as I can keep domestic chores and money earning at bay. Tonight I am already frustrated at having to answer phone calls, wash things, amuse cats and shop; now it is after eight (and I ain't talking chocolate) and I am still a few minutes away from studio time.

I know, lets make it a few less and wind up for tonight; creativity beckons. I just have to look up some pages of Festival stuff to see what shows I can potentially catch, especially painty ones...

Maybe the other 'favourite phrase' I wrote in my book today was more apt; it says 'fractured thoughts'.