Many little friends

The tiredness continues to build up like a mass of water ready to burst a dam, or like a mass of tiredness threatening to make me fall asleep in a narcoleptic way a la Moulin Rouge's Argentinian. (Do we ever learn his name?) Picked up Stu from his day's grind at 12.30am, bed at around two and up at seven to deliver him back to feed the x-thousand all over again, Festive Smile in place. Actually, he's lucky being in the kitchen far from the necessity of Festive Face; as front of house person I was always the one who had to keep smiling in the face of adversity or appalling manners.

And so to painting... dropped Stu off in the rain on Lothian Road for his token walk to clear the head and see some daylight, then back to start on the next three little boxes (pictured). Spent a couple of hours on them at home and then dressed somewhat randomly, including a scarf and both tights and socks and set out through flood and pestilence to Leith. Had a pretty quiet day in the gallery but finished the 'wee three' and another 8 x 8 inch canvas, still plugging away at the leaf headed angels. I have never had such a persistence of subject before, but each new picture seems to teach me more new things and take me to new places with paint and faces. It is an odd but essentially very productive exercise and so I am running with it. Until someone screams 'no more', especially if it is Ritchie afraid that his gallery may become infested by small leafy angels. 'Ingrid's angel friends' the label says.

Flicked idly through the Taschen 'Portrait' book on returning (with Stu, picked up en route blissfully early) and found the interesting Da Vinci grotesque woman that was also 'done' by Quentin Massys and inspired the Duchess in the original illustrations of Alices adventures in wonderland. And, if I am not mistaken, appears in a wee pencil sketch of Ritchie's that I found among paints in the gallery. Naturally I have now further removed the image by doodling my own 'angel' version, which takes the lady younger and wingier but with prettier face and hair. The wing/shoulder thing is also a plagarism of sorts, from an outfit I saw in Grazia on one of the more outlandish couture dressers of the world whose name I forget but I'm sure she works for Japanese Vogue. Keep up.

Excited tonight as Braewell Gallery answered in the affirmative to the invite to mine and Ritchie's show, and they are just opening a new gallery on Dundas Street... must get over to have a look-see. Can't make the opening itself but will have a shifty next Saturday; excellent.