Do you feel sad when you say goodbye to a painting?

I get asked that question with some frequency and my response is that saying goodbye has never been a thing for me. A painting is about discovery, sometimes a battle and akin to tuning an instrument, It’s a too-ing and fro-ing until I find what feels like harmony. I like the journey. I am devoted but not attached.

Tip toe the Cat, egg tempera on panel, October 2022, 25 x 24cm

I know when I feel a painting really works and counter-intuitively I feel sad when everyone else doesn’t see it that way and if I show it and the right person doesn’t see it and snap it up, I am surprised.

This summer I said goodbye to two paintings I thought were among my best, but seemed to take a long time for the right buyers to find. Sometimes they get snapped up immediately. Tiptoe feels like one of those.