Thursday 13 January 2011

The Artist Formerly Known as...

Laura's asked me to blog my new year's resolutions so here goes. I've decided that this year is going to be a little bit special. I've decided to say goodbye to the old Paula Lawrence and make room for a new Paula.

After Mum died I hit an all time low and it made me ask myself whether I wanted to spend all my time doing things for other people. Until then, my life had been full of charity work and supporting my husband, Dennis, in his career. But I thought that wanting time to myself made me incredibly selfish. My daughter, Avril, soon put me straight! She told me it was about time I started "carving out my own space" and that I shouldn't feel guilty about pursuing my own interests, even if it does leave Dennis to fend for himself occasionally.

As Dennis has been less than supportive over Mum's death, I decided to take Avril at her word. I've therefore resolved to take up painting again. I did very well in my fine art degree and even won a scholarship to study in New York. But Dennis's career was just taking off and he didn't want us to jeopardise this, so I turned my place down. I won't say I've regretted it exactly, but I have often wondered what it would have been like to spend a year in New York, living and breathing painting every day.

So, I'm changing that in 2011. This is the year when the artist formerly known as Paula Lawrence picks up her brushes again. You can read all about the consequences of this in The Accidental Guru, hopefully coming soon.

Best wishes and good luck with your own resolutions, Paula

2 comments:

Linn B Halton and Lucy Coleman said...

I like the sound of this character - especially because it was the death of my mother that finally allowed me to start writing full time. There is a realism to what this character is saying and I suspect an element of drawing from either a very personal experience or something you witnessed someone else going through. Sounds like a great story!

Laura Essendine said...

Many thanks for commenting, Linn. I had intended for Judi to be the focus of my story but Paula somehow played a bigger part than I intended. I like her too and wish I could be so organised around the house. Domestic goddess, I'm not.

I'm currently doing rewrites but hope to send the manuscript to an agent around Easter time. Check back for updates, therefore,

Laura