Reminiscing England
It has been almost 3 months since arriving back on Vancouver Island. The smell of the sea and the lush green forests were something i had missed during my stay in England. I look over the water in my studio from out of my patio window with a hot cup of joe, the breeze is dancing through the plants and the clouds slowly begin to roll in.
I have been thinking about my time in England and how i was so lucky to have that opportunity. Studying under Eric Wilson alone was fantastic. Watching him paint with the pastels and being hypnotized by his slight hand movements as they gently touched the sanded paper surface. A light scruffing noise was the only sound to break the silence. Genius, that was my first thought of Eric, as he appeared to get lost in the snow leopards fur and icy gaze.
But what about my time spent not in the studio?
The landing was finally happening. I was going to touch a foreign country's soil for the first time! I remember my heart pounding, no, racing as i was going to meet this most talented man! Maybe it was the 15 hour journey or the bottled up excitement, but i could not stop my heart! So much that i broke out into a sweat!
As i disembarked from the gates and peered out at the foreign airport, Eric was already waiting and i knew already, this would be a lifetime adventure! As i approached i could feel my heart pounding against my rib cage! Maybe i was going to have an heart attack right there, i couldn't be bothered though, I had to make a good impression on my new teacher! As i finally reached him i blew out my hand straight for him and went in to shake his hand while awkwardly saying "HI, MY NAMES BREANNA, IM CANADIAN STUDENT". Eric let out a big hearty laugh and gave me a hug and said, "It's wonderful to finally meet you Breanna, are you ready to paint a snow leopard?". My excitement could not be contained! I was now sweating from every pore on my body and my chest felt sore from how hard my heart was beating, my stomach began to curl into knots, what was happening to me!? I knew i was excited but this was just ridiculous, "Pull yourself together", i said to myself!
As we exited the airport and headed to the car i pulled beside me my 3 luggages, the largest of them being empty as i had many plans to fill it with all my wonderful goodies from England (not to mention all the fantastic art supplies i would bring back!). The first thing i noticed, and i'm not really even sure why, was the vehicle he drove! An Audi! A real life artist who could survive on just his art only and have an Audi?! This guy was the real deal!
We begin to drive away and head to my hotel. This is when the problems really started.
My palms were even sweating at this point and my world was beginning to spin, not to mention we were driving on the WRONG side of the road! My brain couldn't handle this new way of driving! I was also sitting on the wrong side of the car!
I knew at that moment that i needed to get to my hotel FAST! I let Eric aware of the condition i was in and he speeds up to race me to the hotel, it is an hour and a half drive to my hotel in Buxton from the Manchester airport. This is going to be the longest drive of my life.
Feeling so ashamed and embarrassed i tuck my head in between my legs until we get to the hotel where i feel almost faint. My stomach at this point is jumping and curled into a ball while i am sweating like a pig and my head is just pounding. Check-in was quick and Eric helps me get to my room, a tiny little thing if i do say so myself! A single small room with a bed and table in it and a tiny 12 inch T.V, with an even smaller room as a bathroom was attached. I apologized to Eric as i told him i would be completely ready to start painting the next day but that i must just need to rest from the flight today and my body was out of whack!
Eric leaves the hotel and i immediately get sicker.
Turns out i was a victim of a horrible flu. That's right, the flu.
I was sick for 3 days straight, stuck in my hotel room after coming all the way to England. I have to say that getting sick was the worst thing ever to happen to me...when you travel and get sick you want nothing more than to return home to your loved ones and relax.. but i was on a whole different continent. Unfortunately when you get the flu, the tired and nauseous symptoms can last for a few weeks even after the severity is over so it was very disappointing and made my trip horribly uncomfortable.
The day finally came where i could finally go outside and learn about pastels! I had heard the birds singing outside my window and was so ready to see England! However, my first walk out into England was shrouded in the cold morning mist...which i would see every single day except twice for my entire 2 week stay. It was January you see, not the best time to see England, but i was there to study.
The first thing i can see as my eyes adjusted to the outside world was a clock tower from the nearby college, just peeking from out of the trees! Almost every building i saw was made out of cobblestone and bricks! It was gorgeous!
I will not bother with writing about how my studying went, it was magical and amazing, but also hard to describe. I want to tell you all about England.
On the days where we were not painting, Eric was kind enough to drive me to some of the landmarks! The first was to the stunning park just outside of Buxton where you could see the infamous "Red deer" that graze along the hills! In this park was also a HUGE manor/castle! We didn't go in but simply drove around the park as we were still technically on our way to paint that day. I didn't get to see any of the red deer, badgers, or foxes i had hoped would pop up but that just means i will have to go again!
Next up we took a drive all the way out to "The Devils Arse", a huge cave used by the rope makers back in the day! There were some really cool looking structures, the stalagmites were rather small but as the guide described to us, it takes thousands of years for even the smaller guys to appear!
On some of the last days we drove all the way to Wales and visited "Conwy Castle" where the infamous "Braveheart" was executed by the king! It was absolutely incredible to be standing in such a monumental location where history took place! The big stone castle had 4 towers in each of its corners, to keep as lookouts from any intruders, a large courthouse where the horses and livestock were kept. There were also dungeons! Inside those dungeons were scratch marks and etches where prisoners had counted down their days until judgment.
The staircases are built in such a way where (as i was told by Eric), if an enemy were to invade and come up the stairs it would be difficult for them to pull out their sword and swing, but if you were headed down the stairs it would work in you favor! All these tiny details you never stop to think about!
From atop the towers you could see the whole of ocean and the inlet we were in! The wind chilled my face but being in Wales was the most i have ever felt at home while in England. The smell of salt and wind and even for this one day, the sunshine decided to come out! It feels surreal now when i try to think back about what i had seen.
The days carried on and my trip finally came to an end. 14 days was not enough and yet, for my trip, after being sick, i was ready to come home.
We drove to the airport and i looked at the stone houses and funny little cars everywhere (I don't think i saw a single truck). It was tough being away from my fiance for so long, but i had done it. I had gone to England and studied under the famous Eric Wilson and i was wiser now for my own art.
We said our goodbye's and i almost teared up as my mentor gave me a big hug, we had bonded in our time and became good friends. It was tough to leave my mentor and friend but i knew i would see him again one day, maybe as equals in the art world.
The flight back to Canada was even longer than my flight to the U.K. I had completely filled my luggage with art supplies and old English teddy bears for my family, but along with me i carried something far more precious, the lesson.
I arrived back in Campbell River where my fiance was waiting, arms open and a big bouquet of flowers. That was it...my trip was over.
My coffee mug, now empty, and the animals are now quiet. I gaze up to my walls and see the certificate signed by Eric Wilson and read the words "This certificate is presented to Breanna Podlasly for completing a masterclass course in pastel techniques with wildlife artist Eric Wilson, awarded the day of January 28th, 2017".
I whisper to myself;
"this is only the beginning".
